Adventures of Vicki and Mike

Just Make it to Lunch!

2012-01-03T06:53:00.003-07:00

I'm sure you'll think this is about food. It's not! It's about trying to reach your goals.

The New Year always brings with it baggage! "This is the year I'm going to lose weight!" "This year I'm going to get out of debt!" "This year I'm going to read the scriptures (pray every day, go to church, go to the temple etc.)

Most of our goals should be achievable without much trouble, like reading the scriptures and praying. How hard is that? You get out of bed, get on your knees, pray, get back in bed and read the scriptures. Easy! NOT!!! You get out of bed, you go to the bathroom, then you see the laundry on the floor and take it to the laundry, throw a load into the washer, take out the load from the dryer, fold it, put it away, then you notice the rugs need vacuuming. You vacuum and while vacuuming the bedroom you make the bed and straighten the books on the nightstand and go about your day! By the way, one of the books on the nightstand is your Book of Mormon! At the end of the day you didn't do the two things you wanted to do.

Goals are sometimes hard to reach because we set ourselves up to fail. We let time get away from us because we think too big! We keep looking at the year in advance and it becomes a daunting task. I, personally, can't stand the thought of trying to lose weight if I have to think about it in terms of doing it for a whole year...but I can achieve it if I just think about doing it in smaller increments of time. Most of the things I want to achieve will be like that. As it says in Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 16:29 "...and thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things."

Today, my goal was to post something on this blog. I did it! And I did it before lunch...

Tomorrow, I'm going to start conquering the world...one lunchtime at a time!

Beauty of the Scriptures

2011-08-18T08:34:00.005-06:00

I've gained a real appreciation for the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. I've read it several times (or more if you count the piecemeal reading), but never really studied them until our mission. The reason for this new found joy in reading them is the study we do with our young Marines on Tuesday nights. The doors of understanding open wide and my testimony grows with each chapter and verse. I love the concept of likening the scriptures and I now use this to understand the trials of my own and my family's trials. The following are just a couple examples of stories from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, the ones that really touched my heart and soul.

Mary at the feet of the Savior at His crucifixion:

How blessed was she, the mother of the Savior of the world and oh, how she agonized at His death. As I've read the account of Mary and listened to Rob Gardner's Lamb of God (which if you haven't heard, you must do immediately), I'm filled to the brim with emotion, that any mother had to endure (or will have endure) what Mary did. What I've learned, though, is that Mary was always in the Father's hands and comforted with the knowledge that her Son was part of the grand Plan of Salvation.

As a mother, I've cried many, many tears for my children and grandchildren who've suffered pain and agony with the trials of this life. What I've learned from Mary is that all of us, regardless of standing, still remain in the encircling arms of our loving Father in Heaven and He is aware of our pain. If we can remember that this life is about learning, then each pain or trial can be met with joy; joy in the knowledge that we don't stand alone. HE is always with us!

Adam, Lehi, Mosiah and Alma:

These men were Prophets of God! How is it that they failed so miserably with their children? If they, as Prophets, couldn't control their children, what hope is there for us mear mortals? It's called free agency, one of God's eternal principles. We can't beat ourselves up for the things our children do (assuming we have done all we can to raise them with correct principles). They get to choose whether or not they want to partake of the fruit of the Gospel or not. One of the biggest things we learn from two of those men (Mosiah and Alma) is that petitioning the Lord in behalf of your children can be instrumental in the outcome; people can and do change! We can't EVER give up on our children, because the Holy Spirit has the power to heal and change lives. I've been witness to it here in the mission field. Someday, I'll tell of Ryan Hyde, our own Alma the Younger of sorts. It happened in my own life, again, another story for another time.

We've had the opportunity to watch many miracles unfold in the course of the last twelve months of our mission, here in North Carolina and at home. We will continue to see others unfold in the next six months.

I love the scriptures!

Praying For Daniel...

2011-07-15T11:23:00.002-06:00

Daniel Allen "A Very Brave Soul"

Not too long ago in Heaven, there was a little soul who took wonder in observing the world. He especially enjoyed the love he saw there and often expressed this joy with God. One day, however, the little soul was sad, for on this day he saw suffering in the world. He approached God and sadly asked, "Why do bad things happen? Why is there suffering in the world?"

God paused for a moment and replied, "Little soul, do not be sad, for the suffering you see unlocks the love in people's hearts."

The little soul was confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.

God replied, "Have you noticed the goodness and love that is the offspring of that suffering? Look at how people come together, drop their differences and show their love and compassion for those who suffer. All their other motivations disappear and they become motivated by love alone." The little soul began to understand and listened attentively as God continued, "The suffering soul unlocks the love in people's hearts much like the sun and the rain unlock the flower within the seed. I created everyone with endless love in their heart, but unfortunately most people keep it locked up and hardly share it with anyone. They are afraid to let their love shine freely because they are afraid of being hurt. But a suffering soul unlocks that love. I tell you this −it is the greatest miracle of all. Many souls have bravely chosen to go into the world and suffer−to unlock this love−to create this miracle−for the good of all humanity."

Just then the little soul got a wonderful idea and could hardly contain himself. With its wings fluttering, bouncing up and down, the little soul excitedly replied, "I am brave; let me go! I would like to go into the world and suffer so that I can unlock the goodness and love in people's hearts! I want to create that miracle!"

God smiled and said, "You are a brave soul, I know, and thus I will grant your request. But even though you are very brave, you will not be able to do this alone. I have known since the beginning of time that you would ask for this and so I have carefully selected many souls to care for you on your journey. Those souls will help you create your miracle; however, they will also share in your suffering. Two of these souls are most special and will care for you, help you and suffer along with you, far beyond the others. These people are your parents" God and the brave little soul shared a smile and then embraced.

In parting God said, "Do not forget, little soul that I will be with you always. Although you have agreed to bear the pain, you will do so through my strength. And if the time should come when you feel that you have suffered enough, just say the word, think the thought, and you will be healed." Thus at that moment the brave little soul was born into the world, and through his love and suffering and God's strength, he unlocked the goodness and love in people's hearts. For so many people dropped their differences and came together to show their love. Priorities became properly aligned. People gave from their hearts. Those that were always too busy found time. Many began new spiritual journeys−some regained lost faith−many came back to God. Parents hugged their children tighter. Friends and family grew closer. Old friends got together and new friendships were made. Distant family reunited, and every family spent more time together. Everyone prayed. Peace and love reigned. Lives changed forever. It was good. The world was a better place. The miracle had happened and God was pleased.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/danielallen6/mystory

Best. Friend. Irita.

2011-07-11T19:04:00.002-06:00

Eighth grade must have been a tough year for me. It certainly seems to have been my naughtiest! There was a set of Hawaiian twins, Irita and Lovita. Irita was one of my best friends. She and her sister couldn't have been more different from each other. Lovita was tall, slim and quiet. Irita was more of a tomboy and she was a large person. She wore muu muu's a lot. She was also really good at lots of sports that required strength. One of our favorite past time was having her pick us up by one arm and one leg and twirling us around. There wasn't anyone she couldn't lift!

In those days we got weighed and measured in class. They called your name and you went to the front where the teacher weighed and measured you in front of everyone. She recorded your information in a book and it wasn't public knowledge...unless you happen to see it while she was writing. Well...I did, see it! I have no idea what in the world I was thinking but as I walked back to my desk I whispered to a friend, "Wow, Irita weighs two hundred pounds!" Again, I don't know what I was thinking because, stupid me! Irita's desk was two desks behind mine and after I finished whispering I looked up to see her staring at me with the most sad look I'd ever seen...on anyone! She never said anything about it to me. She could have pummeled me but she NEVER said a word. In fact, she continued to be my friend.

It was another one of those moments from my past that cause me pain. Pain that I could have ever been so cruel to another human being. I often wonder and hope that Irita has had a good life because she certainly deserved it. She was kind, soft spoken, humble and forgiving; just the kind of qualities you would want in a mother.

I've spent my life sufficiently punished. For as long as I can remember I've battled the bulge and on many occasions been over the number that the teacher recorded for Irita in the book. Yup, life has a way of evening things up!

Mr. Applin. Letter.

2011-07-11T18:15:00.003-06:00

I'm trying to keep going with my Three Word Journal so, with that in mind I decided to write about something I did in the eighth grade. It was really naughty and I've repented of it over and over all these years!

Mr. Applin was probably my favorite teacher, EVER! He and his little family moved into a small rental home down the street from ours in La Verne. Funny! Looking back, they probably weren't even out of their twenties. His wife, Marian, and their son, Kenny, were so cute. My parents took them under their wing (good grief, THEY probably weren't even out of their thirties!) and helped them any way they could to feel part of the community. They were from Michigan, I think and after a couple of years here, they went back.

Mrs. Michael was one of the other eighth grade teachers and she was a sour puss! I can't remember ANY time that she smiled! I wonder if I would have liked her now, knowing how hard it is to teach...especially unruly students.

We had a lesson on Benjamin Franklin and I remember vividly a quote from him that Mrs. Michael gave us. "It is impossible for an empty bag to stand alone!" I'm sure I thought what followed was a great idea at the time, not thinking that so much now. I wrote a note with the quote followed by, "How does Mrs. Michael do it?" I attempted to pass it to a friend at the same moment that Mrs. Michael turned around and I got caught! She told me to give her the note. I'm sure I was thinking something like, "No way Jose!" So, I did the only thing I could think of...I quickly put the note in my mouth and tried to chew it! She was quicker and made me spit it out into her hand. Gross! She read it and didn't say anything about it. Later that day, Mr. Applin called me into the classroom and told me Mrs. Michael had come to him really upset by the note. I was pretty sure that my parents would be receiving a call telling them to come and pick me up because I'd been suspended. My punishment was worse than that. Mr. Applin told me that he was so disappointed that I would hurt anyone like that and he didn't know if I could ever be his babysitter again. I WAS CRUSHED! I would rather have been suspended! Spanked, even! I was in tears, "Mr. Applin, what can I do?" He then told me it would be a good start if I apologized to Mrs. Michael. I would have done anything to make amends...but THAT was going to be tough! I dragged my feet, literally, to her room. It must have taken five minutes to go from his classroom to hers next door. It took less than five seconds to spit out my apology, "I'msorryIwrotethenoteaboutyoubeinganemptybagIwon'tdoitagainIpromise!" Out the door I flew! Truly, I would have rather been suspended!

Open Letter to my Grandson, Alex

2011-06-19T06:38:00.004-06:00

Alex,

I remember, with fondness, the day you were born. Your grandparents, all four of them, were there. Your great-grandparents were there. Only a handful of our grandchildren can make that claim. Grandpa Morales died in 1996 and Grandma Alice in 1999. Needless to say, we were all beaming upon your entrance into our family.

Oh, how the years have flown by and we've watched as you've gone from boy to young man with style and pazazz. Do you know how blessed you've been? How many can claim trips to Australia, Costa Rica or a drive across the country to see such sites as Nauvoo, Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore? Not many! You have your parents to thank for so much of that; their sacrifices were great.

You have a gift for making people feel special. That's why you have so many friends. You also have a wonderful talent for performing. I wish to let you know that you can thank me for that!

Now...you've graduated and entered the world of "adult" living. That's the longest stage of life just before "senior" living. Are you ready to live in an adult world? The joys are many but as with all things in this life, where much is given, much is expected.

Before we came to this life, we made promises that we would do all we could to return to our Father. We knew it would be a tough road. We knew we would be challenged every minute of everyday to make choices between "good, better or best". The question now is, have you paid attention to the lessons you were taught these past eighteen years? Are you ready to hold fast to those principles which bring true happiness?

Here is what you have going for you:

1) You were born to goodly parents! You notice I didn't say "perfect" parents because we still get to make our own choices. We do the best we can with our limited knowledge of how to raise children. After all, you don't come with instruction manuals! YOU, won the lottery, Alex. Your mother is a "one-in-a-million" mom. She has sacrificed countless hours to help you have such wonderful opportunities to learn and to grow; to see our big wide world. She's patient, kind and thoughtful. Have you ever noticed how much joy she brings to others through her service? She asks nothing in return.

2)You came to this earth with wonderful talents and you've used them to enrich the lives of others. You are funny, you can sing (again, you can thank me for that), you are smart! The question is, do YOU remember where those talents came from? You were given your talents by Father so you could bless the lives of others in the Gospel. Your talent is necessary to reach certain people at a point in their lives where they are looking for true happiness. How many lives do you have the potential to change because they came into contact with Alex Mortensen?

3) All through your life you've been given the tools you will need for success. You've been taught how to read the scriptures and how to pray. Were you listening? Were you paying attention to how much better things go when you do those two things?

So now, you're leaving the safe surrounding of a home filled with people who love you and entering a world where you will have, for the most part, charge of what you put into your life. Will you fill it with good things or worthless things, things that bring temporary happiness or eternal joy? That's the beauty of being an adult, it's now yours to choose.

Choose wisely, Alex, but if you make mistakes, learn from them and go on. THAT is the beauty of the Atonement of Jesus Christ! No mistake is too big or too bad to recover from. However, use the power wisely. Don't go into anything thinking, "Oh well, I'll do this or that because I can always repent tomorrow!" It's the adversary's biggest weapon and he will use it when you least expect it. As I've heard your mom say often, "Make good choices!" I echo that!

As you more seriously enter the dating world, I encourage you to treat ALL young ladies with the reverence you will treat the mother of your children. They are, each and every one, eternal daughters of God. Never take that which does not belong to you or let them give that which you have no rights to. The cost of things cheaply given or too loosely spoken is too high!

We love you more than words can describe. There is always and forever only one "first" grandchild. We are pleased with the young man you've become and can't wait to see where you are in the future.

I offer one last bit of counsel. Our mission has been such a blessing in our lives. I would not want you to feel like you are getting pushed to go on one. I can only testify that there is so much joy in being an instrument in the Lord's hands and helping people change their lives. YOU would be such a great missionary! Keep the dream alive...

Much love,

Sister Zollinger

(Grandma Vicki)

First Hand Account of the Tornado

2011-04-19T09:57:00.003-06:00

This was written by Elder Farr. I used his account because he was there, this happened to him and he tells it so well...

(I left it entirely as it was written on his blog)

April 18, 2011

hey family, first off, today I am pretty tired.. the last two days have been crazy. and we only have two hours for preparation today because we are going to the temple this weekend on the 22 so I am really excited about all of that! I am glad everything is going great with everyone, so I am probably only write this once.. so if you could forward this and make sure everyone can read it in the family, that would be great! sorry I am not writing everyone. Well on Saturday we had tornado warnings but we get them often and paid them no heed. Our whole night just fell through.. so we had an appointment at 8 right down the street. so we grabbed our umbrellas and walked down, it was raining pretty hard. so we walk down the street look around the corner, he is not there, so we start walking back home. and it stopped raining, elder Phillips chuckles and says, the calm before the storm.... hah really funny I thought. so we walk in and the lightning is amazing~!! I recorded some of it. it's like a light was being turned on and off outside. so I was recording at the door right when we got in, I was recording for about a minute and I could hear the wind... and it quickly got louder and louder I could hear it coming across the street and roofs, they say it sounds like a train.. I heard that train coming.. and elder Phillips casually says, it's a tornado.. and starts walking to the bathroom.. and I then try to shut the door, but I couldn't... the wind was to strong, so I hurry and slammed the door shut and was standing there and I could feel the wind pushing the door in, and I felt the wind coming through the door... and lightning flashing behind it... so then I run to the bathroom, I slip on the floor and crawl in and slam the door shut.. the power is out and its black in there, we hear the wind howling all through the apartment, glass just shattering the whole time.. later I find out elder Phillips was clinging to our toilet.. ha well it stops and we turn on my camera for light.. we walk out an our front window is destroyed and leaves are plastered to the walls, garbage everywhere, we had tree limbs in the house, and so we start to clean it up and call the sisters, their place is totally fine. so we move the couch, put a blanket over the window to keep out the pouring rain. we find my flashlight, and people are outside checking on people. we couldn't get out the front door, the whole wall was blown off the foundation and pinched the door shut. then water is running in through the ventilation, and lights,. then the rough falls in and it was crazy. so we have to get out the back door to go and check on the sisters. we walk back there, and we had a lot of big trees back there, and they were all blown over.. up rooted. if the tornado was 5-10 feet closer to us, we would have died and our apartment would have been destroyed.. so we walk out, water, wood everywhere I walk around kick in our front door. The house is messed up but all apartments in our circle are standing.. so that's good. so the z are coming to pick us up but our whole area is down, and our corner is blocked off on the street from downed trees and power lines, that's what was told. so we packed up our essentials and walked out we came around this corner and it was terrible.. houses were completely gone.. brick houses blown to pieces you know those pictures you see of natural disasters. yeah we were walking though one.. so we walk out and people are crying and screaming looking for their families and crying where is my house. sirens were going, lights are flashing from the cars. I know I won't forget that night... so we walked through all the debris and met up with he zollingers. we stayed with the 2nd ward elders. it was a long night. So we wake up the next day go to church for a few minutes then get called that the sisters are cleaning our stuff out because of looters are coming in.. so we head over there, this great family packed all of our stuff, and put it in their car. so we walked in, more ceiling came down, insulation all over the place. so we move what we could out, my desk and the beds and a dresser is about all we had left.. our bikes were fine. so we finished up there, and went to work helping those whoms homes are gone.. we were in white shirts and ties and cleaning out this ladies pieces of house. we worked there then went and changed when the car came with our stuff. then we went to work on members home in the area, not to bad massive trees downed. a members trailer home was completely turned and torn apart.. so we worked there and then the members show up with chainsaws, so we clear trees and debris and then I walk around the moved trailer and its terrible back there... trailers cut in half by trees, cars smashed in, trailers look like shredded cheese... so we worked from nine to five out there cleaning and moving and cutting and just doing what we can. so at five we got our stuff and moved in with the 2nd ward elders, they have a nice place so I am now in a four man apartment out of my area by 6 miles plus on bikes. They said we will be there until they fix out apartment.... so who knows how long that will be probably 2 months, if they do it right... So we moved in, set up shop and this is where we are. my gps and my clothes are all fine nothing is lost. all is well. and we are planning to go back and help with all those people who now have nothing... WE were blessed in many ways. Well I think I got most of the story.. I hope. A four man missionary apartment in Raleigh was hit and its roof was blown off.. but they weren't home so that is good. i love you!

Well love you all! love elder Farr.

Where Has Time Gone?

2011-03-24T08:38:00.001-06:00

We've been in Jacksonville, NC for almost six months now, seven in total for our mission. We love it here and the work is so rewarding. The schedule is hectic some days (daze) and relaxed on others. Sunday continues to be our favorite and our busiest. Here's the gist of it;

We are up at 6am, out the door by 7:30 for Ward Counsel (3rd Ward). Z attends a half hour of the 9:00 Sacrament meeting then leaves to pick up Marines from all of the areas of Camp Lejeune (Camp Geiger, Camp Johnson), I leave the meeting fifteen minutes later to attend another Ward Counsel (2nd Ward). Z gets back by the start of the next Sacrament (11:00) and we stay for the remainder of that ward's block of time. Afterwards, we reverse the route and take the Marine's home, unless we provide a "Break the Fast" on Fast Sunday. Total driving time for Z is almost three hours. Total gas used is half a tank. Having them all with us for Sacrament...PRICELESS! Later that evening we conduct Sacrament at the Camp Geiger chapel for those who are just coming in from 29 days of Marine Combat Training (MCT). They're totally exhausted but they come because they want to partake of the Sacrament. It's also a day we provide Priesthood blessings for those who need it. Our attendance ranges from none to seven. It IS our favorite event of our mission.

Mondays we hang out with the other missionaries for games of basketball or freedom ball (we watch, they play, we all laugh), later in the evening we have Family Home Evening with our YSA Marines. Usually they decide what they want to do and we facilitate.

On most Tuesdays we attend the MCT graduation of the Marines we met on Sunday and get all of their information so we can let their next training/duty station know they're coming. We've been really successful at doing this and it really helps the Marines know someone will be waiting for them. Tuesday nights we conduct Book of Mormon study. We love it and we've increased our own love of that book.

Wednesday is district meeting and we meet with the other Elders and Sisters to learn how to be effective missionaries. We spend the day planning on what we will do later in the week.

Thursday is our own Prep Day because we are old people and we need a full day to recuperate, however, sometimes we are called away to help someone out or make a visit.

Friday is usually pretty calm and we find ways to fill it. Sometimes we have a baptism.

Saturdays are the biggest day for baptisms and we've had opportunities to participate. Last Sunday Z got to confirm a young mom and it was quite a spiritual experience. It is ALWAYS a spiritual experience when Z gives a blessing. Sunday starts the week all over again.

We have Zone meetings in Wilmington or Kinston. We take missionaries to Raleigh and drop them off to go to other areas and we pick up the ones coming to Jacksonville. We love every minute of everyday and wish we could do this forever. We will, at least, do it again a few months after we get home.

I've noticed that when we are busy, the pain in my hip doesn't go away BUT I'm not really aware of it. I use the Jazzy (generously provided by my mother in law) when I know I'm going long distances. Otherwise I just use the cane when I'm out and about. It has improved greatly as I've been more diligent about exercise. Z was able to put my bike on stand that we bought so it's now functioning as a stationary bike. We both use it.

We know that the problems have been many at home and hope that people can realize how blessed they really are while we've been serving this mission. The sacrifices have been many for all of us. What son doesn't want to be at his mother's side when she is ailing? What grandma or grandpa can honestly say they don't miss their grandchildren? What grandparent doesn't want to hold an injured child or give a parent a break from a sick child so they can get a little rest but as we continue to serve we know we're exactly where we are meant to be. We know that our time spent here is precious and what little we spend with each of these young Marines is golden.

We only got to spend ten minutes with Lucas Pyeatt (see my FB posts) but it might have been the most important ten minutes we ever spent with anyone. He was killed two weeks after he left here to serve in Afghanistan but before he left he told Elder Zollinger that he would get active again when he got home. How prophetic were those words. He is most assuredly active now that he is HOME.

So, is what we do important? We believe that it is!

We love our family, each and every one and hope they can see how important the Gospel is in our lives. We pray for each of you and have you on our minds always. This Gospel is true and we love the part we play in it and hope to see our grandsons out here soon.

So, in a nutshell, that's what is going on in Jacksonville, NC!

Love to all,

Elder and Sister Zollinger

Biggest Loser

2011-03-24T08:36:00.002-06:00

OK, I admit it! I love the Biggest Loser. I love it because while motivating me to get off of my behind, it usually ends up being a study in the psychology of man. Here's the latest example of how we (parents) become enablers to our children. On the latest episode two people were going to be sent packing; one who fell below the red line (smallest percentage of weight lost) was going home, instantly. The other would be voted off.

Most of these couples are moms/daughters, fathers/sons, father/daughters; you get the picture. Anyway, two moms and one dad decided to throw themselves under the bus to save their kids. To do that they had to GAIN weight so their kids wouldn't fall below the red line. Now I want you too think about this on a broader scope.

As parents we often throw ourselves under the bus for our kids. We stay up all night to help with a project that's due the next day, that they could have done earlier. We run things to school because they forgot them. We run a day and night taxi. You know what I'm talking about...

So here's my point. What if life was about letting our kids fail once in awhile to learn from their mistakes? What if the parents on this show let the kids take the responsibility for losing their own weight? Why didn't the parents begin to see themselves important enough to do for themselves.

In the end it doesn't matter how much you think you need to sacrifice for our kids. At some point they need to take control of their own destiny.

This was just a thought...

Too Many!

2011-03-23T04:57:00.003-06:00

In our entire married life, I've never known this many deployed people...EVER! The wards that we serve have many active duty personnel and the comings and goings are never ending. Just recently, we lost a good number of key leadership people. We have many, MANY families who have only mom sitting in church with the family. Last Friday, we attended the farewell for our beloved Ward Mission Leader, Brother Cale. Brother Gallegos and Brother Littlefield are now in Japan and Bahrain. Sister Corey and Sister Birk left a couple of weeks ago. Next Monday, we will say farewell to three more; Brother Stone, Brother Friel (whose wife is expecting their first child in June) and Brother Horrock. And those are just the ones leaving soon. In the next few months we will lose Brother Webb, Brother Kehr and Brother Rogers...that we know of! We have another from the YSA Ward in Wilmington; Brother Phippen. Who knows how many more are leaving that we've been unable to locate or meet yet.

On a brighter note; we had the opportunity to be witnesses for one of our YSA Marines as he and his wife were married on Monday.They are a great couple...and he deploys soon!

Our mission is going well, but we never feel like we're doing enough. So, after some careful consideration, we've added a Sacrament meeting to our Sunday schedule. We'll now go to Courthouse Bay after our Sunday meetings with the Jacksonville wards. We don't mind the miles we've traveled to make pickups there but we think... NO! We FEEL that we will better serve those kids if we take the meeting to them. As students, they have little time to travel back and forth to the traditional meetings. Some of them don't even try because they have to jump through so many hoops to leave the area. We just feel that if even one or two more members can partake of the Sacrament, their chances of staying strong in the Gospel are made greater.

The time is going too fast and we've already been out for almost seven months. We've witnessed many miracles and know that many more are waiting to unfold. We continue to have challenges with our YSA programs and attendance but we know we're on the right track. We've seen lives begin to change as our YSA members take hold of the principle of repentance and take full advantage of the Atonement. It's exciting stuff!

I'll post pictures later in the day.

Much love,

P.S. I realized there's an error in the comment about not knowing so many deployed military people...I completely forgot our own 144th Evac Hospital in Desert Storm; 400 plus!

Joey. At. Temple

2011-02-02T16:44:00.007-07:00

Josephine Elizabeth Mortensen is the luckiest little girl in the whole wide world. Her life has been blessed from the very beginning by two wonderful

women; Jana and Jana's sister, Amy. But that's another story for another time.

Joey's adoption into the Mortensen family happened around the age of one. Following her adoption, Amy and Duane proceeded to get their family ready so they could go to the new Oquirrh Temple to be sealed. You see, in our faith, we believe that families can be together forever. That can only happen in a Temple by men who have Priesthood authority. (see mormon.org)

Anyway, the whole family was excited for this event. Amy made sure all the family had white clothing. It's one of those rare instances where the whole family can be in the Temple as a family so it's a pretty special thing. Joey had been learning about the Temple for quite some time and she was excited to get "married" (sealed) to her family.

The sealing room was full of most cherished friends and family. They brought the family in and Joey was beaming from ear to ear. She kept whispering, "I getting married in the Temple!" She was so excited...until they told her to come and kneel at the altar by her mom and dad. She was quite emphatic about it. THAT was NOT going to happen! First they coaxed, then they held, it went from bad to worse. Joey was just not having any of that. She screamed, she kicked, she squirmed and used every muscle she could to stay away from her mom. In fact, she grabbed Amy by the hair and rammed her head into the altar. I honestly didn't know a two year old had that much strength!

The Matron left the room for a moment and did something I've never seen and will likely never see again in my lifetime. She brought Joey ANIMAL COOKIES! AND IT DIDN'T WORK! Joey was not going to participate in the ordinance. Our dear friend, President Ron Henline was officiating and he chuckled and said, "Well, some people will likely be dragged kicking and screaming into the Celestial Kingdom!"

The Matron finally just had to wrap herself around Joey and hold her tight. Bless that woman. I'm sure she needed a long nap after that.

After the sealing was done, they released Joey and she said through gulping sobs, "I married in the Temple!"

I love that little girl. She's spunky, she's charming, she's smart...and she knows what she wants. Somewhere in this world there is a little boy being prepared for her...he better take Karate!

Family Service Projects 2010

2011-01-29T17:17:00.003-07:00

Copied from the letter the Nagel's sent at Christmas.

The hardest thing about living in Utah is dealing with the climate, especially the snow. We've learned that good coats, gloves and hats make all the difference. So it made sense that when we asked the boys to pray about what we should donate to the Christmas Box House (a charitable safe house for displaced children), they both felt impressed t say, "Coats."

We had some "groupons" for Nordstrom's Rack, so Miles, Owen and Harper each picked out a coat that would fit himself and we took them to the Christmas Box House. The receptionist took the coats and gave each boy a candy cane.

On the way home we talked about how we did this service for the sake of the kids who needed the coats and not for the candy canes. We also talked about why it's nice to do service anonymously.

MTN

Included is the following letter. I've tried to keep the integrity of the writing/punctuation/spelling intact.

Dear Grandma & Grandpa,

For our service project this year, we bought coats for the c.b.h. (christmas box house.) It was fun and exiting! But it all started with the praying. Our mom sent us in diffrent sections of the house. She told us that we would get a warm feeling of what we S (the "s" was scribbled out and (Sorry, lol) was written in parenthesis) should do. We had a warm filling we should do coats. Instantly I knew it was the holy ghost.

Miles

On the bottom of the page he wrote, "Flip it over!" and there was a wonderful drawing of a dragon.

From Amy I received the following.

Dear Mom and Dad,

What an amazing year we have had as a family. We're blessed to have a home, our jobs and each other. We have all six of our children in school...with Alex in his senior year and Joey in preschool...we are as busy as ever. But we wanted to continue our special gift to you, our gift of service.

This year we had hoped to do a sub for Santa for someone outside of our group. Unfortunately, we had a friend that found herself a single mom, after twenty plus years of marriage, at the end of November. So we scrambled to assist Santa once again for our friend that we truly love. We went about it the same way; emails, texting and of course, Facebook. We each parceled out bits and pieces of the wish lists and managed to fit in a wrapping party to finish it off. I don't know where I would be without this amazing group of women.

As a family we made two fleece blankets. Nothing fancy, nothing to show off...but warm. Our plan is to drive around and let the Holy Ghost tell us who need to be warm...and see what happens. We can't wait to see the expression of the recipient.

We continue to serve our community throughout the year. Soccer is done for the winter and will begin again in March. This will be my last season as president. It's bitter sweet. But I've already started working on a special needs soccer program in our area for players of every age and all abilities. I can't wait to start.

Honor Guard continued its tradition of honoring our Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in November with our annual Veterans Day program. This year's theme was WITH HONOR. We are already in planning mode for next year, with the idea of honoring the families left behind while their loved ones serve our country.

Our Sea Cadets received a service ribbon for volunteering throughout the community. Most recently Andrew and the other cadets laid over a hundred and fifty wreaths on the service men and women's' headstones at the cemetery near Ft Douglas. Each cadet was asked to spend a moment and reflect on the life of person they were honoring...I know it meant a lot to Drew.

The kids have participated in school food drives for the Magna Community, helped with sub for Santa at the school, performed song/dance recitals all over the place and all continue to serve in various Church callings.

Service throughout the year...I love it.

We have truly blessed with wonderful SERVICE role models

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad!

Love always,

Amy

There was a reoccurring theme for these two families and I'm pleased that they got it right. Christmas IS about love and service. I'm especially proud that they found ways to instill in their children, that when given the chance, the Holy Ghost does indeed guide. The. Best. Gift. EVER!

Naughty. Kids. Pictures.

2011-01-29T10:07:00.006-07:00

One of those NOT SO RARE moments that words fail me! These pictures say it all...

Someday we will look back and laugh with Sophia and Alivia...yeah, about the time they have children of their own and their children do the same thing. I only hope I'm still alive to see it!

Sophia. Escapes. Car.

2011-01-29T09:00:00.005-07:00

I have loved this child from the day she was born. Maybe loved her a little more because around the age of three months we found her in our care. Sophia is precocious, adventurous and just plain fun! So it is not surprising to recall what she did during one of our Army Combat Medic training sessions.

As was custom, when MSG Zollinger (Grandpa Mike) needed victims for training, he used some of his many grandchildren. It was convenient because they came in all shapes and sizes and loved to get "bloodied up" and play injured. On this occasion, Sophia (around two and a half years old) was a passenger in a van that had "collided". Her job was to just sit in her car seat and wait to be treated by a soldier/student. She had not been really given much in the way of obvious injuries. What unfolded somewhat haunts me to this day, in more ways than one.

The soldiers did a great job of triage (assessing injuries and treating according to need) and immediately assessed that Sophia wasn't in any need of immediate care. Quite simply, they moved on to more serious matters and ignored her. After a few moments, Sophia got out of the car seat, climbed out of the van, literally walking though legs, and walked away!

I got the MSG's attention and motioned, "Did you see that"? He confirmed that he's seen with the nod of his head. Sophia continued past the commotion and around the building...out of sight! Not one person had noticed her leave the scene of the accident! What if it had happened in a real situation? What, if during her escape, she had been injured by a passing car? What if someone stole her from the scene? What if...what if?

It was sometime later that I thought about that day and was struck by those events in a spiritual sense. How many of our children live day to day doing all the right things; there are no major accidents in their lives i.e. drugs, alcohol, etc. In the meantime our efforts are poured into a wayward child? And maybe, because we aren't watching, a child slips away from the "scene" to end up who knows where. Maybe they will wander through the crowd to safety, but maybe they will get hit by that car because no one noticed they'd walked into danger.

It was a lesson to me that day that "spiritual triage" is a necessary thing. Certainly, we need to put much effort into family members who are struggling but we must never lose sight of the ONE who doesn't need our care at the moment.

Thank you Sophia, for that lesson!

Dad. Family. Camping.

2011-01-26T13:42:00.004-07:00

As a young family, we (Morales') did a lot of camping. For the life of me, I don't know where my dad put all the stuff we hauled to make us somewhat comfortable. Mike and I finally bought a 10' utility trailer to haul all of our camping gear and we still have to put stuff on top of the car.

Our family had a couple of heavy canvas tents, plenty of rope, fishing gear and tools. We must have hauled food because my dad didn't own a gun so we didn't hunt for food like the pioneers. We did have some of those big, really heavy metal coolers so, yeah, we must have hauled food.

The roads aren't what they are now and either were the cars. When you went on a road trip, you always hauled plenty of water in a big canvas bag. We sure used a lot of things made of canvas. The bag was hooked to the front of the car filled with water in case the radiator overheated. The roads were just, mainly, simple highways. A trip to Yosemite (Reds Meadows and Tuolome Meadows) usually took several days. Thank goodness, or not, there was no such thing as seat belts because that meant you could crawl into a space somewhere, anywhere, and fall asleep to pass the time. In our station wagon, five kids could usually ride quite comfortably; on the floor, with the hump as a pillow, on the seat or even just in the back, except for my brother, Michael. He always sat in the middle of the front seat between my mom and dad with his chin on the dash. I think, mainly, it was to keep my dad awake. I'll have to ask Michael someday.

One of our most memorable trips to Yosemite National Park (California) was when I was probably around 10 or 12 years old. It took several days to get there and on the first night we camped at one of the Mammoth Lakes. If I recall, it was Muir Lake. Nighttime came quickly after setting up camp and I can remember how cold it was going to be that night. I knew my dad would take care of us and he did. He heated rocks over the fire and buried them in the ground under the tent. Honestly, I don't know if those tents had bottoms or not but I do know that we were warm for the night. It wasn't our luck the next day!

It was still June and the Mammoth lakes had not yet achieved optimal temperature for bathing or swimming. It didn't matter to my dad because I quite clearly remember him making us swim in that freezing water. Maybe it was our bath for the day. I wish he would have remembered the rock trick to warm up the water!

We did a lot of camping so I'm sure that my mind has forgotten the many different places we stayed relative to the stories I remember so I think I'll just tell what made our trips most memorable.

I remember a large, meandering river where we would let the bar of Ivory soap float down the river and catch it before it got away. As a child, I recall the river seemed so big and fast but looking back at it, I doubt my mom or dad would have put us in any danger.

I remember a footbridge, leading out of our campsite, that went over a small stream. Every morning we would try to catch the fish that live there; don't think we ever did.

I remember my dad, in the middle of the night, thinking that my mom was hogging his space and pushing him around in the tent, only to awaken the next day to bear tracks around the tent and a metal cooler ripped open. He was more mad that the bear had stolen our batch of homemade, Nana Mary tortillas. He followed the trail of tortillas up a hill and salvaged what he could. Lucky for the bear that my dad didn't catch up with it.

I remember my mom doing laundry in a big metal tub and a thing that looked like a big metal plunger. If I could find one of those contraptions today I would buy it in a heartbeat. The way it was put together made the water agitate like a machine. Cool!

I remember the old man who set up camp and stayed for the whole summer. His name was Mr. Chisholm and I think he was related to John Chisholm the pioneer trailblazer. He had it all! Stacks of wood to last the summer. A stove, a cot and this big, square tent setup. We spent hours listening to him tell stories. We would eat with him often. Our friendship with him didn't end just because our camping trip did. We visited him a couple of times in Los Angeles where he lived.

I remember lots of hikes! Looking back on it, I think the hikes were my moms way of getting rid of us so she could take a nap. We always took our fishing gear. I recall one time my younger sister, Judy, asking if she could carry the tackle box, then the fishing pole, then asking my dad to carry her! We also had a secret call of sorts. It was made with the hands in a cupping shape and blowing into them sounding, if you got it right, like a hoot owl. It was the way we had of not getting too far ahead or behind my dad and getting lost.

Fishing was always the greatest with my dad. Even after I started having my own kids, fishing was an enjoyable thing; especially for Mike and my dad. Fishing on a camping trip was the icing on the cake. We loved to fish! And we found a wonderful fishing trick. Follow the truck with the planter fish in it from the hatchery! And if you ran out of bait, cut open the recently caught fish and take out the undigested cheese. If you didn't have cheese, no problem. Use bread and moosh it into a dough ball! I laugh at the myriads of fishing tricks that stores try to sell you to catch the big one! Cheese and dough balls; it doesn't get any better than that.

I know that there's no way to remember all that we did and experienced but this I do know. Our parents must have loved us a lot to do what they did to give us wonderful memories of our childhood. Our lives weren't filled with fancy trips to amusement parks or glitzy vacations but we wouldn't have traded those summer days for anything. I guess that's why camping is such a big deal for me. I want my kids to remember the trips we've taken. I want the grand kids to remember the trips we've taken. Memories are the only things we get to take with us after all's said and done!

The 3 Word Journal

2011-01-26T13:27:00.004-07:00

I found this concept some time last year and was intrigued by the idea. It seemed feasible enough and so I jotted down, as they came to my mind, three words that would trigger a memory. At some point I would find time to write the memories that sprang forth from those three words. To that end, I will use this blog and begin to write the things I remember about my life. In turn, it may serve as a journal of sorts. I'm not really worried that someone, or no one, would care to read anything I would write. This is just for me and anyone who wants to come along for the ride. This time, it's just about me!

Fifteen things The 3 Word Journal will teach you how to do:

1. Record a journal entry in approximately 10 seconds

2. Recall and record all the significant experiences and lessons from your life

3. File every lesson from life by topic and have them instantly available

4. Become a far more interesting conversationalist

5. Prepare effective speeches, lessons and presentations very quickly

6. Easily write a multi-volume history of your life to leave for posterity

7. Have an endless supply of material for teaching, reminiscing, books and blogs

8. Enjoy a hobby for life that you will never tire of

9. Greatly increase your knowledge and make better decisions

10. Feel increased gratitude for what you have and find more happiness in life

11. Discover your strengths and talents and how to use them to reach your potential

12. Realize the weaknesses that are holding you back and how to overcome them

13. Understand more clearly why you feel and act the way you do

14. Set 100 life goals that will provide both direction and motivation to your life

15. Discover your personal mission in life

Sarah With the Truck

2011-01-18T06:50:00.002-07:00

Sarah came into our group when we had two or three Sarah's. She drives a truck so she became "Sarah with the truck".

Sarah had the last name Abdella when we met her. It's now Lowe. She married a wonderful man who, shortly after their wedding, was sent back to Hawaii where he's stationed. Sarah came back to Jacksonville, NC where she's stationed. They're both Marines.

Tomorrow night we're going to her battalion to bid her farewell as she deploys to Afghanistan. She's learned how to speak Pas cu (sp?) a difficult language and now she'll be one of few in her group who has mastered this language so, off she goes.

Upstairs in our apartment complex is an 18 month old little girl named Audry. Everyday my life is brightened by the pitter-patter of her little feet followed by her cheerful, "Dadeeeeee!" It happens every time her Daddy comes home. Her Daddy leaves tomorrow for a 14 month deployment to Afghanistan. He has to be there that long because there are too few trained to do what he does.

Bryan and Reba, part of our YSA group, just got engaged. He's in the same group as "Sarah with the truck".

My whole point in this is that sometimes we complain about things like the cost of gas going up, the lady in the store was soooo rude or how hot/cold it was today. We are surrounded by many, MANY military families who aren't thinking about those things today. Tomorrow their loved one is leaving.

As we've studied the Book of Mormon, it's noticeable that much of it would film like an "R" and sometimes "R" plus movie. Its pages are filled with war and bloodshed. Why, then, do we spend so much time studying its pages? Have you noticed that two of the book's greatest figures, one of them adorning every temple in the world, were military men? Mormon, by the spirit of God abridged the history of the people of the South America's. His son, Moroni, as a resurrected being, delivered them into the hands of Joseph Smith who translated them for us. Both men saw and were part of some of the worlds most atrocious battles. They were SOLDIERS of the bravest kind! AND they wrote of what they saw because they knew that we would live in a world that surrounded us on every side with the same kinds of wickedness. They wrote for us!

It's not all doom and gloom though, for, woven in every story is the message of compassion, love and a testimony of the love that our Heavenly Father has for His children. And with it, is the message that you can go on with life after war. We share that message each time we meet with our Marines. It's a really tender message...

So, "Sarah with the truck", Bryan and Kyle (AKA Dadeeeeee), Godspeed! We'll still be here when you all get back and we can joyfully hear once again, "Dadeeeeee"!

Things Our Mission Has Taught Us

2011-01-17T07:33:00.007-07:00

As I've read all the emails and blogs from our missionary friends around the world, I've found myself wondering, if we'd been in better physical health if we would have been sent somewhere more exotic or fascinating...that lasts for about two seconds because I know we're exactly where we're meant to be!

We've only been here for just over three months (we arrived 1 Oct) and we couldn't be happier or busier! We continue to build the attendance in our YSA (Young Single Adult) program and we constantly find new people to add to it.

We get a lot of calls from parents who want to make sure their sons and daughters know where the local ward house is and when meeting times are. We also get lists from the Bishops of the two wards we serve so we can go around and find out who is still in the area and who's not. Sometimes we're lucky and send the missionaries to an address and it results in lessons and a baptism. Quite simply, we love what we do...

So, here's what I think we've learned on our mission.

1) We're older than we thought we were! I've discovered that old people make lots and lots of noises; weird noises like blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing; those noises are not typically bad, until done by an old person! I feel sorry for the people upstairs!

2) While the young missionaries are in bed asleep by 10:30pm and up by 6:30am, we are not that lucky. Oh, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!

3) We must pace ourselves! I keep referring to the fact that we're getting older but the reality is, we can't escape it. In our district meeting with the young missionaries last week, our new Elder Dunn asked, "So how many Senior Citizens are serving missions"? It was a harmless enough question. I told him, "Why don't you go ask a Senior Citizen"? He had a look of, "I thought I just did"! So, we plan our activities so as not to overtax our systems.

4) As tight as money gets at the end of the month, we've never run out of what's needed to keep the car filled with gas or enough money to buy food to feed us and our friends!

5) When we listen to the spirit, we know exactly what direction to go!

6) Sometimes we have to say NO!

7) We do better when we study the scriptures rather than read them.

8) When we pray for our families about specific issues, we're better able to turn those issues over to the Lord to take care of so we can focus on the reason we're here.

9) We love what we do!

10) WE REALLY LOVE WHAT WE DO!

We've had many opportunities to work with less active Marines and watched as the Lord has helped them come back into full activity. We've watched as missionaries have taught investigators about the Gospel which led to their baptism. It is amazing to watch the light in the new member's eyes as they continue to study and learn.

Elder Zollinger drives three hours every Sunday to pick up Marines who want to go to Sunday meetings. Our schedule on Sunday is the most hectic but it's one of our favorite days. On the second and forth Sunday we start with Jacksonville 3rd Ward Council at 7:30am. We attend their Sacrament but Elder Z leaves at 9:30am to start his pickups. I leave that meeting at 9:45am to attend the Jacksonville 2nd Ward Council and then all of the meetings to follow. After all of our Church meetings we take our Marines back to their barracks (we go to three different locations at Camp Lejeune). We come home, eat a quick pb&j sandwich and load up our stuff to conduct Sacrament meeting at the Camp Geiger Chapel. Sometimes we have one person show up and sometimes we have as many as seven. It doesn't matter to us how many, it is still a powerful meeting and is the highlight of our Sabbath day.

Monday nights we hold Home Evening for YSA Marines. Again, we have anywhere from two to thirteen people in attendance. We play games, watch movies etc. The focus is on giving these great kids a chance to get away from the influences of base living.

Tuesday nights we hold Institute and are currently studying the Book of Mormon. It has really helped us with our own studies. It also keeps us on our toes!

We've added a third night and opened the doors to our apartment so the YSA's can just come and hang out. They're free to play a game, watch a movie, talk etc. It's also meant to get them off base. We're told that some of them just want to come over and cook a meal. They're really limited on what they can still do while they're on active duty. Barrack living is, simply put, NOT conducive to Gospel living. It is, however, the life they've chosen and we thank them everyday for their sacrifice and service.

We hope that you can be as excited as we are about the work that's going on here in Jacksonville, NC and all parts of the world. There's so much you can do to further the Lord's work, even from the confines of your own homes. We have learned to be bold in our speaking, even as we meet people who cross our paths during mundane things like shopping for groceries. The Gospel message is true and in it contains all we need to be happy.

Our prayers go out continually for our family and friend who have sadness or adversity in their lives, but our prayers also go out to those who have chosen to walk "uprightly before the Lord".

Congratulations to three of our grandchildren who've made good choices this past week.

Alex, congratulations on receiving the Priesthood. We really wish we could have been there to watch you pass your first Sacrament tray. Get really involved in your Deacon's Quorum!

Alivia and Dani, we are so proud that you've both chosen to be baptized. You now have the ability to really know what you should do in your life. Follow the light you've been given and go do good things in your life!

We love each of you and hope that you are making good choices.

Much love,

Elder and Sister Zollinger

Pride! Followed by a Really Good Ending!

2010-12-01T17:39:00.006-07:00

Well, as difficult as it's been to get around I finally had to swallow my pride and use two things meant for older...MUCH OLDER senior citizens! I use a motorized chair and a cane! It's embarrassing, that's all I have to say. However, it makes it possible to get around without pain and suffering. So after weighing the options this is the one that makes the most sense.

It's not too bad actually. The worse part is that Mike has to unload it every time we go anywhere. He says that it's not a problem but I feel bad for him.

As for the mission; things are going really great and we love serving here in Jacksonville. The Institute program has been split from the FHE night. We are having great success by doing that. Typically we use a round table format so it gets us away from the feeling of someone talking AT us and makes it more comfortable for sharing ideas. Our numbers for Book of Mormon study are growing each time we meet.

We have grown to love each member of our military group and appreciate the training they take to further the cause of freedom. Some of them have already been overseas and some will leave after the first of the year. It is an constant ebb and flow of the way things are here.

Jacksonville 2nd ward is comprised of mostly married Marines; many with young families. The Jacksonville 3rd ward, while also having many Marine families, is where we have the largest group of single Marines. I can't even tell you how big the wards are because, frankly, no one has a map! We just know that when we do our Sunday pickups for meetings, we usually burn about half a tank of gas. I'm always torn between, "Yea! We're picking up four people!" to "Yikes, we need to drive 25 minutes (one way) to pick up so and so from somewhere out yonder!" Z does all the driving and picking up while I attend the meetings we need to be to. It is a good arrangement...

The holiday pace is now here and I'm amazed as I watch the shopping that people are doing. I love to listen as they say things like, "Joe's gonna kill me when I get home and he sees how much I spent! He'll just have to dip into savings to cover it." And I see in her hands the latest craze...a soda making machine and a package of guitar shaped coat hooks. Go figure...well, I really did think the popcorn machine was kinda cool!

I posted the following on Facebook but wanted to repeat it because it's caused me to reflect a lot on the way we've done things at Christmas's past in the hopes of creating the "perfect" Christmas, where everyone was filled with happiness and joy...

The reality is, I find myself challenged to remember anything anyone ever got in our family that made a difference in their true state of happiness OR joy! I mean, the stores at this time of year are plastered with signs that shout, "COME BUY ME!" when the true, quiet message should be, "Come by ME!" Think about that...what if rather than getting caught up in the frenzy of what the world has convinced us we need to do at this time of year, well, what if we did as the Savior taught us to do instead; give to the poor, the homeless, the less fortunate.

I've found that my prayers lately have been centered on those who have suffered and continue to suffer the most horrendous of events; the volcano eruptions, the hurricanes and flooding and the disease that followed. I pray for the families who in this lifetime will not be blessed with a fraction of all that we've had and continue to have; comfortable homes, cars, education, plentiful food...

What if we could change it a little bit at a time? What if rather than buy that item "we can't live without" we gave a more generous Fast Offering. Imagine what true happiness and joy that would bring...it's just a thought. But it makes for a really good ending!

Happy Holy-Days from

Elder and Sister Zollinger

(no, I am not punching him in the stomach!)

Random Things...

2010-11-19T09:36:00.002-07:00

I didn't write the following. It was posted by Alex Boye; singer, member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and member of "I'm a Mormon!" on mormon.org. I just happened to see it while checking out the website. Members are encouraged to use this site to proclaim their own membership. It's way cool!

Cellphone vs Scriptures

I wonder what would happen if we treated our scriptures like we treat our cell phones? What if we carried them around in our purses or our pockets?

What if we turned back to go get them if we forgot them?

What if we flipped through them several times a day?

What if we spent an hour or more using them every day?

What if we used them to receive messages?

What if we treated them like we couldn't live without them?

What if we gave them to other kids as gifts?

What if we used them as we traveled?

What if we used them in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go..."Uh, Dude. Where are my scriptures?"

Unlike our cell phones:

One Plan DOES fit all.

Unlimited usage. No roaming charges.

You can always get reception.

You can use it in the mountains and in the tunnel.

It's free with no hidden costs.

AND you don't ever have to worry about your scriptures being disconnected because Christ has already paid the bill!

This week has been a high for us...well I know it was for me and I'm pretty sure it was for Elder Z.

This week it was our total privilege and blessing to take a young man to the mall to shop for new church clothes. He was going to be baptised and we thought how great it would be if he could show up in something more that his jeans shorts and a t-shirt. He is a young, almost completely blind twenty-one year old who has "seen" the light of the Gospel and taken hold. He is of very meager means and I know the Lord accepts his attendance in whatever he has to wear...but man, did he light up the room when he completed his baptism and came back into the room fully decked out in his new threads! To make this story more joyful, he found the Gospel by supporting his sister and HER baptism. He said he felt something right while he was sitting there for her. He took the lessons and gave up smoking instantly! AND in the words of Paul Harvey's "rest of the story"...HIS sister was introduced to the Gospel by HER friend who was recently baptised and SHE had removed all her piercings so she could take full advantage of the Atonement and put her old life behind her! It is TRUTH that caused these young people to give up their former lives to partake of the gifts of the Gospel. They are happy and moving forward in their new lives...

This is what is happening here in Jacksonville, North Carolina week after week and we're thrilled to be even a small part of it. We love what we do and feel it such a blessing to be at this place, at this time, with these people. Our testimonies grow and grow with each new day, with each reading of the Book of Mormon and we invite you, if you are not already doing so, to read the BOM with your families. Don't put it off like we did for so many years. It's not that we didn't try to get into the habit, it's just that we let life interfere.

We hope that our family will continue to try and lift each other up rather than tear each other down. As we enter into the full swing of the holidays we want to tell each member of our family that we love them and appreciate the support and prayers they extend in our behalf. And about gifts at Christmas...well, would you like to see the clothes that you helped to buy by giving up the gifts you would have received?

Much love,

Elder and Sister Zollinger

I'll Begin Again!

2010-11-03T07:05:00.002-06:00

This was so profound. These are the lyrics to a song from the musical "Scrooge". It's after he repents and begins a new life. A perfect example of what the atonement is all about. You can hear the song on iTunes. This version is by the late, great Sammy Davis Jr. I did take the liberty to add one word. It was, I feel, needed!

I'll begin again
I will build my life
I will live to know
That I fulfilled my life
I'll begin today
Throw away the past
And the future I build
Will be something that will last

I will take the time
I have left to live
And I'll give it all
That I have left to give
I will live my days
For my fellow men
And I'll live in praise
Of that moment when
I was able to begin again

I'll begin again
I will change my fate
I will show the world
That it is not too late
I will never stop
While I still have time
'Till I stand at the top
Of the mountain I must climb

I will start anew
I will make amends
And I'll make quite certain
That my story ends
On a note of hope
On a strong amen
And I'll thank the world (Lord)
And remember when
I was able to begin again

Welcome, Welcome Sabbath Morning

2010-11-01T09:53:00.003-06:00

SUNDAY! It is the busiest day of the week, naps are non-existent, we travel hither and yon, we are tired when we get home AND it is without a doubt the best day of the week! We love what we do so that definitely helps. It's the day that most visibly reflects what this mission is all about. It's about people, more specifically, young Marines. It's about families, some whose spouses have been deployed and some whose families find themselves in the middle of military life. It is always, ALWAYS about keeping the membership strong in the Gospel and in many cases lately, bringing some into the Gospel. The work is never ending and always exciting. Let me tell you about Audra and Alex.

Alexandra was the first in the group to join the Church. She did not waiver in her belief and when she made the commitment to join, she removed all of her piercings to include brow, lip and who knows what else, we weren't here at the time. She was so excited that she shared the message with her friend, Audra, and she joined. Then THEY shared the message with Audra's brother, Chris and HE will be baptised later this month. It is amazing how these three lives have been changed in such a short time AND because someone had the courage to share!

There are many who come into the chapel doors in jeans, sometimes shorts, and sometimes with tattoos and such...they are welcomed with open arms! We love our wards and we serve both the Jacksonville 2nd and 3rd Wards. We attend all of the PEC meetings, the Ward Council meetings and missionary group meetings. It is a hustle to get from one to the other and we sometimes only make it for part of each Sacrament meeting. It is all so worth it!

Yesterday will be a day not soon forgotten and I will share it in the most reverent way I can so as not to detract from the spiritual nature.

Sunday evenings, each and every week, we conduct Sacrament at Camp Geiger, one of our assigned bases. As I've shared before, we meet in the back room of the main chapel, the room with all the real stuff, like organs, pews, big screens for power point preaching etc. Our room has a small pulpit, a big screen tv, a piano AND a coffee maker! We usually have from 3 of us (that means literally 1 of them and 2 of us) to 9 of us. Yesterday we had four Marines, including one of the MCT instructor's. One young lady has been studying on her own and has made a commitment to be baptised even without having had a discussion. However, it has really weighed heavy on her mind that the priest in her Parrish told her that her soul was in jeopardy because she joined the military. After the meeting was closed we showed the dvd "Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled." At the conclusion, with tears in her eyes, she expressed gratitude for having been comforted and that her soul was intact. But that's not the end of the story. Their instructor, SSG Covey, started a conversation with them with, "Right now I am not your leader. I am your friend and a member of this Church." When he is in the field with his platoon, he conducts Sacrament for the membership so they do not miss out on those moments of peace. He explained the comfort of a Priesthood blessing and offered one to each of young people present and so they each received a blessing. As tears flowed I could not contain the joy that we all felt at this special moment, a moment that will be forever imprinted on my heart. It is moments such as these that I pause to give thanks for the privilege and blessing of being here, of doing as the Lord has asked us to do. It is all about love but more importantly, the message of our Savior's love for us...His children. We are so blessed!

Hasta Luego, Aunt Betty

2010-10-24T14:04:00.005-06:00

It's a bittersweet thing to tell of our dear, sweet Aunt Betty's passing. We rejoice at her reunion with Uncle Bob, and her family members who've gone before her but we weep at her leaving us behind; kind of like when someone takes the vacation of a lifetime and you aren't invited. Yea, it's like that...

I would love to tell you what Aunt Betty's love has meant in my life but I would need more RAM in my computer. If I were writing it by hand it would take reams of paper. So I'll whittle it down to the most meaningful events. Others will have much to say as well but in the end we will all finish with the same thing..."Aunt Betty loved me the best. I was her favorite niece/nephew!" However, the difference between me and all the others? I knew without a doubt that I was her favorite!

As far back as I can remember I was the person who Aunt Betty came to for a perm or a hairdo. I can hear her now, "Oh, just slap it up!" I was in high school so I'm not sure how it came to be that I was the one doing her hair. It certainly wasn't because I knew what I was doing but I did her hair for years.

She also knew of my love for art and when she started teaching school I would be the one who did all her drawings for her class. My mom caught on to that too and pretty soon I was doing the art for both of them. I could have made a ton of money but I didn't have the heart to take a dime. I loved doing it for both of them and it was something I did well. It was one of the ways I could pay them both back for the trouble I would eventually cause them both.

When I entered college I rebelled! Oh boy did I! Only one time in my life did I ever tell my mom that I hated her. In the end I moved out and it was downhill from there. It was the toughest experience of my life. After being on my own for too long I ended up at at Grandma Rod's but I think Aunt Betty took pity on Grandma and took me to live at her house.

I only remember Tim, Priscilla and Margaret being there. By that time Zora was already on her own I think. Funny, I don't ever recall feeling out of place or unwanted in that house. Aunt Betty treated me with kindness and always made sure I was included in the family events. She even trusted me enough to drive her VW van home from football games. And it was a new van (well, that's how I remember it). The point is, Aunt Betty always had a way of making me feel like I was worth something.

Later, when I started having children, Aunt Betty was always there with my mom to help with cooking and caring for the new baby. She did that for every baby until we moved up to the Bay Area. She also treated my family, particularly my girls, special and in turn they loved to visit her. She loved it when they took the time to take new little ones to see her when they were in California. After my mom and dad were both gone, the girls still made it a point to visit when they could. In turn, there was always something special in the mail at Christmas time and it was always appreciated.

There is just no way to convey what Aunt Betty has meant to all of us and in time we will all be able to tell her ourselves. That is the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the faith that our existence does not end with death. In time we will all be together again. It would be an unbearable thing if it were not so.

So, hasta luego, Aunt Betty; not good bye, but see you in a little while. We know it's true!

Hip-Hip Hooray!

2010-10-18T10:38:00.004-06:00

As you may or may not know, I have a bad hip! It didn't start causing me so much pain until Z and I said out loud, "Let's put in our mission papers!" It was downhill from there for our mortal bodies. Z's knee got worse and he's been faithfully doing his PT each morning. But my hip...MY HIP has caused me so more pain in the last three months that ever in my life...until now!

Let me back up a little. I've been going to a chiropractor and an orthopedic specialist for a few months now in the hopes that the hip issue could be resolved. I've endured some pretty painful procedures to find our what was actually wrong with it. "Your hip joint is inflamed!" said the ortho doc. "You're way out of alignment" said the chiropractor. "Tell me something I DON"T know!" said I. It's been so frustrating and I was so worried about entering the mission home in such pitiful shape, not to mention all the other calamities that were going on in our family (see previous posts).

Anyway, the pain got so bad with all the walking in the mission home that I usually went to bed in tears. After about a week of that, I swallowed my pride and asked for a Priesthood blessing and was given a wonderful one at the hands of my faithful husband, assisted by our dear friend Elder Wheeler, a member of our small group. It promised if I was faithful in the work (missionary) I would be able to do all that I needed to do and the hip wouldn't be a problem. It didn't say that the pain would go away necessarily but that I would be able to do the work that I'd been called to do.

I can't tell you that the pain went away, what I can tell you is that we were able to finish getting ready to leave for our mission and I could bare the pain. In fact the entire trip was enjoyable and except for a few kinks after driving for a couple of hours, it was OK.

Yesterday we conducted Sacrament at Camp Geiger after attending two separate ward Sacraments and a flurry of Bishopric meetings. That was followed by a dinner invitation at Brother and Sister Kehr's home with their family and a couple of friends. It was a very full day as all of our Sunday's have been. As we were walking out of the small chapel at Camp Geiger and having enjoyed a very spiritual day, I suddenly realized that I had been the recipient of a miracle, no, not just a miracle, a HUGE miracle! I realized I had barely limped the entire day and I wasn't in pain! I know that by doing the Lord's work and putting the needs of our mission first, I was blessed as I'd been promised.

I'm so grateful for each and every trial and joy this mission is bringing to our lives. We've been able to participate in two baptisms; the second one just last Wednesday. Her name is Audrey and she was brought into the Gospel by her friend. When I think of the influence that her friend had I'm blown away. Why are adults so afraid to invite others to partake of this wonderful gift?

We love being here in North Carolina and everyday is a new experience. We've met so many great people in and out of the Church and know this is where we're meant to be. The Marines we work with are an outstanding, faithful little "band of brothers/sisters" and it's great to be with them.

This will have to do for now, but I want my family to know that while we are here, we pray for each and every one of them to grow in our absence. We know the challenges are overwhelming at times...no, a lot of the time, but we would encourage those of you who aren't doing it, to read the BOM and get on your knees often. The Lord is aware of your trials and your pain. Remember...HE FELT ALL THAT YOU FEEL NOW! What a gift we've all been given.

We love you...Joy in the Journey!

Elder Dad and Sister Mom

The pictures are of the beautiful North Carolina coast, Sister Bowers and Sister Felton at Audrey's baptism, Elder Z and Sister Z enjoying the last of the warm weather at the beach. It was over 75*...a very nice day, indeed! And graduation from MCT at Camp Lejeune.

Beginning of Second Week 10/10/10

2010-10-10T17:50:00.005-06:00

What a fantastic Sabbath day it has been; two ward sacraments, two relief societies and a sacrament meeting at Camp Geiger with the largest attendance they've ever had. We had seven Marines and four missionaries in the meeting. I was so humbled by the simplicity of the meeting and met some fine young men and women. Two of the young women are non-members who listened to an overview of the church and one of them wants to be baptised (she has been learning about the church for awhile) and the other wants to know more. One of the young men was a member from Mongolia who is here to learn about the U.S. military and how to better train their soldiers. His conversion story is amazing. Another member of the group is a Marine combat trainer. He's been deployed six times! I grateful for those who serve faithfully both in church and for country.

The highlight of my day was having a young man approach me after Sunday school and ask me if I knew an Alicia Zollinger who has a daughter named Charley. "I sure do!" I replied. "They are my daughter and granddaughter!" Well he was so excited to hear that because it seems that he used to work with Alicia at Smith's and even attended Charley's first birthday party with his parents. He's a great kid and so I took a picture of him with Elder Zollinger and me as a surprise for Alicia. I knew it would make her day; indeed it did! BTW, his name is Andrew Horrocks. Alicia likes him a lot and told me to be extra nice to him!

I'm so grateful to be here in Jacksonville, NC. I know that how ever hard it will become and how ever much my family will endure in our absence, we are meant to be here doing the Lord's work and we will all be blessed. I wasn't sure we'd make it here; with my bad hip and Elder Zollinger's bad knee it would have been so easy to just throw our hands in the air and call it quits. The pain isn't gone but everyday I'm blessed to be able to do what I need to do and put thoughts about my discomfort to the back burner. I remind myself that the Savior endured so much more; if He could endure His pain, could I do less?

Much love,

Elder and Sister Zollinger

North Carolina Raleigh Mission- Military Relations

North Carolina

2010-10-07T06:52:00.012-06:00

We've only been here for one week and yet feel very busy. The couple that we're replacing, Elder and Sister Madsen, have been very good about teaching us the ropes as Military Relations missionaries. There is a lot we aren't allowed to do at Camp Lejeune (pronounced Lejerne-it's French) so we need to be very carefull about following the rules. Our assignment is to support single (YSA) Marines while they are here for training. We wear no badges while on base and unless we have a set appointment with someone specific, we don't discuss the Gospel. The exception is when we conduct Sacrament at Camp Geiger. We got our first opportunity to conduct Sacrament last Sunday.

After meeting the Chaplain, his wife (who sings beautifully while playing the piano) and his daughter, we waited for our little group to arrive. Little is the operative word here. We will have as many as zero to 5 or 6. Last Sunday we had 2 show up. For the first time I felt like I was in a Branch. The other room sounded like a loud revival meeting while our meeting was just a few of us with small voices, to say the least. However I felt such an overwhelming feeling that while the world is drawn away by loud music and religion wearing a mask of "fun and good times", we are led by the quietness of the Holy Spirit and preach a Gospel of simplicity and truth.

Erin was one of our attendees and we were able to attend her graduation on Tuesday. It was quite impressive. All those sharp Marines!

I think from here on out I'll take the example of our good friends Elder and Sister Rush from Whidbey Island, WA and make short posts rather than wax poetic. So...

Wednesday we met with the missionaries for District training. What a fun group they are as you can see by the picture. They had five cameras set up to use a timer. You should see them scramble to get into place.

They are from left to right Elder Brockbank, Elder Petersen, Sister Zollinger, Elder Zollinger, Sister Bowers, Sister Felton, and the two DL's Elder's Freeman and Farrer

We finished out the week doing the following; Elder Zollinger assisted in giving a blessing to a young Marine who had blown a hole almost through his hand. His dad called Church headquarters and got our name. We had a chance later to meet his mom who came to be with him. His dad will get here on Sunday (10/10) and probably take him to Pensacola, FL for further treatment. There is no guarantee that he will be able to again do the job he was training for, but the Lord may have other plans for him.

The young Elders are moving out of their apartment so our trailer was a big help in moving all the furniture out of the apartment. What a blessing that little red trailer has been to our family and now the mission.

The highlight of the day was the baptism of Garrett Sattoff. He's a twenty-two year old Marine. He was baptized by Brother Cale. We found it amusing to walk in and see a heavily tatooed man and immediately thought he was the one getting baptized. Well he's the one who performed the baptism. That's Garrett on the left and Brother Cale (Exec Sec).

It's been a very good week! We're lookin forward to flying solo after the Madsen't leave on Monday. I'm not one bit worried about our ability to do this work. We have, after all, been preparing for it for a long, long time!

Much love,

Sister Zollinger

117 Cordell Dr

Jacksonville, NC 28540

BTW, we love our apartment, lots of room for the occasional visitor!

Almost There

2010-09-30T08:19:00.002-06:00

What a ride! We finally got on the road twelve hours later than we'd hoped. I can't believe that it took so long to clean out one room. But finally, we got going and hit Parley's Canyon at 7:30pm. We had wanted to drive just six to eight hours a day but that first leg started out so far behind that we would have been checking into a hotel for just four or five hours so we drove until 5:30am (Tuesday), slept in a rest stop for a couple of hours and got back on the road for the seven and a half hour drive to Cathrin and Jay Hales home in St Joseph, MO. That drive caught us up for the rest of the trip.

Cathrin is my sister! We say that one of us was born into the wrong family and we should have been born twins. Our friendship goes back twenty years beginning with Desert Storm. Her husband was an officer, mine was enlisted. In the military, you don't mix officer's with enlisted. It is a culture of class distinction. It didn't matter to either of us OR our husbands. We just had the greatest time and we still, to this day, remain "sisters".

We spent a wonderful time with all the Hales' clan to include the spouses and grandchildren. It felt like home and I felt a pang of sadness that we'd be gone for a long time from our own children/grandchildren. I think that it helped that each of their grandchildren had a counter-part in our family. For example; they have James, we have Owen. When I watched James I realized quickly that he and Owen (Nagle) were so much alike. The evening went something like this...
Me: "Is your name Owen?"
James: "No, it's James!"
Me: "Are you sure, because you sound like an Owen?"
James: "No, my...name...is...James!"
That went on all evening as I teased him and he remained firm in his answer, "My name is James!"
At the end of the evening, as he got ready to leave I asked him, "So, Owen are you going home?" to which he responded without even missing a beat, "Yes!"
It was the laugh of the evening! Thanks, "Owen"...

We left Hales' at 10:00am on Wednesday and drove through Missouri, part of Illinois and ended up in the small town of Dale, Indiana. It's located near the town of Santa Claus. I would be excited if it were not still September...
We hope to make it to Raleigh, NC this evening but after watching the news we're not sure if that will happen. It seems that the East if suffering with huge amounts of rain and are having a problem with flooding and wet roads. So, we'll travel while the sun shines and then see what happens from there. We've been blessed with alertness and, get this, little pain with my hip. I've only taken one Ibu 800 ONE TIME and I'm traveling in relative comfort. Yes, we're blessed!

We do have an update for Trevor. It seems that after his visit with the Dr. yesterday, he has fluid built up in his lungs. He also has (as Alicia put it) a gnarly sinus infection. They've put him on antibiotics to try and clear it up and he'll be using a respiratory apparatus to build his breathing strength. If that doesn't help, back to Primary Children's for more aggressive treatment. To add insult to injury, he hasn't added much weight to his skinny frame. The stress of all that's going on has caused him to lose some of his hair and mess up his skin. HOWEVER, he is alive and the surgery to the jaw is stable.

It seems that the insurance company for the driver of the truck that hit him has been less than cooperative and information has not been provided in a timely manner. Alicia finally had to hire an attorney (McConkie) to help her. The bills are now beginning to come in. The first one was for $39,ooo PLUS. And that was just for the first three days/daze and didn't include the helicopter or the ambulance (which took him from the street to the landing zone, just 5o yards away! We told Alicia, as did the attorney, "Your job is to take care of Trevor. We'll take care of the medical bills." Great advice!

Just getting ready to leave for the last leg of the trip. Thanks for the continuing prayers in behalf of our family and for us.

Much love,
Elder and Sister Zollinger

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

2010-09-23T08:09:00.002-06:00

We knew that we would have a rough time of it this week, the week between leaving the MTC (that comfort zone where evil can't get into) and getting to North Carolina (where we have the relative safe surroundings of a mission zone). This was the adversary's last chance to get us to call it quits and stay home!

After Trevor's tumultuous accident last month (with a recovery that will extend to next month and beyond), my blasted hip which causes me enough pain that I've resorted to borrowing my mother-in-laws power chair (much to her delight because she can't be forced to use it herself), Mike's knee (injured while still on active duty) and the huge, seemingly overwhelming task of getting our stuff packed and put away or loaded onto our trailer, it seems that he has resorted to throwing fireballs at our feet! I'm talking BIG fireballs! If there is anything that will cause us to even think about not going on the mission to which we've been called, it will have something to do with our grandchildren and he knows it!

On Tuesday we were blessed to have Sara and Rachel come and give us a hand clearing out our bedroom and basement. Even though I'm not a pack rat, there was still so much junk to take care of. I think I'll take my friend, Bonnie Whitehead's lead and get rid of the books I've already read and won't read again. Anyway, just as we were calling it quits for the day, we heard a loud wail. Apparently Emily had fallen off of the top (4 1/2 ft) of our Total Gym, landing on the back of her head on the hardwood living room floor. I really didn't think much of it and didn't even go up stairs to see how she was. What a loving Grandma I am.

Break for a glimpse backward...when my kids would cut themselves I would tell them to bleed outside! I was working at Fred Meyer one day cashiering when one of my kids called me. The call went something like this.

Me- "Are they bleeding inside?"

Kid- "No"

Me- "OK, I'll call you back"

Old Man waiting to be checked out- "Wow, internal bleeding! That can be pretty serious."

Me (after pausing to think about what he'd said)- "Oh no. I just wanted to make sure they weren't bleeding in the house!"

Anyway, I wasn't too concerned...until Rachel called us from her car on her way home. Apparently Emily's injury was worse than any of us thought. She lost her vision and couldn't see her mom. She was vomiting and having difficulty staying awake. Poor Luke was charged with the task of keeping Emily awake and keeping the baby's binky in her mouth. All the while Rachel was trying to find Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful with directions from her dad and me who by this time had jumped in the car to meet her. Emily was freaking out, her mom was freaking out and the whole time I was just thinking about poor Luke!

In the event that we couldn't get to the hospital in a timely manner, we called Chuck (Mike's brother who lives close to the hospital) to give Rachel a hand in case she needed help. We didn't want Emily to have to wait for Grandpa to give her a blessing if she needed one before they treated her or sent her up to Primary Children's Medical Center. Chuck called his son, Jonathan (a newly ordained Elder) to meet him there. We did get there just after Rachel and Chuck. After they got Emily settled a bit they let the three men into the room to give her a blessing. Jonathan got to participate in his first blessing. I hope he recorded it in his journal. It meant a lot to us that he was able to do it. I find it important to say that I would be grateful if all the men in our family would keep themselves worthy to give blessings. That power is the power to move mountains. It has certainly been of benefit to us!

We were in the waiting room for about 4 or 5 hours and boy! did my hip feel it! What looked like a comfortable chair ended up feeling like a hard boulder! And poor Morgan, she knew she wasn't in her own mom's arms or her own bed. The poor thing didn't sleep for more than 15 minutes. It was worth it though because Em's head CT showed up clear. Mike later said he wished sometimes that they would let the doctor's do the testing before the blessing just to see a miracle happen! Anyway, even though they couldn't get her to stop vomiting completely, they let her go home. She said, "Grandma, I feel much better now!" For that I am thankful!

Now, about Isaac...it seems that he's been cursed with asthma! All of the smoke in the air from the fires in Herriman have wreaked havoc on his little lungs. Jana took him up to Primary Children's Medical Center (I will henceforth call it PCMC) and they put him on a nebulizer to help him breathe. They sent him home with a portable unit but it didn't seem to be doing much good so his mom took him back to the hospital and that's where he spent the night. If, while sleeping, he can't keep his oxygen level up around 90% then they have to monitor him. So there he is! Mom spent the day with him and dad spent the night with him. I feel sorry for them both but mostly for baby Isaac.

As I said earlier, he is trying to hit us where it hurts...through our family! However, we will prevail! We have more power in our weak little (aaannnddd not so little bodies) than he will ever have!

While we were in the MTC I had an opportunity to hear Elaine Dalton, President of the Young Women's Organization, speak in our Relief Society. I always find her wonderful to listen to but more than that her talk hit its mark and I found myself jotting the following in my notebook.

After we decided to go on a mission he sent stumbling blocks.

After we received our call he threw fire at our feet.

Today we have the faith to walk with Him barefoot across the coals!

(I want to point out the use of the big and little "h"...they are different people, you know!)

I also want to include the following statement from our beloved Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley.

"Faith in something greater than ourselves enables us to do that which we have said we'll do, to press forward when we are tired or hurt or afraid, to keep going when the challenge seems overwhelming and the course is entirely uncertain."

We ARE going on a mission. We WILL put aside the worries of home and family (all the while praying for their wellbeing). We WILL NOT allow our health issues to consume our minds.We WILL serve the soldiers and people of Camp Lejeune. AND...we WILL love every minute of it! WE WIN!

That Which Does Not Kill Us...

2010-09-15T19:35:00.004-06:00

Makes us stronger!

I was going to try and journal our MTC experience everyday but the truth is by the time we got back to the room (usually right after dinner at 6:30pm) I studied for a bit and then went to bed by 8:00pm. Classes were vigorous and wonderful but the chairs were murder on the hip. I lived on pain pills but the walking to and from all of the study rooms and our room were just too much! I'm so disappointed that the painful injection I got the Thursday before had no effect at all and now I'm left wondering how I'll survive the rigors of a full time mission. I'm totally going to rely on the blessings I've received to be able to fulfill my desire to serve. I'll leave it at that and go forward in faith that I'll be able to make it!

I don't know where to continue with our MTC story. Our daily instructors, young returned missionaries, were so great. We had one of the biggest Senior groups (40 couples and 1 single sister) and they split us into about eight districts (5 couples per district). I would have never imagined the love that was shared in each district. We became family! These are people who we will think about for the rest of our lives as dear friends. I know now why young missionaries like to keep in touch with each other long after their service ends.

Anyway, we learned new methods of teaching and have come to understand the importance of the scriptures. Mike and I have very different teaching styles; he likes to prepare way in advance and I don't! I'm much better at the "feeling" style of teaching meaning, I like to prepare but am well aware that things can change midstream. We were taught "teach people, not lessons" and I feel that's where my strength lies. However, Mike and I can balance the two styles sucessfully, I think.

Food at the MTC is plentiful! And that's not a good thing. After receiving a "health" class on eating healthy and portion control, we found it really odd that the food at the cafeteria was heavy on carbs and portions were way too big. I think it was done to feed those young folks who weren't going to recognize much of what they were served once they hit the mission field OR the young men and women burned it off running to and fro. It seems that the only way to get from point A to B was to run! Oh to be young again and pain free!

It would be hard to describe all we learned and the feelings we had while in that sacred place. It seems as though Satan has no power on those hallowed grounds and the peace of the surroundings was humbling. I wish everyone could have that experience. Mostly I want to impress on my grandsons and maybe my granddaughters, the importance that the Gospel has played in our lives and why we would desire them all to work towards serving our Father in Heaven in this work.

As Mike and I continue on our journey in this endeavor we encourage each family member who is able to work to become missionaries. It is the most important thing we've ever done and we know our family will be blessed because of it.

Senior Means OLD!

2010-09-08T18:06:00.003-06:00

We just completed day 3 of our missionary training and we are exhausted! We get up at 6:00am, eat breakfast at 7:30am, hit the classroom until lunch at 12:00pm, back to class at 1:30pm and finish by 4:30pm, dinner at 5:00pm and bed by 8:00pm! I know that sounds pretty cushey for most of you but for Elder and Sister Zollinger and 90% of the couples in the class, it's grueling...and we love it!

Not having done this before we were pretty green coming into it all. Some of the couples have served as many as two and three times before so they kind of knew the drill. It's all exciting and a little scary. It's not that we don't know the material, it's mostly that we need to begin to "teach the people" rather than "teach a lesson". There is a huge difference in concept.

We begin class time with instructions on how to teach the lesson/concept. Then we break into small groups. Dad is the "district leader" of our group. We love our group; the Wheeler's (called to the Ohio Akron Mission), the Pattee's (San Salvador Belize Mission), the Howell's (Africa Congo Mission) and the Weber's (Samoa Mission). We have two trainers (Brother Sillitoe and Brother Johnson), returned missionaries, who lead our small group class everyday. We've really grown to love our group and parting will be sad, but we'll all be prepared to do what we've been training to do.

I'll have to make time on our prep day to write more because evenings are meant to study. Leaving family in the care of others is difficult but Trevor's on the mend and we have to continue in the faith that the ward is taking care of him and his family. We love what we're doing and feel that the time is right in spite of the challenges. We definitely have much to write home about!

Much love,
Elder and Sister Zollinger

Rough Go

2010-09-04T10:44:00.003-06:00

It will be a learning process; to find things Trevor can eat, that will get him healthy AND that he will enjoy eating! I've made him a book of sorts with information taken from various internet sites pertaining to "wired jaw" eating (sipping). The possibilities are pretty endless IF you have and open mind and an experimenting type brain, which Trevor has. Well, not so much the open mind as the experimenting type brain. The good news is he likes to cook and he likes to make smoothies. He will be OK.

Trevor's first night home was, to say the least, difficult. We're all tired but mostly sad to see him struggle with the pain and discomfort of less than adequate sleeping conditions. We thought we'd be able to get a recliner of some type but the funding for such is pretty sparse so we'll make do with lots of pillows. Hopefully each passing day will improve his condition.

Mike and I (maybe mostly me) feel less than prepared to go into the MTC (missionary training center) on Monday. We were unable to get any of the things done that we felt needed to be done i.e. clean out garage, de-junk and put things in one storage area, make sure our home was ready for winter and make it possible for Alicia's family to be in a designated living area. I've also been trying to get my clothes ready to go and am a little envious (actually I'm a lot envious) that Mike's stuff was so easy to get together. Suits and white shirts with ties, shoes and socks is definitely soooo much easier to round up. I, on the other hand, require skirts and blouses (easy to care for), stockings and shoes; women just need more to live! It's been hard to find suitable skirts that are long enough and not crazy wild in print or color. D.I. (the church equivalent of Goodwill or Salvation Army) has been, thus far, my best friend! I'm grateful to all those ladies who can't do without a new wardrobe year after year! I keep trying to remember that we will have a little time to work on all of this before we leave home on the 26th of September. After that...well after that we can't worry about it.

I posted a quote on FB this morning, from our beloved prophet Gordon B. Hinckley and found it to be what I needed to read and am grateful for its wisdom.

"Faith in something greater than ourselves enables us to do what we have said we'll do, to press forward when we are tired or hurt or afraid, to keep going when the challenge seems overwhelming and the course is entirely uncertain."

Joy in the journey...amen!

Life!

2010-09-02T15:29:00.004-06:00

One of the basic principles in life is the principle of opposition in all things. It's the part of the plan that teaches us how it's possible to have joy because we have known pain. Where am I going with this; this week we experienced pain, last week we experienced joy. With those two events we found "joy in the journey".

Baby Morgan was born last Saturday, August 21, 2010 and weighed a mere 6 lbs 2 oz and measured 18 1/2 inches. She made her entrance at 3:37 in the afternoon to loving parents, Jamie and Rachel (Zollinger) Moroz. I'm writing this for Morgan so she doesn't ever feel lost in the shuffle of Trevor's accident.

Morgan joins the previous 23 grandchildren. Alex, the oldest, has already grown to manhood as he will be 18 yrs old in October. Where has time gone? We have all shapes, sizes and ages. We have blonds, brunettes and a red head. We have blue eyes, brown eyes and hazel eyes. And we love them all. We even had the wonderful privilege of adding one to our family who came to us ready made and became a legal Zollinger several years ago. It was fun to see his excited face when he walked into Lake Ridge Elementary to make the announcement to his grandma, who worked in the office, so she could change his records; Alexander Forbes ZOLLINGER. We've been so very lucky that for the most part they are all healthy. Even the smallest ones who came early have grown to healthy stature. Only one little one did not stay with us for more than a half and hour. Michae Shae Zollinger was born at just 5 1/2 months and she left us; she didn't need to stay longer, she had accomplished all she needed to.

The miracle of life never ceases to amaze me and I will never tire of watching newborns enter this world. The greatest miracle, and the one I want to point out to each of my grandchildren is this. You were born at this time, in this country, in our family because you are one of our Heavenly Father's choicest, most valiant, most prepared for the battle. He saved you to be here right now...this is YOUR time.

Choices are always difficult; remember the law of opposition is in play. However, the choice to trust in Him makes all of those choices easier. I will end this by listing all of you by name and tell you how much we love each of you; your humor, your obnoxiousness, your antics, we love it all and the challenges you bring. So here it goes and I hope I don't forget anyone.

Amy (Zollinger) and Duane Mortensen's Family

Alexander Duane

Gabriel Michael

Samuel Alton

Andrew Bryant

Danielle Yvonne

Josephine Elizabeth

Michael Zollinger's Family

Micha Shae

Taylor Jo Gibbons

Sara (Zollinger) and Matt Nagel

Miles Thomas

Owen Michael

Harper Eugene

Henry Stanton

Scott and Lisa Zollinger's Family

Alexander Forbes Zollinger

Cassadee Janae

Kari Rochelle

Alicia Zollinger's Family

Trevor Willard

Kyle Scott

Charley Marie Pustyak

Rachel (Zollinger) and Jamie Moroz Family

Luke Manning Zollinger Moroz

Emily

Morgan

Kent- still waiting, get a move on

Jana (Zollinger) and Christopher Escobar's Family

Alivia Victoria Zollinger

Sophia Ann Zollinger

Isaac Enrique

And there you have it! Welcome baby Morgan, I know you'll add to the excitement; can't wait to see who you become!

For Trevor

2010-09-02T07:04:00.002-06:00

Wednesday, 1 September 2010- This first part of today's journal is all about me! You know my hip has been causing me lots of grief over the past several months and I've made lots of visits to the chiropractor and then the orthopedic doctor. I've been pushed, pulled and twisted like a pretzel. I've had a procedure done on the hip that was so painful that I'd rather have had a baby. THAT is not an exaggeration! Lying on a rock hard table on your back is not the best position for someone with a bad hip. Add to that the dye they inject to the joint and the pressure it causes, a painful pressure I might add; let's just say an arthrogram is now on my list of "you'll have to knock me out first" procedures. At least it allowed us to see that the hip, while hip dysplasia isn't a good thing, was not injured but the joint was really inflamed; don't know why. I was given a pain shot which allowed me to function pretty much pain free for several weeks. The good new; I was able to walk on the treadmill. The bad news; just because you don't have pain, you shouldn't work like everything is normal and overdo. Apparently, I overdid it and I'm paying for it now. I've been in a lot of pain for the last few weeks and it's taken its toll i.e sleepless nights, not as much fun camping because I couldn't do all the fun camping things, worrying about what it would mean to our mission.

Today I went back in to the hospital for another shot to the hip. Before I went in I took some meds to help with the pain. I told the doctor who sent me in for the shot, "Make me happy, I want drugs!" Well, I got drugs; vallium to make me calm and hydrocodone to relieve the pain. While the vallium did space me out a little, the hydrocode made me nauseated and I spent the rest of the day just really sick. The pain shot to the hip; just as painful as the first procedure! They told me the relief could last up to three months. Now I've learned from the first time not to overdo, but at the same time I will have it in the back of head, pain from walking or pain from shot? So visiting you today was miserable for me but how could I not?

Grandpa and I went to the hospital around 5pm because your surgery was scheduled for 6pm. Upon arrival we found out that the time was changed to 7:30pm. They prepped you for surgery and I won't tell you much of what they did. Suffice it to say that in order to have a clean lower system they assisted you by giving you a solution placed by tube where "the sun don't shine!" And we got a chuckle as Kyle asked, "Is that the stuff in the bag what they're putting in or the stuff they got out?" I just learned another use for molasses! Yes, I said molasses! Finally, they wheeled you out with your entourage in tow and we parted company after saying our goodbyes and good lucks. We got a call from the surgical nurse that they had to reinsert the NJ and surgery didn't start until 8:30pm. We groaned because if it was to take 2-4 hours then it was really going to be a long night. Your mom fell asleep folded in half with her head in her lap (I have no idea how she did THAT)! I tried to rid myself of my ever present nausea by laying in the fold out chair bed. After awhile your mom, Grandpa, Kyle and Amy (who'd come to sit with us), left me alone in the room. A doctor came into the room at 9:30pm and I thought he was there to give us a report. It was the surgeon and he came to tell us the operation was done! WOW!

So here's what they did. First let me backtrack and tell you that you neck had been earlier cleared of injury and if you wanted to you could take off the neck brace. You didn't want to; more comfortable for your jaw to keep it on. Anyway, they put in two small stainless steel plates, one on each side of the break. They put rubber bands on your existing braces to keep it all in place so that meant no wiring your jaw together. As far as the NJ tube, we're a little confused who told us they had to replace it because that wasn't the case. You were in a lot of pain but after they got you settled they would give you more meds. We left you in good hands and even your mom was comfortable about leaving you to go home to a real bed to get some much needed sleep. She did, however, ask your grandpa to stay with you. He was a much willing volunteer! Grandpa would move the heavens for any of his family who needed him so it wasn't much of a sacrifice; he loves you so!

When I got home, I found it difficult to shake the nausea. I think I'll opt out of using the hydrocode from here on out and put up with the remainder of the pain from the injection. It should all be good by tomorrow.

Thursday, 2 September- I was up by 7am and tried to write the above entry but it became clear that I was still suffering from a car sick type nausea so I left it undone and went back to bed. I just woke up (10:30am) and feel a little better but will now leave my part of the story to share some really good news.

I called Grandpa and he says you woke up at 2:30am and played video games and watched t.v. He says later in the morning you wanted to get up and go for a wheelchair ride but they couldn't find a wheelchair. The best news is they removed the feeding tube (NJ) and you sipped your first liquid from a straw; Gatorade. Next they'll try some clear soup. You've been taken off some of the other monitors so you're a little freer to move around. They are trying to get you home by this afternoon and into the care of your family. So I'll put this writing aside and try to make ready for your return and the lines of friends and well wishers that will be here. And I'm sure you'll do your best with those puppy dog eyes to put on a show for the girls!

I don't know if you really understand why you sit here this day. I'll do my best to remind you. You received two Priesthood blessings; one shortly after you got into your room and one the day before the surgery. Both times the blessing stated that a) you would heal quickly and fully and b) that your caregivers would be prompted to know what to do. Is there any doubt that those two things have, indeed, come to pass? I say, "NO! There is no doubt! To the very core of my being, without reservation, I say to you now. I know you are here, alive, because of the power in the hands of the men who gave that blessing. Here is another thing I want you to know. We pray for our family everyday that each of you will hold fast to the things you've been taught, that you will remember who you are and why you are all so special. Trevor, I would leave you with the reminder that your talents, your quality to make those around you (well, maybe mostly your friends and not so much your family) feel special. You were blessed to be especially smart. Every one of those gifts come from a loving and ever present Father in Heaven. He has, perhaps, used this knock on the head to remind you of your duties. You need to fulfill your promises (covenants) to Him to take full advantage of all the blessings He has in store for you. Don't waste anymore time harboring feelings of anger towards those who you feel have let you down. Relish in the joy of those around you who fill your life with their love. More than that, begin anew to rebuild a loving relationship with your mom, brother and sister. Dedicate yourself to being the kind of family you always say you want. Do your part to make it happen. I would encourage you to go morning and night and give thanks for all that you have and use this experience to refocus on that which is important; getting back home to Him. I'm looking forward to seeing where each of us will go from here. On Monday Grandpa and I leave for the mission home. I know we'll leave you in good hands. How do I know? I've prayed it so! I love you...INFINITY!

For Trevor

2010-08-31T23:43:00.006-06:00

Tuesday, 31 August 2010- Well, it was with some disappointment that we got to the hospital so we could spend some time with you before you went to surgery to repair your jaw. They postponed it because you're still a little unstable with your feedings and nausea. The really cool thing is that earlier in the day Kyle told your mom that he didn't feel right about the surgery happening today. When your mom met with the nurses they told her that the surgeon didn't feel right about the surgery happening today. Coincidence or the Hand of God? You did receive a blessing that your caregivers would know what to do. So now your surgery has been rescheduled for tomorrow evening. It will be another late night.

Today we didn't get up to the hospital until around noon and when we arrived you were more awake than you've been in the last four days. You had more people visit today too. Grandma, Cherie, Dean and Rene came and spent several hours with you as well as Kris and Emily Gould and Diane Pollock. You were more yourself and that was wonderful to see. Earlier Grandpa and I got you into a wheelchair and took you to the Forever Young room. Years ago when Steve Young was a star quarterback at BYU and the San Francisco 49ers he donated money to build a play area for patients at PCMC. It's really cool. The first thing you did was challenge Grandpa to a game of Foosball. He had to play with one hand just like you and

you did beat him. After awhile we moved to the video game area and you tried to play a Sims game. It was disappointing that the computer didn't work. We headed back to the room but we detoured a little because I wanted to show you something. What I showed you made your eyes light up and you were, for a moment, in heaven. We wheeled you up to one of the most beautiful baby grand pianos with gleaming white and black keys. It took about thirty seconds for you to go from Mary Had a Little Lamb to Phantom of the Opera. In fact you took your injured arm out of the sling enough to use both hands. What a treat to hear you play again and I felt sorry for the times I asked you to stop playing so loud. I wanted you to play so the whole world could hear. Your eyes reflected the biggest smile your heart could send. Yes it was a good day! Tomorrow will be the real start of your healing and you will continue to be the recipient of many prayers. I love you...INFINITY!

For Trevor

2010-08-30T13:35:00.010-06:00

When your Uncle Scott was in his car accident, rather than sit and do nothing during his recovery I started to keep a record of all the things that were going on and how I felt. His journal is hand written and after more than ten years, it still needs to be typed so it can be read. The following journal will be yours so you can know what we were feeling and watching unfold. So, I'll start at the beginning...

Friday, 27 August 2010- I want to start by saying, that very night I dreamed the accident happened! I dreamed that someone ran in and said, "Trevor was hit by a car." However, it wasn't so much about the accident as it was the feelings I had of, "Do we need to postpone our mission?" I was left with the clear impression that you would be fine if we left. When I woke up to the phone ringing and having your grandpa yell, "Let's go, Trevor just got hit by a car!" I was able to move calmly and quickly. If it weren't for that calm feeling I had, I would have probably fallen to pieces. By the time I got to the corner where you cross 3500 South to go to school your grandpa was already at your side doing what he does so well; all of his combat medic training kicked in and he was assessing your injuries. You were conscious but clearly out of it. You did know who we were but you didn't know what happened. You had major lacerations about the scalp and chin and some bleeding at the mouth. By the time the ambulance arrived, it was clear that you had some other injuries as well. After they loaded you on the ambulance it was decided to airlift you to Primary Children's Medical Center because they knew traffic would make it difficult to get to the hospital with any speed. From the time you were hit to the time we saw you lift off was about 30-45 minutes. The time it took for the whole school to know about the accident was a fraction of that! As I watched kids walking by the cell phones were a buzz with text messaging and calling. The time it took to make it to Facebook was not much more than the cell phones. You would also find it a boost to your ego that many of the girls stood around the halls of Matheson JH crying for you. I understand it got so bad that they had to cancel some of the classes and have discussion groups instead. I just thought you'd want to know...

At first glance, your injuries didn't look that bad, and relatively speaking they weren't but they were painful ones. Let me first tell you how the accident happened; well anyway, what we were told happened. A car was going East on 3500 South and had pulled into the turn lane to go left. The driver stopped to let you walk across. Unfortunately, another vehicle (a delivery truck about the size of a UPS truck driving in the thru lane) didn't see you and hit you with his driver's side mirror and part of the truck. You got smacked on the side of the head by a vehicle going 35mph. We don't know if you actually flew in the air; you were only about 10-15 ft outside of the crosswalk. You have an open fracture on your right jaw; open meaning the fractured bone came though your mouth. You also have a fractured right clavicle (shoulder). A bone in your neck (the hyoid) was fractured so swallowing will be an issue. You were in a lot of pain when they moved you to the stretcher.

When we arrived at Primary Children's Medical Center emergency room we were joined by Bishop and Cathy Sayer, Chris and Emily Gould, Uncle Michael, your Grandpa and Grandma Garza and some of your dad's family. Your Aunt Jill walked in with Cami and we were surprised to see them. As it turned out, Cami had an infection in her leg so it ended up with two Zollinger's in the ER.

After they completed all the xrays and scans and determined that your brain was OK they moved you to the NTU (Neuro Trauma Unit). After they got you settled, your Grandma Mike, Uncle Scott, Chris Gould and the Bishop gave you a blessing. You were blessed to heal quickly and fully. Now it's up to you to do your part to allow the blessing to be fulfilled.

Your head laceration was stapled in the ER and you had to have about 15 staples to close it. They had a tough time getting the wound to stay closed. Later, a plastic surgeon put in six or more stitches to the chin. I wondered how your braces were doing but there didn't seem to be any obvious problem with them.

You had lots and lots of company. You had people we didn't even know come to see you. It's probably best that you were on so many pain meds that you didn't have to worry about entertaining them. You did, however, make it a point of making sure the girls were entertained. The number of girl visits to boy visits was about 9-3 in favor of the girls. You are, after all, a ladies man!

Saturday-Monday, 28-30 August 2010- The steady flow of visitors kept you pretty awake but it took it's toll on your body. Your pain level has remained pretty high and they haven't been able to put anything in your stomach to keep you fed. They finally had to insert a feeding tube (NG) through your nose but you had a problem with it. The stuff they fed you made you nauseated and you threw up the liquid and the tube. You've had some pretty rough days. On Monday they took you down to a special room with a fluoroscope to insert a new tube (NJ) in a location past the stomach into the upper part of the intestine. It gives your stomach a chance to settle down. They also give you meds to help with the nausea.

A brief pause in the story to tell you how much we missed seeing you in the audience at church Sunday for our farewell talks. We had lots of friends and family there but you being absent left a very big hole. I'm told that we did an excellent job but I can't say; I don't remember much. We have to be at the MTC on the 6th of September so we want to spend as much time as possible taking care of you.

So, where was I? Oh, yea...on Monday night it was decided that you really needed to have your hair washed because it was so matted and full of dried blood. I know you well enough to say that you probably felt really yucky. They have a special little pool they put under your head so they can keep the water from the washing away from the rest of you. You should have opted for the shower instead. When we were done with the hair I moved the blanket and lo and behold, you were laying in about an inch of water! I guess the pool will leak when the patient can't be laid flat. The funny thing is that you didn't utter a word. You just laid there totally relaxed letting us fuss over the hair. Well, Grandpa helped get you out of bed and took you into the shower so you could enjoy a really good shower. I think being cleaned up helped your disposition a lot and got you ready for the next step; fixing the jaw. Tuesday, the 31st, they will take you to surgery to put a very small plate in your jaw to fix the fracture. It will take 2-4 hours to do, so, it will be another long day. We're not worried because you received another blessing from Grandpa, Chris Gould (who has become your best adult??? friend in the whole wide world), and Jim Balif one of your teachers from Lake Ridge Elementary who also happens to be a Bishop. I know it will be OK. I want to mention also, your orthodontist came to check out the braces and found no breaks. He was really surprised at that. What was surprising to us is just before he left he said that if you ever needed a blessing he would be happy to assist. I thought to myself, "We are so lucky to live in a place where blessings are a normal occurrence but more than that, we are blessed to have the priesthood power that makes it all possible."

I've been totally blown away by the outpouring of love and support of many, MANY friends and family members. I'm especially impressed by the number of teacher's who've come to see you. You are a well loved and respected member of our community. I'm filled with a sense of peace as we prepare to depart into the mission field. I know you'll have lots of people to love and take care of you as we would if we were here.

Trevor, I know you've had it pretty rough the last few years. You've harbored feelings of anger that your life hasn't been very fair. I want you to know that you're a very blessed young man. You are surrounded by so many people who love you. You are so talented and smart. Most of all, I KNOW that YOU KNOW you have a Heavenly Father who loves you. If you would allow yourself to feel His love you would then feel the peace that comes with that love. You have the Priesthood and with that comes the power to move mountains. You have had righteous men place their hands on your head to ask that your life be returned to normal; fully and quickly!

I believe in that power and pray as you are able to ponder all that's happened you will come to more fully believe it too. I will continue to pray for a full recovery. I love you...INFINITY!

Whew...what a ride!

2010-07-31T10:49:00.002-06:00

From the last post to now has been a flurry of dental appointments, medical appointments, paperwork and interviews. We've been poked, prodded and had things put where, ahem, the sun don't shine. The final outcome is that while some parts of the human body go out of warranty soon after turning 60, they are still in good enough shape to go on a mission! Yahoo!!!

We are transitioning from army life (Mike finally retired April 1st) to home life to mission life in one quick six month period. Now we are in the middle of putting all those things we won't need into one room so the remaining occupants can have a space to call home.

When we made the final decision to go on a mission we researched the church's website pertaining to senior couples. There are lots and lots of opportunities to serve all over the world and while we are willing to go to any of those places, it comes down to what we can afford. We still have to maintain a home while paying for a mission. We made a call to the Retired Military Couple mission to see what that would entail and were quick to get on their list of people they wanted. With Mike's impressive resume (nursing, military, business, firefighter, teacher etc) we would be on any one's list of people to have on board. You notice I didn't include a resume of my own; totally riding on his coat tails!

Originally they had us slotted to serve at Fort Hood about an hour or so from where we were in Grand Prairie, Texas. I would have been thrilled to be back in Texas and get to see our friends, both army and church. Alas, it isn't to be. The cost of the mission went up drastically to about a thousand dollars more per month so it took us out of our budget range. Now they have us, if they get their wish, going to Camp Legeune, North Carolina. We'd would be fine with that since we've not seen that part of the country. I know it will be a different climate but hey, we survived Texas!

I've been fascinated by the process of placing senior couples. It's not the same as with the young missionaries. For seniors, they look at the couple and what talents they bring to the table and then essentially the mission puts in their request for that couple. While it's taken into account where the couple has requested to be, it all comes down to where the Lord wants you to be. Near as I can tell, the process hasn't failed yet!

We are excited, ready to go and with the only nervousness coming from our home not quite ready for our departure, we are completely at peace about embarking on this new adventure. Our testimonies are strong, we rely on the Lord to take care of our families in our absence and know "all is well, all is well"!

Let the adventure begin!!!!

Update

2009-11-28T18:18:00.002-07:00

It's hard to give an update when I have no idea what we are doing! Going? Staying? Staying? Going? Either way I'll be fine.
In the Army way, our mobilization orders officially ended September 30. However, we got a set of AT (annual training) orders to keep us going for another couple of weeks. Then we received another kind of orders to keep us going for ANOTHER couple of weeks. I don't much care what the orders say as long as they say we're getting paid! The apartment is under lease and we still have a roof over our heads so we're not very worried about that. Basically, it would be nice to have orders that carry us until the boys end the semester. They still want to keep Mike until at least March but they would love to get a waiver and keep him until next September. The bottom line is that we'll continue to enjoy our surroundings for as long as they let us.
We hope to make the drive to Utah for Christmas. With two babies, one that I've NEVER seen (Isaac) and one that's grown alot since the last time I saw her at her blessing (Kari), I have alot of catching up to do. To add to our joy, Sara's baby (sex unknown) is due in just a few days. It will be nice to be all together even for a week.
So, until we know what we are doing, or better yet what the Army is doing, we'll just stay put!
Much love, VZ

Paranoid? I think not!

2009-09-05T10:33:00.005-06:00

As a parent/grandparent, I watch with wonder at what is going on in our country and think to myself, who can survive? Yet, I am at peace with the knowledge of Who is in charge.

It wasn't so long ago that our generation (for the purpose of this article "their" means Grandpa Mike/Grandma Alice, "our" means Mike and Vicki and "your" means our children) looked at our parents and thought they were crazy in many ways; they didn't "get" our music, they didn't like our hair, they paid cash, they nosed into our business at school, etc. With age comes wisdom and as we grew older, what we perceived as crazy, turned into admiration, for we saw in our parents a moral compass that helped us eventually figure out who we were and what we wanted.

I know many of your generation think that your parents are sheep who blindly follow. Let me assure you, for most of us, nothing could be further from the truth. We do have our concerns, however, about where this generation is being led and by whom. So your perceptions of "conservative" miss the mark. We are terribly vigilant! We have seen, with our old eyes, what is happening and want to shake your generation and shout, till we are hoarse, "Where does this path lead? Do you see what you are giving up? Who will defend your rights when we of this generation are gone?

The word paranoia now creeps into conversations being held nationwide and young adults are again shaking their heads with the claim that we are paranoid. Again the mark is missed. We are vigilant! And we are sad, so sad, at what we watch unfold because we aren't vigilant enough.

I wish that words like liberal and conservative were gone from politics. I wish that we had elected officials who didn't think their job was more than a temporary position. I wish that we didn't have a nation so indebted to foreign nations that even our great-grandchildren will be dealing with it. I wish that we didn't have poor or hungry. I wish we didn't have homeless. I wish that our education was the best in the world. I wish the sick could be taken care of. That isn't liberal thinking! It's Christlike thinking. The problem is that Christlike people aren't in charge. We are in the latter days as foretold in the BoM.

I love to read, and I love to keep track of politics both world and domestic. I feel I have the intelligence to discern for myself what is praiseworthy and of good report. So, I was especially fascinated by the article I recently read in an LDS based magazine. I thought it important enough to share. Again, it is vigilance that motivates me to share this, not whacko paranoia!

http://www.ldsmag.com/ideas/090903disease.html

Welcome Baby!

2009-08-23T20:30:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago I posted that I had a hole in my heart; this week, the holes been plugged up and blessings abound!

First of all, our lives have been blessed with the "more than temporary" return of Trevor and Kyle. Their mom is headed off to school and it was decided that it would be best if the boys had a more stable situation, so they are living here with us in Texas. The only way you could top this is if somehow I could have the other grandkids (age almost 8 and up) with us too. Ah, heck, send 'em all! I can take it!

The boys are excited at the prospect of going to a new school and making new friends. I was very nervous about this but our first impression of the staff is favorable and they were most welcoming. Trevor has discovered that he can keep his AP classes AND play in the school band with a much coveted duel valve french horn. Kyle is doing something I've never wanted him to do; he's going to play football! Well, what's the harm? I say to myself... all of the other kids I saw were the same size as him! Besides, I'm reminded that we are living in Texas and kids here start playing football early. I noticed that the end rails on most cribs look like the cross bars of a goal post!

As you can see above, Jana and Chris welcomed their little Izaak (I think that's how it's spelled) earlier today. He was over a week early but you wouldn't know it by his weight; round as a football, he is. Maybe he's part Texan. It is hard to be away from these kinds of events but I'm willing to let Chris' mom enjoy her first grandchild for awhile.

So, again, the Lord has seen fit to bless our family once again. And again this mother's/grandmother's heart is as it should be; mended again.

The Hole in My Heart

2009-07-30T21:32:00.002-06:00

Yesterday (29 July) at 7:13pm the last of our visitors left on a plane for home. At 7:14p I was left with a great big hole in my heart.
Starting way back at Easter, Sara and Matt brought the family and spent almost a week with us. We had a great time going to a baseball game, eating at Pappadeaux's, going miniature golfing and playing Wii. Last month on the 26th of June we began hosting two groups of grandsons. Alex Zollinger, Andrew Mortensen and Luke Moroz were the first group to come to Texas. We had a great time swimming, going to a baseball game, going to a movie, playing Legos, playing Wii, eating at Pappadeaux's (seafood), eating at Cousin's BBQ, eating at Nina's (mexican), eating at Appleby's, eating at Trail Dust (steak) and hanging out with Grandpa Mike at the Army. What made it so exciting for them is getting to fly by themselves to get here.
After a two week visit, the boys and I flew back to SLC and I spent a week there with the family. Well, actually, I stayed part of that time in a hotel which the grandkids love because they can go swimming. We also had a two hour family reunion at Famous Dave's BBQ. We were only missing Michael with Taylor, Jamie and Matt (who had to be at a school conference). It was lots of fun and more importantly it was easy! I just ordered six of those garbage can lids filled with different kinds of bbq, beans and coleslaw. Grandma "Hair" (Zollinger) joined us and we had a great time basking in the noise of the grandkids/great-grandkids.
On the 15th of July I came back to Texas joined by Trevor and Kyle Zollinger. They had a great time playing Wii and Legos. We ate at Pappadeux's, Nina's, Johnny Carino's, Cousin's, Cheddar's (bbq) and IHOP's. We went to a baseball game, an aquarium and played miniature golf. Do you see the pattern of entertainment? Eat and play, play and eat, then eat and play some more!
It's been a really great summer. Now, I realize that it's been five weeks since Mike and I were on our own...and we're really BORING!
Thank you to the parents who were willing to part with their children and entrusting them to us. Thanks to the boys who kept us on our toes and helped us have a really great summer. We miss the noise and look forward to being home with all of you. Actually that may be sooner than we thought...but that's another story. We will enjoy the time we have left here in Texas. After that, onward to a mission!
Much love,
Miss Vicki (the name comes from my good friend SSG Joe Stephens who hails from the great state of Arkansas)

Fifth Day in Texas-Kyle

2009-07-20T11:03:00.002-06:00

So the first thing we did yesterday was wake up eat and then go to church. Church was fun the lesson was cool too. After church we went to my grandpa's work and stayed for a couple hours. So then soon as we got home to the apartments we took a nap and watched t.v., oh and I beat Ratatouille. So then we played three games go, phase 10, and Zarahemla. As you guys all know I lost every single game so that just proves I suck at bored games. And that is what I did that day.

The End

Fifth day in Texas-Trevor

2009-07-20T10:44:00.002-06:00

Sunday, was a game night day. We played three games: Go, Phase Ten, and Settlers of Zarahemla. You could tell my grandparents and my brother were scared. They know I'm the bomb, or King of the Board Games. I guess it turn out how I wanted it though, seeing that I was one of the ones losing, but hey that's life.

While we played games we had ice-cream. Chocolate, thrice chocolate, and cookies and cream. Delicious! My brother and I also played some video games on the Wii, that was fun too. Just another day in Texas, guess the heat must have something to do with it. Well, got to go and act like a Texan. Yee-ha!

Fourth day in Texas-Trevor

2009-07-18T10:51:00.002-06:00

OK, so this is my fourth day in Texas, but before I can get to that I have to say yesterday was an awkward day, I wake up and I get ready as usual, but this time my Grandpa tells us raccoon! I think he's kidding. It turns out he wasn't I saw a raccoon outside the apartment just hanging there on the door. Now, that was a surprise. So, back to the fourth day in Texas it's morning now and were just waking up.

There you have it, our fourth day in Texas! Just kidding. I'll just go back to the third day in Texas, we ate out at some seafood restaurant. The food was great, seeing that I had the fried shrimp, my brother getting the boiled, my Grandpa getting halibut with potatoes, and lastly my Grandma getting chicken and mashed potatoes, a lot of mashed potatoes. I have no idea what we're going to do today. I guess all I can do is wait! Well, blog ya'll later.

Second day in Texas-Kyle

2009-07-18T09:56:00.002-06:00

The first thing I did on the second day is read, and then I played Wii. Then a couple hours later we went to the army training center to go see my grandpa working, after that we went to go eat at a sea food restaurant. After dinner we went to the apartments and went swimming. And then we went to watch t.v. Then went to bed.

The End

First time in Texas-Trevor

2009-07-16T12:49:00.003-06:00

Well, this is my first time is Texas. As soon as we got here it was like BOOM! The heat hit me like a speeding bullet, I was guessing it was over 100 degrees. As soon as we actually set foot on Texas ground this strange feeling came over me, I looked in the distance and what's this? No mountains! Yes, it was strange, but at the same time it was cool. This just tells you how flat Texas really is.

Not only do they have nice flat area, but I hear they have great barbecue, only we didn't have barbecue, we had Italian food which was still good. I had pizza with an almost vegetarian style. I had five toppings to choose from I chose four vegetables and one meat, Italian sausage. Then after we had fun in the afternoon we went into the evening, time to hit the stores! We had ice-cream, and wow as soon as we stepped outside the ice-cream started to melt like a snail moving, I guess even in the shade it's still hot. After the ice-cream we went to another store Wal-Mart.

The parking lot there was filled and when you go inside the amount of people in there is, I guess the proper term is a lot. After Wal-Mart we went home to the apartments and watched some good old television. Soon after that I got a little tired and decided it's time for bed, so with that I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. First time in Texas not so bad, I guess I'll see how it passes the Trevor test.

First day in Texas- Kyle

2009-07-16T12:32:00.002-06:00

So we are in Texas and we took a plane to get here. So the first thing we did is eat at a restaurant and I ate lasagna. And then we went to the apartments, so while we were there we played Wii and we had lots of fun, and then I played with bead stuff and made a L.A. Dodgers sign. So after we played Wii we went to Cold Stone and I got bubblegum flavor with gummy bears and sprinkles in it. After that we went to Walmart to buy stuff. And we went to Kroger to buy milk. So then we went home and watched T.V until we went to bed. And thats what we did that day.

The End

Life in Texas

2009-07-16T12:30:00.001-06:00

For the next couple of weeks Trevor and Kyle will be using this blog to write of their activities while here in GPTx. So...enjoy!

Construction Traffic

2009-07-11T06:40:00.002-06:00

I'm visiting home (SLC) and when I'm here I stay at the Baymont Hotel over by the E-Center in WVC. It seems that everytime I'm here, the city is doing major road work. Usually I bypass the traffic by driving around the construction mess. Yesterday I made the mistake of driving through it!
I didn't really stress over three lanes of traffic merging into one. I had nothing but time so I just went with the flow, the very slow flow. But an interesting thought popped into my head and here's what I found myself thinking. There was a gospel principle at work in this construction zone and I wanted to figure out what it was...and I did!
There are basically two types of drivers in this situation; those who are extremely territorial about their place in line and those who are gracious. The first group is pretty focused on getting where they want to go and they do this by subtley ignoring (and sometimes not so subtley)those who want to get into the line and quickly close any gap between their car and the car in front. The second group (sometimes to the chagrin of the car behind) will let a car after car come into the line. Where is the gospel principle? Well here it is.
Our life as a Latter Day Saint is kind of like the road in construction. It's the road that will get us where we want to go. It's the "forever family" road and we get so focused on the journey that sometimes in our rush (gotta get to ?, gotta go to ? you fill in the blanks) we ignor, subtley and sometimes not so subtley, those who are looking to get on the road with us. For example; how many times do we turn our head to avoid making eye contact with someone of different status (you know what I'm talking about; beggars, tattooed/pierced wonders, those who "just don't look the type") essentially closing the gap between the cars, so to speak, so they can't get on the road. While there are those who would stop to give a coat to a homeless man and say, "Here, get in front of me, I'll let you in".
Yesterday, I let as many cars as I could get on the road. Tomorrow, I will pay more attention to others who want to travel the same direction as me.
It was just a thought while driving...

Lost Video

2009-06-26T11:33:00.003-06:00

I was cleaning out my video storage on the computer and came across this clip. It was too good NOT to share. By the end of two weeks, I should have a lot more; Luke, Alex Z and Drew have come to visit us in Texas for the next couple of weeks. It was the first time flying for Drew and Alex but Luke is pro.

The first thing they said was, "It's HOT!" Welcome to Texas! They were very grateful for air-conditioning in cars and homes. They spent the afternoon chomping on the bit to go to the pool so they could cool off. I didn't have the heart to tell them, it's so hot that the water is NOT cool but tepid. I also won't let them go out in the heat of the day because, I told them, "You'll burn!" The truth is, I'm not dumb enough to sit in the heat to lifeguard. I make them wait until 4:00 AND their grandpa is home.

They're having a good time because Grandma let's them play Wii Fit. I do it under the guise of exercise but it's too funny to pass up the opportunity for a good laugh. Hula Hoop is one of my favorites but Soccer is right up there as well as Star Wars (not a Wii Fit but oh well).

I'm amazed at the ability of kids to know instinctively how to play a game. Mike and I have purchased a few games for the kids to play while they were here. We spend most of the time staring at the game and thinking to ourselves, "This will bore them!" I've noticed that KNOWING how to play a game makes it so NOT boring.

I bought the Tiger Woods '08 Golf game as well as the new '10 version. We love to play the golf game in the Wii Sports so I thought it would be really fun to play a Tiger Woods version and have more options. The '10 model even comes with an attachment that tells you how your swing is or what modifications to make to improve your game. We're not using it yet because, frankly, we haven't finished making our virtual selves yet. I tried and after completing my face, hair, body (all with options for birthmarks, wrinkles and age spots) I looked like my good friend, SFC Angela Burt. Only one tiny problem...she's black, taller than me and completely fit. I would be happy with that but then the computer would expect me to play like a young, fit person! Not to mention that I've completely offended my friend SFC Burt! So, I'll try again to get closer to the old, wrinkled, age-spotted Mexican that I am...but by then I'll be too tired to actually play the game!

Much love,

What it's All About

2009-06-14T13:25:00.006-06:00

People ask what it is that Mike does. Yesterday I had a chance to go into the field and act as an imbedded photographer to see for myself what he does. Here it is! He and his staff teach soldiers to save lives! I've never had a chance to watch the class do this training in the field and was blown away by the reality of it. The gunfire sounded too real and the IV's were really real! I hope the video does it justice...

Much love, Vicki

The Things Kids Say

2009-05-22T07:18:00.005-06:00

I love to read other peoples blogs when it includes some of the funny things their kids say. Sara's blog ranks up there with some of the clever things that her boys have said. So, after reading Sara's blog today about something Owen said (see her blog) it reminded me of some of the things my own kids said, years and years and YEARS ago.

Michael after the first day of kindergarden:
"Mommy, I can spell Billy. B-I-eleven-Y".

Four year old Kent running down the stairs from the bathroom:
Kent: "Mommy, there's a "shly" in the bathroom"!
Me: "A what"?
Kent: "A shly"!
Me: "Kent say fff".
Kent: "Thhh".
Me: "No, FFF".
After about 5 minutes of practicing the "fl" sound I asked him, "Now what did you see"?
A frustrated Kent responded, "A bee"!

But the following has to be my all time favorite.

I was standing by the sink washing dishes. At the time I was very pregnant with my seventh child. Eight year old Sara was sitting at the kitchen table watching me when her father came home from work. He put his arms around me and gave me a quick kiss on the neck. In a very disgusted tone Sara blurted, "Sex, sex, sex"! A little shocked I asked her what she meant. She drummed her fingers on the table, shifted from one elbow to the other and after a few moments said, "Oh, never mind. YOU wouldn't understand"!

I'm sure I'll remember other things that were said but have reached my max for the morning!
Much love, VZ

Happy Mother's Day (after all)!

2009-05-07T10:15:00.005-06:00

Mother's Day has not always been my favorite holiday. I think it forces our children to sometimes tell "little white lies" about how wonderful their mother is. Truth be told, I haven't felt so wonderful many, MANY times. Mother's carry so much guilt about the "would have, could have, should haves".

As I've been here in Texas without my family for awhile, I've had occasion to think about some of my experiences over the last 38 years as a mother.

It hasn't been easy, in fact sometimes it's been "I can't do this anymore" hard. I think we've all been there (if anyone has NOT been there, why are you still here? You should have already been translated!). However time and age have a way of changing perspectives about the way things were and maybe it's the Lords way of granting us respite from the memories of that difficult journey.

When I think of my own mother at this point in my life, I remember that...

1. My mom was always at school or in the community working on some committee.

2. My mother was quiet; she didn't yell, she didn't cuss, and she always took care of us.

3. My mother had more friends my age than I did. Kids wanted her for THEIR mom.

4. AND, my mother loved us! She never said it. I just knew it.

5. She was unmatched in her love for her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren.

Are these the things I always thought about my mom? Hardly! I thought my mom was so mean! She whacked us with a broom for heavens sake! Sometimes she used a belt. She didn't need to yell or cuss 'cause we knew when she was mad. I knew she didn't love me because she never did as much with me as she did with my sisters. In fact at one point I knew I must have been adopted; I didn't look like my sisters, I wasn't athletic like my sisters. Yup, I must have been adopted!

I only told my mother "I hate you" once; it was, as I look back, a pivotal moment in my life. I left home in anger and made some really bad choices. It was several years before I found solid footing again and started my own family. I started my family with the promise that I would never "be like my mother"!

I failed! I find myself saying things and sounding just like my mother. In fact, I'm very much like my mother...

1. You can often find me at the school or on some committee.

2. Although I AM a yeller and screamer, I've always tried to take care of my family.

3. I have lots of friends that are the same age as my kids AND they think I'm way cool!

4. I love my kids. They are each one different, talented; they come in all shapes and sizes but I love them.

5. I am the luckiest grandma in the whole wide world 'cause my grandchildren are perfect!

Like my mother, I don't say "I love you" enough and I wonder; will my own kids know, like I do, that their mom loved them? Will their memories of "the meanest mom" or "I hate you" be replaced with memories of camping trips, Glamour Shots, and trips to the zoo? I wonder and hope that time will soften their perceptions of the way things were.

Happy Mother's Day!

Much love, VZ

Happy Birthday Charley

2009-05-01T19:32:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday two year old! I can't believe how big you've gotten. I hope you had a great birthday.
Much love, Grandma Vicki

Happy Birthday Harper

2009-04-25T10:29:00.003-06:00

Dear Harper,

I hope that your birthday is a great one. I sure had a fun time visiting with you while you were here in Texas. Did your mom make a really yummy carrot cake? I've included a video of you from not long ago to celebrate your youth. It's going to make your mom cry so have a tissue ready. Have a wonderful day!

Much love, Grandma Vicki

Four Most Caring Words

2009-04-23T06:39:00.003-06:00

"We can't afford it"...
I love to watch those home shows on HGTV, one of my favorite being the makeovers. They take a home of modest looks and turn them into "gorgeous living areas". They have experts that know the right colors to use and the perfect fabrics to complement.
My other favorites are the shows where people are looking for a home to buy. Some of them are looking for an upgrade in living area (more space for a growing family, etc) but many of them are first time home buyers. I've been fascinated at what they perceive as "necessity". As they tour a home you watch their eyes as they walk into a master bathroom with all the amenities; a jetted tub, showers with two shower heads so you can get hit from both sides (actually not a bad idea for those of us who have ample "two sides"), walk-in closets that have space for 100 pair of shoes and 30 suits (not to mention space for matching purses). They move on to the kitchen where they talk about the color of the granite counter tops "not being quite right" and "we'll have to replace those cabinets but I love the stainless steel appliances, oh, there's no ice maker in the refrigerator". On to the yard; the yard is huge but it only has a two car garage. "We could park the boat at a storage somewhere..." and on it goes!
When I think of the homes we've owned I think of what I would have liked them to look like; I would have liked a master bathroom where you couldn't reach both sides of the room with outstretched arms. I would have liked a master bedroom that could hold a rocker (for rocking babies and for old people) as well as two night stands. Still today, I would love a family room that could hold all of us for Christmas dinner. And then I take a moment to think...
Our home, humble, undecorated has done everything it was meant to do and we could afford it!
We've been married nearly forty years and our family has been sheltered, fed and clothed because we didn't feel it necessary to have a beautifully decorated interior. Each child had a bed. No child walked around naked. Not one went hungry. Bathrooms accomodated us in our daily needs and the kitchen was more than adequate in spite of the fact that we didn't have an ice maker; I think we had one once but I gave it up for more freezer space.
Our yard has been a neighborhood playground for years with it's swingset and space to play soccer. The garden's given us tomatoes, zuccini and "salsa blend" (ask Luke, that's his story to tell). We've had chickens, rabbits, ducks and dogs; currently the animals outnumber the humans! The point is this. Many times there are things we would have liked to have or do but had to say to ourselves "we can't afford it".
Today we find ourselves in a position where we can afford almost anything we might want and yet still ask ourselves "can we afford it"? We want to go on a mission when the Army is through with us. We want to go on family vacations that the kids/grandkids will remember forever. I want to know that our years supply will take care of all of us. I want to know that paying a bigger fast offering was more important than a matching pair of shoes and purse.
So using the counsel given to us by Robert D Hales at last months GC (his full talk can be found at byutv.org), we still take a moment to determine the reason we are buying something; do we need it or do we want it?
I'm thankful that our home is still standing tall and fulfilling it's purpose; it shelters four parents, six and one half grandchildren and will continue to do so. We are blessed!
Much love, VZ

**disclaimer...I'm not perfect and yes, we did buy that Wii :) In fact Mike and I use it daily in our fitness program and last night we golfed, bowled, boxed and played tennis. The Wii Fit says we are 48 yrs fit! Gotta love it!

**disclaimer...we hope someday our home will not have to shelter four parents, six and one half grandchildren OR all those animals! They will be blessed to have homes of their own... :D

More Wii

2009-04-21T20:07:00.003-06:00

Wii Fit?

2009-04-21T19:09:00.004-06:00

No, Wii isn't, but Wii's funny! I've been laughing hysterically since Wii bought the very thing Wii've been avoiding. Have you guessed yet? Yes, Wii've entered the world of Wii.
I wanted it because, quite frankly, Mike and I enjoy the bowling and golf, even if we did use the kids as an excuse. That's not what finally sparked our interest in the purchase. It was the Wii Fit program that Wii had heard so much about. And it's been worth every penny!
This is a quite a nifty little gadget with the capability of diagnosing your BMI, your balance and working your behind off! It calculates the time you spend on the workout and keeps track of your progress. That, however, is not why I'm having so much fun with it; it's watching people of all ages and size do...the hula hoop! I've watched Sara and her family do it. I've watched our army friends do it. It is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. But don't take my word for it...see for yourselves. I'll have to split up the videos but I promise, it's worth it! Enjoy!
Much love, VZ

Alone Again

2009-04-17T21:39:00.002-06:00

Well, Sara and her family left Thursday morning. It's very quiet! :D Enough said...hehehe.
Much love, VZ

Nagel's Come to Texas

2009-04-14T18:15:00.014-06:00

We got to do some really fun things while the boys were here. Swimming and a baseball game topped the list. Enjoy the pics!

Swimming, Baseball and Boys

2009-04-14T11:52:00.004-06:00

Sara and Matt have been with us since Friday, April 10th. The weather hasn't been as warm as it was the last two weeks but it hasn't dampened the boys spirits...or their desire to take advantage of the apartment pool. On Saturday they talked their dad into taking them swimming but mostly that just meant putting their behinds in the unheated kiddie pool and then warming up in the hot tub.
It reminded me of the time my dad took our family on a vacation to Yosemite. We stayed overnite at June Lake and it was so cold that my dad had to heat rocks in the campfire and then bury them in the dirt under the tent. The tent was toasty, we were toasty...until the next day when our dad took us swimming in the lake. It was freezing! We went in the water anyway because it was our vacation and that's what you do on vacation! The boys are on vacation. They don't care if they're freezing!
Last night for FHE we went to see the Texas Rangers play against the Baltimore Orioles. We've been looking at the stadium from the outside for four months and waiting for the time we could be inside that beautiful place. It seemed natural that our first time would be with some of our grandsons. We took the time to go online to find the best ticket deals and found one that seemed feasible; the "take an empty Dr Pepper can, get a ticket for half price" offer. So, before the game we bought Dr Pepper and took the cans with us. The only problem is...none of us drink Dr Pepper. It didn't matter, we left the full cans with the ticket agent and still saved over $100. It actually ended up sounding like an ad; $100 for tickets, $30 for the hot dog deal, $7 for cotton candy, $45 for three youth Ranger shirts...three little boys at a ballgame...PRICELESS! At the end of the night we had three happy little guys, one of which ended up on the big screen and in possession of a baseball from the field and four adults who only had to drive 20 minutes to get home. I love Texas!
Today is Tuesday and we're just relaxing. Mike has finished and mailed in our tax stuff and we actually get money back! I'm holding my breath 'cause as fast as they give it to us, one of the kids usually snatches it from our grasp. I need to spend it before that happens.
Sara and Matt are at the pool with the boys taking advantage of the warm day. It's actually warm enough to wear sunscreen so the boys are generously slathered. I'm glad that they're enjoying themselves. This place has been quiet for too long and although I love the time Mike and I have had to be on our own I do enjoy the company. The place has that "lived in" look. There'll be plenty of time next week when everyone is gone to restore things to order.
I'm looking forward the the next "wave"...until then I'll enjoy the "sands of time" with this one. Pictures to follow...
Much love, Vicki

Majesty of His Creation

2009-03-26T08:33:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to witness one of those moments when you know who is really in charge of our world. My camera didn't come close to capturing what the dozen or more people saw while looking into the heavens. In that single moment I felt and saw so clearly the power of our Creator and I was grateful to know that He's in command.

I think of the times that our family has felt as if we were standing right in the middle of those treacherous clouds and left wondering how we could possibly survive. Yet, somehow, we do weather the storm.

I'm so glad that the Lord continues to be the umbrella that shields us when the rain begins to fall!

Much love, Vicki

New Home

2009-03-08T13:00:00.002-06:00

Well, things have finally stablized with the move to our new home. We are now, for the very first time in our lives...apartment dwellers! In almost 39 years of married life we've never lived with common walls to other people. Even our condo in La Verne had separate walls. However, the good news is that it costs us nothing! We did opt for a two bedroom to house guests who make their way to see us. Sara and Matt will be here in April with the boys and I'm excited to show them around.
We've been waiting for almost a month to make this move and when it finally became a reality I realized that I'd be leaving my new friends from the Arlington 2nd Ward and my hotel friends at the Marriott. Also, I realized that our stuff, limited as it seemed, would have to make it's way to the third floor! So I did the most practical thing I could think of to save my husbands back...I hired movers! It was worth every penny (dollar) to do it! I've decided that when the time comes I will hire movers to load our stuff into our trailer. As Sara reminds me, I'm stimulating the economy by giving someone work! Glad to give Obama a hand! As soon as I figure out the address we'll be using I post it here and via e-mail. Hope all is well with each of you and I look forward to hearing from you. Much love, Vicki

Kari Rochelle Zollinger

2009-02-25T15:08:00.010-07:00

OK! After many "nagging" phonecalls about not having seen any pictures yet, here is the first of our latest granddaughter. Born 7 wks early at a whopping 3 lbs 13 oz and measuring a lengthy 17 in. Ta..da..let me introduce you to Kari Rochelle Zollinger, daughter of Scott and Lisa Zollinger. She joined her siblings Alex and Cassie on the 12 February 2009. And tiny she is! She's been in the NICU at St. Mark's hospital for the last two weeks. Her weight gain was steady enough that she was released today at 4 lbs 7 oz. She did so well after she was born that she never needed oxygen. She was jaundiced for a bit but a day or so under the lights seemed to take care of that. I was able to fly in from Dallas to spend some time up at the hospital and visit the family for a couple of weeks but honestly, I miss Mike and can't wait to get back to him. Sorry kids!

As for the Army, we're really lovin' Texas. The people are really friendly; well why shouldn't they be? A great number of them (in our ward) are from Utah! When be make the move from the hotel to the apartment we'll actually be in a completely different stake. I'm a little sad about that but I've never been in a ward that wasn't my favorite. After weeks of waiting for Mike's MOB orders, we finally got them yesterday. We'll make the move to the Arioso apartments in Grand Prairie on 6 Mar. So now it's safe to say, "Y'all, come on down for a visit".

Much love, Vicki

P.S. Don't assume that the "nagging" means you...I've had many calls :)

Unbelieveable!

2009-01-28T06:48:00.004-07:00

If I hadn't seen it (and experienced it) I wouldn't have believed it. The entire region has shut down. Schools, government buildings, etc. If you've been following the weather news, our part of the country has been experiencing ice storms. It was a little freaky yesterday to listen to newsmen talk and the people in the office (Army) working furiously to get out of there before the storm hit. Now, I think I've lived through some of the worst snow storms but this was different. What happens is, the day starts out pretty OK but then the temperatures take a dive. The rain falls and turns to ice before it hits the ground. The effect is really quite beautiful. Trees become coated with a beautiful white crust. However, what is beautiful on a tree is not so beautiful on the roads. All the water on the roads turns to ICE RINK! I'm not joking. The temperature this morning was 11* and everything is coated in a thick blanket of ice. It took Mike almost 4o minutes to chisel his way into the car. That was at 6:30a. It's now a toasty 20*. So...to those of you who I've made feel bad about the warm, I am now feeling your revenge.
The good news...later on this week, IT'S GONNA WARM UP AGAIN!
Much love, VZ

For the Kids con't

2009-01-19T09:37:00.004-07:00

This is the stadium where the Rangers play. Below is a picture of the Superman ride at Six Flags. Next to that is the new stadium that will be home to the Cowboys. Eat your heart out Rachel!

For the Kids

2009-01-19T08:42:00.007-07:00

Owen and Miles have been sending me e-mails (a hint to the rest of you, it gets my attention!) In the last post Owen expressed, "I can't wait to fear my most hardest fear, going on fast things and going high". He'll get that wish when the Nagel's come to visit in April. So, yesterday I went across the street and took a few pictures of the "high, fast things he'll get to experience in April.

Just a little about the location. Arlington is 20 minutes outside of Dallas and the same distance to Ft Worth. It seems to be the place to go when you want to build a stadium as it's the home of the Rangers and the new home of the Cowboys. Those two stadiums sit pretty much in the same parking lot AND those two places are next to Six Flags which is next to Hurricane Harbor WHICH is right across the street from the Marriott Hotel where we live. So, for Owen, Miles and the rest of you...here are the pictures.

Where's Costco?

2009-01-15T08:37:00.001-07:00

On many occasions since our travels began last summer, I've always been on the lookout for stores that sold the things I buy in bulk, i.e, sliced almonds, wheat, cheese etc. Well cheese wasn't an issue but the grains and spices were.
I haven't found a Costco here (there is a Sam's but I don't have a membership) and I haven't had any luck finding a place like Kitchen Kneads in SLC. So, I've been stuck spending a lot more for the things I use often. Let me digress a moment. I actually have the things I use a lot AT HOME! I had just bought vanilla and some spices. I have buckets and buckets of wheat. I have jars and jars of chicken boullion. I have mega pounds of oatmeal. NONE of that would fit in our car!
Anyway, I had an opportunity to go to the dry pack cannery in Carrollton with our new ward and after a couple of hours of helping can things for other people, came home with two cases of things for our storage. I love the sliced apples. We snack on them like chips. I also like the powdered, non instant milk. I can hear you now, "Yuck! Powdered milk!" Well let me count the ways you can use it and save a lot of money. I use it instead of liquid milk when I cook pancakes and waffles. I use it to make yogurt in a gallon jar (thank you Cathrin Hales for that recipe). Now...if I could only find the place that has a gallon jar! Did I mention I have six of them AT HOME! Along with my pancake griddle and waffle maker!
As we've (did I say "we" 'cause Mike is rarely with me) ridden around getting to and from places, I've taken side streets just to see what's there. I've also spent a lot of time looking at stores to see what's available. Well, yesterday I struck gold! And after I BOUGHT the gold, lo and behold I discovered there is gold EVERYWHERE! In Texas you spell gold T-A-M-A-L-E-S. The crazy thing is...you don't have to find the guy in the parking lot at Wal-Mart! They actually have places that sell them by the dozen AND for only $8! Last night we feasted and tonight we'll feast and possibly (if we are very, very good) we'll feast again tomorrow too!
I have this rule and it has served me well...BE NICE TO THE PEOPLE YOU MEET! I've made friends of the people who've served us i.e. the hotel staff, store sales clerks, doctors etc. Here were the benefits. Number one, I had new friends I hated to say goodbye to at the end of the journey. Number two, sometimes I got to go behind the scenes to see what it was they did. You know, kind of like those reality shows "How Do They Make That" or "Really Dirty Jobs".
Yesterday, my new friend at the tamale store (it's actually more of a restraunt) took us to the freezer to see all the tamales on the shelf. They're made fresh everyday. He went out of his way to tell us about his business and a little of his experience living in Grand Prairie (the way it used to be for Mexicans).He also gave us a small bowl of menudo to taste after my story of how my dad used to make the stuff and how bad it smelled and how chewy it was and how I didn't like it...well, MUCH to my surprise, his menudo wasn't chewy at all. It was actually pretty good. However, I'm stickin' with posole which is like meudo without the chewy stuff! We're gonna get us some posole on Saturday to eat this weekend. Oh my gosh! Did I just say "get us some"? I think Texas is starting to get to us...some!
Much love, VZ

Week One

2009-01-10T11:53:00.002-07:00

It's Saturday and I'm thinking about our first week in Texas. My time has been pretty relaxing while Mike's has been pretty hectic.
I've spent much of my time doing indexing on the church's geneology website. Indexing is the process of reading old records and entering them into the computer so that eventually people will able to find their ancesters with the click of a mouse. To date I've been able to index over three thousand names. It's really interesting and a most worthy endeavor. Right now I'm working on death records from the state of New Hampshire. I'm sticking with that because after awhile you get really proficient at reading some of the weird writing. I don't know why the people filling out the forms felt the need to use all types of squiggles and curly-q's. Some of the names have been really funny and some not so funny. The thing I have enjoyed the most is the stories that are told with just names and dates. It's hard when you find a family who has lost one or more children in a cholera epidemic or some type of illness. Once in awhile I get curious about a place of death being listed as a "sanitorium". After some research I've found that it was usually the place they sent people with TB. Another interesting location was one listed as "County Farm". It turned out to be a "poor farm". I try to look at this as a job and usually set a goal of two to four hours a day. That could change as I get more involved in the community.
Mike started his assignment last Sunday and he won't get a day off until, maybe, the third week in January. They've lost four other instructors who won't be back for three weeks and another had to go home for an emergency. To add to this, the NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge) has been mostly in hiding and left Mike to do much of what he should be doing. It makes for long, tiring days. The good news is that he can have a nice home cooked meal. That's what I've loved about being in a hotel with a full (however small) kitchen.
We've been told that Mike's mob(ilization) orders will be moved up to February 15 and at that time we'll be able to move to our permenent home; a fully furnished, one bedroom apartment. I keep putting off buying anything until I see what "fully furnished" means. I left so much of my cooking stuff at home.
I had a chance to go to the Dallas Temple on Thursday and spent an enjoyable couple of hours. I'm still getting used to not having the mountains around to know north/south from east/west. I'm also getting used to "toll roads"! I keep forgetting to make sure I have some change and some dollar bills in my car. Eventually, I'll find out how to navigate without getting on the toll roads. Unfortunately, my traveling companion (GPS) doesn't feel it necessary to warn me or take me around those roads. What a witch! She's also a nag! I'm looking for a model that sounds more like James Earl Jones.
I've also spent alot of time just getting in the car and driving without any directions. I've discovered that Arlington has some really great neighborhoods and some that appear quite wealthy. Also, I've been able to find everything I need within one to five miles. I think I'm doing a great job of finding my way around.
Today is Saturday and I did a little cleaning out of some of our files, later I'll do some laundry. Such is the life of Texas' newest arrival. I can't wait to invite the Bush's to dinner. More later.
Much love, VZ

Repentance!

2009-01-04T15:33:00.004-07:00

I am now totally repentant about all the gloating I did about the 80* weather. Today I'm freezing! It's only 45* (yea, yea, I know it's only 18* in SLC) but 45* in Texas IS freezing! So I've switched again to warm clothes!
Today's been great. I went to the ward we'll be attending and everyone was great. It's only 15 mins away and pretty easy to get to. Bishop Brinkerhoff is a fairly new bishop and very nice. I look forward to working with them.
Mike informed me earlier that we may be moving to a different hotel. Apparently it's just been renovated from apartments to hotel and all the rooms are really large with bigger kitchens. I just bought groceries and finished putting all our stuff away so I'm not so inclined to leave this place but we'll check it out.
So for now "see y'all".
With much love, Vicki

Unpacking

2009-01-03T21:38:00.002-07:00

Wow! I was so excited to be in a one bedroom suite. All the amenities; kitchen with a fridge, stove, dishwasher, some dishes and cooking things. However, it seems that we have a lot of stuff that still doesn't have space and those things will just have to stay in their boxes until we get into the apartment. I worked so hard to bring as little as possible. Grrr...
As for the area; I'm really excited to be here and it looks like we will have plenty to keep busy. Well, I'll find things to do. Mike already has so much to do.
We are in Arlington just outside of Dallas and here's what we've discovered already.
1. We are across the street from the Six Flags amusement park.
2. We are across the street from Hurricane Harbor.
3. We are about 5 minutes away from the new Ranger stadium (I think it will also be the new home of the Cottonbowl)
4. There are a gazillion eating places.
5. The Dallas Temple is close by.
6. The Urgent Care is just 10 minutes away and really close to the Super Wal-Mart!
Yea, I said Urgent Care. That's where I took Mike today so he could get some meds for a major sinus infection! It started on the trip and got worse yesterday. I didn't even wake him up until early this afternoon and I just sent him to bed about 30 mins ago so he could get another good nights sleep. Actually, I just put him to bed so I could have some peace and quiet! I'm NOT a good empathizer (sp?). Tomorrow should be better.
Tomorrow I begin my hunt for our new ward; at least the ward we will be in for the next couple of months. I really excited to get goin'.
So all in all, things are going well and I haven't received any word that my house has burned down...
More later. Oh by the way, we were thrilled to know that Mandy and our good friends, the Reeds had a fabulous time in New Orleans watching those fabulous UTES stomp Alabama! It was thrilling to be able to watch the game and cheer LOUDLY in our humble abode :D
Love to all, VZ

Gratitude

2009-01-01T20:53:00.004-07:00

Yesterday (31 Dec) we had planned to be on the road by noon. I realized early in the day that it wasn't going to happen. First of all, Mike and I were fighting a hacking cough and that alone was pretty exhausting. But the main reason for the delay is trying to consolidate our stuff into a car load. I tried to narrow it down to what I thought I would absolutely need but it turned out to be much harder than I thought. So, after some serious pondering I realized...oh my gosh, how did the pioneers do it? And they could only take seventeen pounds! It then became a challenge to take only necessary items. Left behind items included the griddle, my juicer, ALL of my pictures, Brita water container, laundry soaps, towels, alot of clothes, MY ELECTRIC BLANKET, and other things too numerous to mention. In the end I didn't relent on taking my breadmaker or Cutco knives. I also took my mesh bread baking pan. I figured even in the hotel, I can still make bread! Oh yeah, I also couldn't leave my blender. There is so much you can cook when you have a blender!
We finally got on the road around 2:30pm and got to Denver just before the new year. Not a bad drive actually; no snow just windy. We watched the "ball" fall at midnight and then went to bed. Our next goal was to reach Oklahoma City so we'd only have to travel four hours the last day. We stopped in Blackwell just short of OC. Tomorrow, Grand Prairie, Texas.
I'm grateful to live in a time when going from one place to another is a breeze. I grateful that even if I forgot something critical I can either buy it or have it sent. I'm especially grateful that I can be in contact with my family at the touch of a button; I don't have to wait months for a letter. What a great time to be alive! More later...

We're Outta Here!

2008-12-24T23:47:00.002-07:00

Originally I was going to stay behind and meet Mike in Grand Prairie, Texas after he saw what the living arrangements were going to be. We decided there was no point in me leaving later. First of all, Mike found out that he'd probably need the car to get back and forth from the base. And the biggest reason is...I really don't want to make the 20+ hour drive in the middle of winter by myself! So...on the 30th (or the 31st) of December, we pack up the car with the stuff we think we can't live without for a year and say our good-byes and head into the sunset (snowset). We're really excited about the move. I know from our travels this summer that our kids will all be fine. I'm looking forward to meeting new people and especially seeing my cousin, Shauna, who I haven't seen in years. So, for now, it's hasta la vista to all and if you're up for the adventure, come and see us. Maybe by the summer I'll have figured out where all the best eating places are. One thing I can't make myself do is cheer for the Mavs, the Cowboys or the Aggies! So, GO JAZZ, GO UTES, GO BYU!

Finally!

2008-12-15T19:11:00.003-07:00

Well, it's finally happening! Mike is just finishing a two week assignment in Dublin, CA. When he gets home this Thursday, we'll have a fairly calm holiday and on the 2nd of January, he'll fly out for his final army assignment. After nearly 30 years he'll be able to retire and we'll move on.
This is a mobilization which, simply put, means he's in the regular army. If they wanted to they could send him far away (which he has been eager to do for the last four years) but instead, he'll be stationed in Grand Prairie, TX., outside of Dallas. He'll do what he's been doing for many years, teaching combat lifesaving and leadership courses. The army is so short handed, they're happy to have someone of his calibur on staff.
What does this all mean for our family? I plan on joining Mike in the middle of January. We'll be away for about a year. Rachel and her family are living downstairs and Jana and her family are living upstairs and I'll go to Texas to live the life of an army wife. I've never done that and I'm excited.
Intially we'll be in a hotel for about two months (not as exciting as it sounds; it plays havoc on your body to have to eat out all the time) and then we will be given a one bedroom, fully furnished apartment for the remainder of the time.
Our stuff is basically boxed and in storage and we won't have to take much. I want to keep busy so I'll probably take some stuff that I usually don't have time for (pictures, crocheting, etc.).
Another thing I want to do is get fully involved in the community (town and church). We'll try and jump right into ward activity and lend support to the church there.
So, through the beauty of modern technology, we'll be able to keep in touch wherever we are and let you know what we are doing. Keep us posted on your lives. I'll probably be back for the birth of Scott and Lisa's baby in March.
Till then, I hope your holidays are as exciting as ours. Merry Christmas from us all. With much love, Vicki and Mike

This is a short clip of a class Mike taught in Lincoln, Nebraska. I'm always tickled by some of the positions the guys have to get into to be stuck by a student.

Captured!

2008-11-21T23:42:00.005-07:00

We're just headed home after two and a half weeks at Camp Parks. Camp Parks is in Dublin, California just east of Oakland. Mike was an instructor for ANCOC (advanced non-commissioned officer course) which included some pretty serious "war games". I got to play the part of an Iraqi villager (sometimes hostel, sometimes not). In the picture I'm getting frisked! I was really amazed at the seriousness of the training. For example; at one point I was walking down a dirt road with a baby and a soldier told me to "Halt"! I pretended not to understand and she gave me hand signals to get on the ground. And get on the ground I did! It was pretty impressive. But what was most impressive to me is what Mike does month after month to conduct these courses. They're time consuming, sometimes dirty and many times frustrating but alway important to those taking the class. He's my hero! We're still waiting to hear about a start date for Grand Prairie, TX but there are many opportunities to teach every month if Grand Prairie doesn't come through. In fact, the battalion would rather Mike NOT take the Texas mission because it leaves them so short handed of qualified teachers. Whatever happens will work out fine for us. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime we continue to enjoy the travel.

Junk and More Junk

2008-10-21T19:27:00.002-06:00

Getting ready for Texas has really been a challenge. How do you get rid of 38 married years of stuff? It's not like I'm a pack rat the way my mom was. I remember when we were cleaning out the family home after she died, there were actually pieces of yarn all knotted together. I think she liked the color and wanted to match it to something. She also had a lot of knickknacks from her days as an elementary school teacher. We don't know that they even meant anything to her, but there they were. We suspect that even she didn't know what was in the cupboards. I have a pact with some of my closest friends; when I die, they are to hurry over and burn the house down!
Anyway, as we went through things that I've had tucked away, I was reminded of the feelings we had when we went to Nauvoo on our way home from Pennsylvania. There wasn't a lot of choice about what they would take across the plains; food, shelter and warm clothes were top priority. I thought about being told that they could only take 17 lbs by handcart. At that point my choice became more simple. Get rid of the stuff that will make my kids life more difficult should they have to deal with it. I thought to myself after we were finished with my moms house; you don't get to hitch a U-Haul to your casket! I think I'm ready to really unload a lot of my earthly trappings. Now if I could get my kids to stop fighting over my stuff. "You take it" "No, YOU take it!"

Where's the Bathroom?

2008-10-21T09:04:00.004-06:00

I've traveled 11,000 miles by car since July 7th, stayed in a dozen or more hotels, gained 30# because there really isn't such a thing as diet friendly restaurant eating (seriously, why would you eat a salad when the enchiladas are the best in the world?). My point is; sometimes when you wake up in the middle of the night, you have to sit for a moment to remember where you are before you can go to the bathroom. We're home now and guess what; I still have to sit for a moment to remember where I am.
We got home on the 15th of October after Mike's Army mission in Pennsylvania and Nebraska. While we were away our home was taken care of by Rachel and Jana along with their families. One family upstairs, one family downstairs. Basically all the rooms were "ocupado"! Well, there's really no reason to cause undue stress for the two families so Mike and are making the sacrifice and moving out. Whoa, I can hear you say to yourselves. Where will they go, what will they do? Simple, really. We'll accept another Army assignment and go to Texas for a year. Actually, we'll go to California first then Texas.
Yep, Mike is being mobilized to teach the class he's spent the most time teaching this year. Combat Life Saver (CLS). Most of the soldiers take the class because they will probably be mobilized in the next year. They learn IV's, chest decompressions and other life saving stuff. Mike's a really great instructor and they need his skills so...off we go.
I had a rough time thinking about being away from all the grandkids but had such a great time with just me and Mike that I'm biting the bullet and going with him.
We'll be stationed in Grand Prairie, Texas located near Dallas and Plano (kind of in the middle of Texas). I'm excited to do this and have learned that all the family is fine when I'm gone. So, with a departure date of November 3rd, we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible before we leave.
I can't wait to see how long it takes me to know where the new bathroom will be!

Trip to Canada

2008-09-29T13:35:00.005-06:00

I still haven't written about my trip to Canada. There is so much to catch up on but briefly; Rachel, Luke, Emily and I made a trip to Windsor, Ontario, Canada in July. The trip took several weeks and we passed several time zones but the most critical was the ET which as most mothers would know is Emily's Tired (and we have to stop NOW). We only traveled what the two kids could tolerate and usually that was six hours or so. We had a fantastic time and saw more on that trip than most people get to see in a lifetime. We made use of KOA's (Kampgrounds of America) most of the time and they were quite the set up. The kids slept well in the cabins (actually, I couldn't tell you if they slept well or not, I was asleep!) In the morning we had warm showers before heading out for the days (daze) drive. Rachel kept asking me if I would like her to drive but I don't have stupid written on my forehead and said I was fine. Near the end of the trip she was BEGGING to drive.
We stopped at Cabela's in Nebraska, we saw the LDS Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha. We saw my good friend Cathrin in St Joseph, Missouri, toured Nauvoo City and Carthage Jail. Luke and I had a blast in Nauvoo and saw a dress rehersal of the famous "Nauvoo Pageant" which focuses on Joseph Smith and life for the Saints in Nauvoo. Words cannot express the emotions we felt as we watched the production.
On the 11th we picked Jamie up at the Chicago airport and made it to Windsor the following day.
This was the first time I'd ever met Jamie's family and they were really great. A few days later, Rachel, Luke and I headed to Palmyra, NY to watch the "Hill Cumorah Pageant". Again, words fail to describe what we felt there, the site where Joseph Smith met the Angel Moroni to aquire the Gold Plates (Book of Mormon). Nearby is the Sacred Grove where Joseph asked the most simple question, "Which church is true"? This ground, so hallowed, is where he received his answer in the presence of God, the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, "None of them"! The rest is found in LDS history. I spent a lot of time watching Luke to see if he was aware of what he was doing and I had my answer shortly thereafter when he asked, "Grandma, can I say a prayer"? When asked what he wanted to know he said, most sweetly, "I want to know if Joseph really saw God and Jesus". After a brief pause he added, "Then I want to know why Santa didn't bring me the things at the top of my list"! Baby steps...
We rounded out the trip with a stop at Mt Rushmore. On the way home from there we made a wrong turn and took a different way. It was meant to be for on the way home we passed by Martin's Cove where the Saints with their meager belongings sought shelter from the bitter winter cold.
I can't tell it all in one sitting but will try a little here and a little there.
That was in July and I haven't been home since but for a very few days.
It's been an awesome summer and continues still!

Thank You, Mark Johnson!

2008-09-18T07:47:00.001-06:00

My sister, Yvonne, is married to Don Johnson (the ORIGINAL) and Don has a brother, Mark, who plays golf. Currently he plays on the senior tour with notables like Tom Kite, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw etc. Let me pause for a moment to explain something. My dad played a lot of golf. He used to say, "I shoot in the low 70's. If it gets any colder, I QUIT!" I can only remember watching him play once and that was only because he LET ME pull the new bag carrier, puller, thingy with wheels. I never watched golf, never cared about golf...until August 2008.
While in Washington we found out that Mark was playing in the Boeing Classic, a huge tournament (part of the senior tour) in Snoqualmie, east of Seattle. So Mike and I decided it would be fun to go see him play (getting free VIP passes didn't hurt). End result; we loved it! So much in fact that we went to the Willow Brook tournament a few weeks later in Sandy, Utah. We took Jamie 'cause he DOES play golf. Again, a very enjoyable day and now...we are way into that small tournament called The Ryder Cup. Next, when we truly retire and finish up all that we want to do, we will become tournament followers. I hope Mark will remember to let us know when he plays in Europe (and gives us free VIP passes)!
Go team USA!

Facebook

2008-09-18T07:47:00.000-06:00

Well, I've really done it this time! I've made another leap into a whole new world and joined Facebook. Actually, I did it to spy on my family and see what they're really doing while I'm away. For example; Rachel's having a candle party on the 24th (check out her site for more info). I found out all my children who are signed up on this site have a lot of friends who in turn have a lot of friends...infinity! I'd love to know, who is a person you have stumbled across that you would least expect?

Happy Constitution Day

2008-09-17T14:28:00.000-06:00

I've had many occasions to reflect on the meaning of our Constitution and what it affords us. I can use one word...EVERYTHING!
Look around you and see all that is made possible by that document; the right to choose who leads you, the right to live where you want, the right to believe or not believe in the God of your choice, on and on.
This summer I've had some really reflective moments as I've traveled around this great country of ours and some of those moments have brought tears to my eyes as I think of those who made it all possible.
It's hard not to look around the fields of Pennsylvania without thinking of tattered armies fighting to be liberated from England. When a fog kisses the ground, I see those men coming out of the trees. They are barefooted, hungry and ragged but still they go forward toward freedom.
God bless us and our Constitution!

Mobile Living

2008-09-17T10:24:00.000-06:00

Mike and I have been talking for awhile about ridding ourselves of all our earthly possessions and living in a trailer. Now, before you conjour up thoughts of a "shack type" existence let me say that trailer living is hugely improved!
"The Worlds Largest RV Show" was in Hershey, PA last week-end (9/12-14) and I took the opportunity to do some trailer research before I went with Mike later that evening. I hooked up with the representative from Fleetwood and he was most helpful in answering all of the questions I could come up with and some I hadn't thought of. Originally I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted and looked at about a half dozen units to see if what I wanted was what was being built. I narrowed it down to two I really liked that I felt I could live in for the remainder of my days. Later, when I went back with Mike I showed him the two I had picked out and he agreed that they would fit the bill. However, we decided to check out the 5th wheel models (the trailer is mounted to the inside of the truck bed) just to see what they offered that the conventional trailer did not. WOW! I was totally blown away by the differences. What it boiled down to was this. Trailers are great for traveling and making vacation trips BUT a 5th wheel is like having an apartment on wheels; dining sets instead of cafe booths, countertop islands instead of a small counter next to the sink, "upstairs bedrooms" and space for a small washer/dryer, etc. Truly, these things are made to live in "happily ever after"!
It makes it so much easier to make the life changing event exciting. Did I mention that Mike will have to get that new truck he's been wanting to pull our new home?

Goates Family

2008-09-17T10:00:00.000-06:00

On Sunday (9/14) I had a chance to attend church in Shippensburg, PA with close friends of Sara and Matt. The Goates family (Nathan, Valerie, and daughters Audrey and Marian) lived in Nashville, TN the same time as the Nagels. They were most gracious hosts and it was a fun visit. Valerie looked wonderful, even if she thinks she's as big as a house! Her baby boy will be here in a couple of months. Nathan in a counselor in the bishopric. The girls are both so beautiful. The drive down was a mixture of sunshine and fog. It wasn't hard to visualize earlier times in history with families on farms and cattle in the fields. I plan on making the drive again next Sunday. Pictures will be available as soon as I figure out how to do it.

Army Life (Wife)

2008-09-15T12:30:00.000-06:00

Gotta love it!
After 25+ years of Army life, I'm finally following Mike wherever the Army takes him! Who could resist? I mean, y'all are footing the bill for my room and board :)
This has been an amazing summer and rather than start at the beginning (my fabulous road trip with the Moroz family) I've decided to start with the "here and now" and go backwards. So...hang on to your passports, it's going to be a long trip!
For those of you who don't know (is there really anyone out there who DOESN'T know?) Mike has been in the Army for a long, long time (all the way back to Viet Nam and Desert Storm). For the past 5 yrs or so, he's travelled around the country teaching CLS (Combat Life Saver) and leadership courses (ANOC, BNOC, knock-knock). This past year he's been to Pennsylvania, Washington, Texas, California and probably a few places I don't remember. Let me start with the beginning of this trip to Ft Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. Actually, we shouldn't be sitting here at all! We (anytime I say WE, it usually means Mike but you know how that goes) waited and WAITED for orders to teach this class. When it looked as if they were not coming, we planned a really great trip with Don and Yvonne (my sister and her hubby). We were going through Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Jerome, Arizona (where my dad was born), Carlsbad Caverns then north to Denver where we would pick up Jaira (Yvonne's daughter). Then on to Montana, Wyoming and home again. We planned on fishing, touring and all manner of "ings" in-between. By noon on the 8th we received official word that no orders would be coming and so our bags were packed and ready to go. By the morning of the 9th (happy anniversary to us, 38 yrs) we would be outta there! On the evening of the 8th the orders appeared! Not only that, when Mike originally requested his orders, he asked to take his POV (personally operated vehicle). We thought we would make it a real slow trip and see a lot of our beautiful country on the way to Pennsylvania. Now, we would have to make the 2300 mile trip in 2 1/2 days! We had to re-do our packing list and now had Army gear instead of fishing gear :(
We drove almost 900 miles the first day and stopped in Lincoln, Nebraska. We stayed at the motel for just 6 hrs of sleep and breakfast before heading out the morning of the 10th. We made all the stops necessary for creature comfort but I know there was so much we missed. We did get to listen to a book on tape and that helped pass the time.
I digress for a moment to tell you that Mike has a really, REALLY bad back because while we were in Washington he did a sit-up and we heard a "snap" and then he said, "Oh, that can't be good"! and it wasn't and he had to go to a chiropractor and then it got a little better and then he picked up Charley(our grandaughter, no offense Charley)and he said, "Uggg" and now he hurts again! (I'm taking a breath now). . .the whole point being, it didn't make for a comfortable drive.
The 10th we made another 800+ miles but didn't get to make many stops. However, we didn't have to go so fast as to miss the beautiful countryside. That night we stayed in a room that, well, how do I put it? It just plain stunk!
We entered Pennsylvania on the 11th and were suddenly struck with the knowledge that we were very close to hallowed ground. It was just seven years ago that the hijacked plane was sent to the ground in the fields of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We paused with the rest of the nation to observe the moment of silence that morning as we drove within 1/2 hour of the site. We're planning on going to the site on the trip back.
Ft Indiantown Gap is just beautiful and I've enjoyed Mike telling me about the surroundings. This area is filled with so many historical sites and things to do: Hershey Chocolate factory, Gettysburg, Hershey Chocolate factory, Amish country, Hershey Chocolate factory, the Susquehanna River (where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry were baptized) and the Hershey Chocolate factory.
There is also a lot going on here, the most interesting being the country's biggest RV show.
For now we are back in a motel room after two nights at a KOA cabin. We'll be here until the 28th so I'm taking the opportunity to read, tour and eat chocolate! More later. . .