Whew...what a ride!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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!