Dear Tanner,
We certainly hope you've had a WONDERFUL week! We were treated to some great pictures from Sister Genaro, for which we're so grateful! I love signing onto the computer, and finding an inbox full of your smiling face! We did get your changed itinerary, and wondered if you were the one behind the change. We didn't mind getting you in Columbus, just so long as we got you! We were actually going to make it an overnighter, and go to the temple, and maybe the zoo, all before you were released, but since you're coming straight home, we'll wait.
(Current street view of our house - and me - on Google Earth ;-)
In the news this week? A number of bloggers are posting videos that show bison and other animals allegedly leaving Yellowstone National Park, prompting theories that as earthquakes ramp up the seismic activity will set off the Yellowstone supervolcano. The two bloggers state that there’s no way to know when the supervolcano will go off but note that the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit on March 30 seemed to set off a reaction from the animals, who are moving for a reason. Their running away from Yellowstone is an alert of some sort.” A series of smaller quakes have hit the region over the past few weeks, and those quakes have been linked to the recent 5.1 magnitude quake (and aftershocks) that hit in the Los Angeles region. Nearly one quarter of the northern elk herd at Yellowstone National Park are missing, according to the annual winter count. “Biologists aren’t sure if there’s been a stunning decline in the herd or if other factors have skewed the tally,” he said. “Current Helium releases at 1000 times above normal.
The 8.2 earthquake that shook northern Chile and surrounding countries late Tuesday night was one of a string of recent earthquakes along what is known as the “Ring of Fire,” a circle of quake-prone areas on the Pacific Rim. A magnitude 5.1 quake hit Los Angeles last week, followed by aftershocks along the California coast. And South America will be on the lookout in coming days for aftershocks that have already started following Tuesday night’s temblor. Both cities lie along the so-called Ring of Fire, where two plates underneath the earth’s surface occasionally bump up against other plates. The 9.0 magnitude quake that hit Japan and cause the Fukushima meltdown in 2011 was on the Pacific’s Ring of Fire.
(Cooper's really long and smooth LEGO car ;-)
Family home evening this week was the first of a need to begin tradition. We had each piano player sit and play a song, and we all had to sing to it. It's good practice for the piano players, as it is hard to make a mistake and keep playing, and learn to keep up with those singing. They all did a great job, even Breyer sat and played her "Easter" song, while Dad was kind enough to sing along. His lyrics had us all rolling on the floor in the music room.
Everyone has been SO kind and thoughtful to me this week. It's almost been TOO much! Like back-to-back phone calls (seven in a row), or the door that doesn't stop swinging. Ladies show up to clean, wash dishes, and take home wash. It's humbling to be on the receiving end of service. I don't think I had to cook until Thursday! But they're right in knowing I need help. If I do too much and am up too long the foot really swells, and I need to prop it up. But each day it gets easier to be up and about with my shoe/boot. I go in the morning to make sure it is stable, and I won't need an operation to put in pins (please! ;-).
This week my cub scouts collected food for their "scouting" for food annual food drive. We picked the long street in Crown Point, and dropped off two boys on each side at the entrance, and two boys on each side at the other end. They collected a LOT of food. People were very generous, and we thought that collecting right then, instead of coming back in a week to pick up the bags, worked very well. It's always a good thing to involve the boys in a service project.
The boys have been enjoying baseball practices. The rain has made it difficult to get a lot in, but the weather otherwise has been very spring-like. Cool at night and beautiful during the day. The big forsythia bush out front is in full yellow bloom. You'd probably be sneezing a little if you were here ;-) Miller stayed home two days this week with an awful stomach bug and fever. Thank goodness no one else became sick! Hunter, a self-proclaimed hypochondriac, was feeling a little woozy the next day, and asked me to call him home after an early meeting and first class period. So I did. Then, he's out the door and golfing 18 holes instead of going to school. Senioritis has hit him hard with this change in weather! He actually had gone golfing 18 holes after school the day before! He does love the game.
Saturday was a crazy day! Cooper left before 7 a.m., as he signed up for a solo contest on his clarinet. They were graded on a scale from 1-5, 1 being the highest, and he was ranked 2. Very good for his second year in band! He got home at 4:30 p.m. Hunter left at 8:30 a.m. for the yearly S.C.O.R.E.S. competition at Marshall University. He competed in international business, finance, and American history. He got home at 3 p.m. Porter had an away track meet, and left at 9:15 a.m., and got home at 4 p.m. (I still have yet to hear how he did!) Sawyer and Dad went to the Webelo jamboree at Camp Arrowhead, and got in a little fishing. Sawyer also got to cook lunch for himself and his father. He had fun with the BB guns and archery station as well.
So I had two little munchkins, and got to watch conference all by myself. It was wonderful! And today we all basked in the spirit of general conference. When not in front of a screen, we spent time with our neighbors outside in the beautiful weather.
All those who missed yesterday's sessions watched them today, so there was A LOT of conference at our house today! I might have a few favorites to share with you! '-) I loved Elder Bednar's talk, which made me think about the "load" I carry, and whether or not the things in my load will provide spiritual traction for me and my children. I loved Elder Packer's reminders of how everything we do in the church ends "in the name of Jesus Christ," and how remembering Him should be imprinted upon us and our lives. I loved Elder Corbridges remarks of how one person and one scripture, referring to Joseph Smith and James 1:5, changed the world. He made think about what I could do and do better. I love President Uchtdorf and his "Bottle of Bitterness or Goblet of Gratitude" analogy, and how we need to be grateful for the circumstances we're in, and not what we feel we lack. Should I go on? I don't know why Elder Christofferson's statement hit me like, "Duh!" But when he said, "Because Jesus Christ was resurrected, he could not be a mortal man, or just a carpenter, or just a wise man. He was and is a God, and he taught the truth, and in due course all will know." Sometimes they, the apostles, make it all seem so easy! I'm sure you felt their love as much as I. President Monson closing was wonderful, with, "May our homes be filled with love, may we ever be found doing the work of the Lord."
I know your "home" in Brazil is filled with love, as you are so close to the Savior through your service. And you're ever doing the work of the Lord. We love you for this, and oh so much more!
Love,
Mom and Dad
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