Mission Presidents' Seminar In Seattle - Sleepless In Seattle

Every six months we have a Mission Presidents' Seminar and I really look forward to them. This time it was being held in Seattle.

What a bonus for us since Ben and Haley live in the Seattle area!! We got permission to arrive the evening before the meetings began so we could spend a little time with them. Glen was able to finish the last zone's interviews with the missionaries before we headed to the airport to hop on our plane.

Ben and Haley were at the other end when the plane touched down.

It was late when we arrived in Seattle. We were all hungry, so we ate at the Cheesecake Factory before we checked into our La Quinta hotel. Ben and Haley had gotten a hotel nearby so they would be close to us since we didn't have much time together.

We were a little stumped about where to go to find our room when we stepped off the elevator.

Until we realized there were two rooms behind us and one of them was our room #606. It was very late when we got to sleep.

I wasn't very happy to be awakened early in the morning to the sound of the garbage truck right outside our window. It reminded me of how the trash truck comes so early in our neighborhood every single Monday morning.

I dozed off and was awakened again with another trash truck making lots of noise. I got up to see how there could possibly be so much trash and what to my wondering eyes did appear but a major construction zone exactly across the street from our hotel window.

What I thought were trash trucks were construction trucks, bulldozers, earth movers and whatever else all those things are called that little boys love to play with in miniature toy form.

As we sat and watched all the construction going on, we thought about how much the little grandboys would have loved to have been there observing every single movement of those big machines and trucks and cranes and construction workers.

We had eaten breakfast in our hotel before we packed up and met Ben and Haley. They hadn't eaten, so we stopped at McDonald's (with a view) for them to eat breakfast.

We found a place to park nearby and walked to the Space Needle. There was an interesting-looking museum nearby.

As we walked around to the other side of the museum, we came upon this artistic design. Ben and Haley had no idea what it was.

I was very familiar with the old-fashioned typewriter eraser. I used one all the time when I was learning how to type. The red end erased the mistakes and then you would turn it over and brush the eraser crumbs away. It brought back fond high school business class memories for me.

There was a fun playground nearby.

Once inside the Space Needle, we read the information panels as we walked along to the elevator.

There was a glass museum nearby which we didn't want to pay to see, but we caught a glimpse of one of the glass artwork pieces--the florescent green plantlike creation.

The elevator took us to the top of the Space Needle so we could admire the beautiful city scene all around us.

There were some simulator glasses people were having fun looking through.

As we were walking around the Space Needle, we saw La Quinta--the small beige building near the base of the tallest crane. It really put into perspective the massiveness of the construction project that was the reason for our being awakened by so much truck/machine noises.

What a cute photo of the three of us!! With the construction zone right by Haley's head.

Then we got Glen in the photo to document we were all in Seattle together!

There were beautiful plants and trees all around, just calling out to us for a pose with them.

There were metal flowers calling out for a pose with them as well.

The guys were tired of getting their picture taken, so Haley and I posed in front of the Space Needle and gave Ben the instruction to get the tree in the picture with us as well.

We had previously been talking about how the guys aren't that great with photo placement. Here is what he came up with...

Haha, Ben!! Second try...

Here's my attempt to try and capture the Space Needle with the glorious fall leaves all around in great abundance.

We walked to a nearby food court and got some lunch.

We went to our seminar hotel and were able to check into our room. Ben and Haley had brought some games for us to play all afternoon.

While they were there, we had a special delivery of all these things. We gave the basket of goodies and the chocolates to Ben and Haley to take home with them. We kept the flowers and the gift.

Inside the gift was this beautiful sculpture. "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant" (Matthew 23:11).

There was a note of gratitude for our service and a welcome to the seminar. It was signed by Elder Patrick Kearon, Elder Carl B. Cook, Elder Scott D. Whiting and Elder John C. Pingree Jr.

When it was time for us to go to dinner, we bid Ben and Haley farewell. It had been so nice spending time with them.

We ate such delicious food while we were at our seminar.

That first night we had an added bonus of a delicious Washington apple to take back to the room with us. They were brought courtesy of President and Sister Lewis of the Yakima Mission.

I took this picture for my brother Mark. President Lewis said he knows Bishop Mark Ward in Yakima.

We had another rough night's sleep our second night in Seattle because our room had two double beds. We tried to sleep in the same bed and kept tossing and turning. I was awake for hours. Not only was it too crowded, but my neck and left shoulder were really getting sore for some reason.

I moved to the other bed to try and get some sleep. It was a looooonnnng night!! 

In the morning Glen was complaining about the bed situation. He was frustrated he hadn't checked himself into the Marriott instead of having the church representative check us in. That way Marriott would have recognized his frequent flyer/stayer/lived-in-one-of-their-hotels-for-2-entire-years-prior-to-mission status and would have upgraded us to an executive king room. 

Glen was trying to prove they weren't even queen beds. He looked up the measurements of a double and a queen and used pieces of paper to measure the length and width and came up with TINY!!

We didn't let our lack of sleep hamper our enjoyment of the day we had ahead of us. Breakfast each morning was a buffet which was set up right outside our conference room.

After breakfast, a morning full of instruction and lunch, we were off on a field trip--to the Seattle Temple.

My selfie was so horrible I recruited a couple to take our picture after we had finished our session. The lighting wasn't that great with shadows on our faces, but it captures the beauty of the fall leaves and the late afternoon sun on The House of the Lord.

We had crammed two men and two of us woman in the back row of the big passenger van on the way to the temple and it was a pretty tight fit. This time three women were already in the back, so I scooted my way back to join them.

It was still pretty tight, but at least Glen had a little more room on the way back to the hotel by sitting on the bench in front of us with another couple.

We made it back to the hotel in time for dinner.

They always had some kind of fancy dessert on display for us to end our meal.

At bedtime, we just started out in separate beds and I had a little better night's sleep, although my neck and shoulder were so sore and I kept thinking how glad I was that I had a chiropractor appointment set for when we got home.

The next morning we were all spiffed up and on our way down in the elevator to see what was for breakfast.

The food displays were always so beautiful. I guess I should have been the one in the photo, because Glen doesn't appear to like to be my photo subject, does he???!!!???

Off along the far wall was this happy chap all ready to serve us up our preference of bagel and topping. It was fun to look at the display. So fancy!!

We were one of the first ones there this particular morning. I wanted a picture of the conference room in which we were meeting.

After I got looking at this photo, it made me laugh as it looks like Glen has either super short legs and his feet are kicking out the tablecloth, or super long legs with his knees poking clear out.

Not sure what exactly is under that cloth, but it is not any part of my husband.

The various trainings all throughout the days were always so good, inspirational and spiritual. I felt like that was enough of a treat for us.

But, alas, there were tasty treats at the breaks. I enjoyed the beautiful display of the snacks and eagerly anticipated how the next treat would be presented for our enjoyment. This one is a make-your-own trail mix.

This is granola yogurt parfait.

A clever one was s'mores with the graham crackers lined up and the chocolate and marshmallows warming in the pan.

Definitely Glen's favorite was the popcorn snack.

As has happened with each seminar, we were dealing with a missionary with medical issues and this time was no exception. We hurried through lunch this particular day so Glen could make all the necessary phone calls to get a missionary sent home to deal with healing from an illness and then will hopefully come back when fully healed.

We knew it was probably going to happen and when we got the doctor's report that day, it was confirmed for us. Still doesn't make it any easier for the missionary or for us--especially for Glen. There are a lot of emails and phone calls to be made before the actual early departure of a missionary takes place.

In the afternoon we separated for a couple of hours. We wives were instructed by the wives of the general authorities in attendance. I always especially love this part of the seminar.

Elder Cook was able to do his training the first day. On the second day he said he felt like he really wanted to include his wife in the training. He then announced he had been asked to accompany Elder Rasband on a visit to the fire-stricken Santa Rosa, California area and that meant he and his wife would be leaving our seminar early.

So we did not get to hear Lynette speak in the women's portion as was originally planned. Sister Kearon pointed out how blessed we were to get to hear her teach with her husband before their unexpected reassignment had come up. We were all still able to enjoy her participation in the seminar that way.

It's always amazing how things work out...

As we women were visiting at the end of our class time, Elder Kearon was trying to get us to hurry back into the main conference room before taking our break.

He wanted to make the announcement that they were going to end the instruction earlier than planned to give us a couple of hours to go out and enjoy the waterfront in the absolutely gorgeous weather.

So that is what we did!!!

There was a very peaceful, beautiful park we enjoyed walking through. 

We stopped to look at the memorial to fallen firefighters.

We were so glad we were in Seattle on some non-rainy days, especially since it looks like it rains so much there even the ducks need rain gear.

We had to get a picture of Glen with the big gumball machine. He would always buy a big gumball for the kids and grandkids on our way out of Golden Corral. So sad the new Golden Corral in Murrieta doesn't have a gumball machine!!

We had been noticing people coming and going from the hotel who were all decked out in costume. Curiosity got the better of us and we stopped these three to ask why they were all dressed up.

I figured it was some kind of Halloween party, but they said it was for Steamposium--a steam punk event. I have looked on the internet to learn more about it, but I still don't get what it's all about.

As we were walking by the place where the Steamposium was happening, the man at the door called us over and invited us in.

He gathered the people around who were having a Nerf gun war and had them pose for a photo with us. He said it would make a great story to tell of how we came to be in their midst.

Glen told them who we are and was giving pass along cards to them. Most of them refused, but there were a couple of people eager to accept a card. 

The cards refer to mormon.org, so we are hopeful they will click on the link and see if they can learn something about the gospel or get some answers to some questions they might be having. 

I was super sad when the last day rolled around because I never like to have a good thing end. 

We had decided to get up a little earlier than usual so we could be all packed up before we went down to breakfast. We were in a very deep sleep when the alarm went off. 

As usual, we went down to get breakfast in the hallway outside the conference room and there were no other couples down there. Worse than that, the food was not out yet. We waited a few minutes wondering why everybody and everything was so slow that day.

Then someone came and told us breakfast was being served later that day. I guess it was to give us extra time to pack or something like that. UGH!! We had been sleeping so well...finally...!!! Leave it to us to not examine closely the schedule like apparently everyone else had done!!

Once the breakfast food appeared, we enjoyed it as usual and then settled in for our last instruction session with these men: Elder Pingree, Elder Kearon and Elder Whiting. Then they had their wives join them for their final testimonies to end the seminar. 

For this last day, all the Area Authorities had arrived to receive instruction with us and then they received instruction all afternoon as well.

We had our final meal--lunch--and then we got shuttled to the airport according to when our flights were scheduled to depart. 

I was anxious to get home and take off the jacket I was wearing. It was new and I kept scratching and scratching my neck. I also had a spot on my back that was itching like crazy. I have a thing with clothes tags and usually remove any and all tags on my shirts and jackets. I hadn't done so this time and was regretting it.

It had been such a relaxing trip for us and it was especially enjoyable because we got to see Ben and Haley.

These seminars are as close to a vacation as we are going to get these three years we're serving in this calling.

Although we were sleepless in Seattle, we did have a very wonderful time together in the beautiful state of Washington.

Quotes of the Week

Exaltation is our goal. Discipleship is our path.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Believe in yourselves. Believe that you are never alone. Believe that you will always be guided.
--Elaine S. Dalton

We can be blessed to conquer our fears and strengthen our faith as we follow the Lord's instruction.
--David A. Bednar

I want to be absolutely clear when I stand before the judgment bar of God that I declared to the world...that the Book of Mormon is true.
--Jeffrey R. Holland

Family Photos Take Two, Madagascar Missionaries Arrive, Rebecca's Family Leaves

Rebecca's family had originally planned to leave to go back home to Utah on Sunday. But, when she found out an Apostle was going to be at the Murrieta Stake Conference that weekend, their plans were changed to go home on Monday instead.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson was the visiting authority. He called Glen to ask if he would speak for 15 minutes in the priesthood leadership meeting on Saturday afternoon. I was sad about Glen speaking at a meeting that I wouldn't be attending.

I got good reports on how well he had done with his speaking assignment from those who had been in attendance and from Elder Christofferson himself. We had been invited to join with the stake presidency and their wives and Elder Christofferson for a meal between the leadership meeting and the adult session.

When Elder Christofferson shook my hand, he told me Glen had done a nice job and told me I should probably renew his contract. Nice sense of humor. We were assigned to sit at his table along with the new stake patriarch and the stake president and his wife.

Sunday morning Rebecca had planned for a second try at getting a good family photo. Is this the face of someone looking like she would be cooperative for another round of picture taking???!!???

Brooke was ready and keeping herself busy by making a star constellation simulator. When it was all made, we went in a darkened room and when Brooke turned on the little light, it looked like the room had stars all around. 

Spencer was dressed for church and happily playing with the toy cars. He had somehow gotten a sore on his nose and refused to tell us how it happened. Perfect! Just in time for family photos.

Caroline was not sure if she liked the way her hair was curled, so she wasn't that anxious to be in front of the camera.

Rebecca wanted a picture of the two of us together and immediately we had kids jumping in the photo with us.

 Everyone except Caroline.

We made the hour-long trek to Murrieta, parked our cars, got seats saved and then were on the hunt for the perfect photo spot.

It was a sunny day and the only option we had was on this side of the church building. Places everyone!!

 Madison was having issues this time with her neck and holding her head up

Then she started having problems with her skirt, and pulling funny faces. 

 Rebecca suggested Madison hold hands with Caroline.

 So adorable!! And then we lost Spencer...

 Spencer's back, but then we have the crazy look on Madison's face again.

Rebecca wanted a photo with us in the picture with them. So Dallas manned the camera. 

We finally got a good one of Madison looking happy. But...Spencer's eyes are wandering and Brooke has now lost all patience for picture taking.

I kept hoping for someone to walk by so we could get a picture of all of us. Sure enough, a woman walked by who was very willing to take a group photo of us.

Then it was time for us to take our seats and prepare for the meeting. I had perused the printed program and felt great relief to see my name was not on the program. I hadn't been asked to speak ahead of time and this was confirming I didn't need to worry.

A few minutes before the standing congregational hymn, the stake president got up to announce the rest of the program and he said Elder Christofferson had asked for three or four people to come up and share their testimonies. He called a couple who had just gone to the temple to be sealed. Next was a teenager who had recently been baptized.

The stake president got up again and said there would be a fourth invitation. I figured if anybody were to get randomly called on, it would probably be the new stake patriarch. Sure enough, he asked for the stake patriarch to share his testimony.

Well, by that time I was sitting back, relaxing, getting the hymn book opened to the right page and feeling very relieved. Then, shockingly, the stake president said Elder Christofferson had asked for one more person to come to the pulpit. That person was ME!!! I had a total of one second to gather my thoughts.

As we'd been sitting on the stand, I had noticed a family sitting on the back row of the chapel. It was the man and his wife who had been baptized by their son the week before. I decided to mention them and their story and how happy I was to see them in the audience that day and what a wonderful blessing it is that they listened to hear the message their son had received and had found out for themselves the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the gospel and how the gospel blesses families. It has truly blessed mine and my children and my grandchildren's lives as well.

Once back home, I pulled out the puzzle box to keep the grandchildren entertained while dinner was being prepared.

Rebecca was our sous chef in the kitchen preparing the mashed potatoes to go along with the roast beef meal we were having.

The two missionaries being reassigned to our mission from the Madagascar Mission had arrived. The assistants had gone to the airport earlier in the day to pick up one of them. We had driven from Murrieta to San Diego right after stake conference to pick up the other one. Everyone came together to partake of our Sunday dinner.

Madagascar is experiencing a plague epidemic and the Church has been pulling out missionaries from that mission to wait out the plague in a safer place. We were told they will be with us for 6-9 months. We are happy to have them.

It was a melancholy feeling for us the next morning to have to tell our dear ones good-bye. Hugs were in abundance as they were sad to leave and we were sad to have them go.

One last family photo.

I'd probably have to say this is our best one yet...???