Golfer Nani, Funks' New Home, Speaking in Promontory Branch; School Starts for the Excells

Nani came the other day to pick up a set of golf clubs Glen no longer uses. Now that she is retired, she is going to take golfing lessons and needed some clubs. 

While she was here, we ate a Texas Roadhouse take-out lunch. YUM!! I am so glad she came on a Friday when that restaurant is open earlier in the day.

Our missionary Laurie Masangkay Funk and her husband Kyle invited us over to take a tour of their new townhome in Bluffdale (same exit as the prison, which is becoming more and more familiar to us) and to meet their baby Adeline. 

Their home is beautiful. We were marveling over their large kitchen space. 

After the tour, we went to eat at Cubby's. Their baby kept looking at Glen the whole time we were together...until this precise moment when she couldn't take her eyes off me to look at the camera.

We have now been to the prison a fourth time. This week we spoke in the Promontory Branch. One of the new couples working in that branch, the Woods, are the aunt and uncle of one of our missionaries--Cassie Davis Peel. 

Cassie gifted us with one of her drawings that we have hanging in the basement on our mission wall. It is Glen's comment he would say every day to anybody he greeted, "It's another great day in paradise!" 

The first few weeks Cassie was home, she would send Glen a weekly text update and would include her take on his favorite saying like, "It's another 'grape' day in paradise!" They were always clever and made us laugh.

Glen sent her the photo of us with her aunt and uncle and included this greeting, "It's another great day in 'prison'adise." She said it made her day!

It really was a great day in prison. The Promontory Branch just got a new branch president. President Biddulph and his wife (on the right) were called the same time we were to be on the district council and now, just these few weeks later, he has been sustained as the new branch president.

This branch of the prison is for the inmates who are nearing the end of serving time and will be out soon. Not quite sure how soon "soon" is, but they are the ones who have hope of getting out a lot sooner than others. 

When I looked over the group of men seated in the congregation, the word that came to my mind was "potential." There is so much potential for those men to succeed, if only they will work hard and not go back to whatever habits or impulses or choices got them there in the first place.

One of the men told us his release date is in two days. That has to be a glorious feeling! We all just pray for success once they get on the outside. It is hard for them to make the transition to the outside world and to be able to be successful in not going back to prison.

The stand-out quote for me from the week before, spoken from one of the inmates in our branch was "Satan does my heart no good." That's quite profound and applies to all of us!!

Now on to some great news!! Great news for Sarah!! And for her boys!! 

School is now in session in Las Vegas. Hurrah!! Sarah was about losing her mind thinking she would have to homeschool again this year. 

The boys do have to wear masks, but they are able to attend a full day of school--unlike at the end of last year when schools opened up after the Covid closure and they were only going a couple of hours each day. 

While Eli (6th grade), Carson (4th grade) and Lincoln (1st grade) attend school all day, Jonah will go to preschool 2 1/2 hours each morning.

Sarah is looking forward to her quiet time during the day and I am sure the boys are looking forward to their time away socializing and learning and having a change of scenery after all those months cooped up in the house last school year.

Quotes of the Week

 Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in waiting rather than in the received that we grow the most.

--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

We come to know the Lord as we seek through the power of His Atonement to become like Him. We come to know the Lord as we serve Him and labor in His kingdom. We more fully come to know the Lord as we not only believe in Him but also believe Him and His assurances.

--David A. Bednar

During any time of difficulty you experience--I hope you will regularly take time to sit for a few quiet moments with your Heavenly Father and let His Spirit warm you and reassure you of your value and the significance of your life.

--D. Todd Christofferson

Ben's Family Goes to New York; Rebecca Lasik Eye Surgery; Family Dinner and Vacation Voting

It was a good thing we were still not able to go to our branch of the prison the last Sunday of July because it allowed us to be able to help get Ben and Haley's family to the airport. They were flying away to New York for a 3-week vacation visiting Haley's parents. 

When we got to Ben's home, Kade was "riding" his bike--meaning his legs and feet were doing the propelling forward, reminding me of the Flintstones' car.

Levi was ready to go--trying to crawl right out the door.

Kade very happily put on his new backpack and his facemask. So cute!!

We will be anxious to hear of the adventures they have in New York.

Glen and I were able to go to a temple endowment after well over a year of not being able to do so.

We joined Jan and Bill Evans at the Bountiful City Park for the free concert. It was a jazz and blues band. The weather was lovely and the place was not crowded. 

The clouds got a little threatening, but the rain held out so we could enjoy our evening.

The singer (man in the orange shirt) and two of the band members came out into the audience and performed closer to the people. Glen felt the performance dragged on and on because he was anxious to get home to watch the Olympics. 

We had planned to go to dinner with one of our missionaries, Nate Wilson. He was anxious for us to meet his girlfriend. They ended up breaking up a couple of weeks before the dinner, so he said he was going to be bringing his aunt and uncle instead. 

It has been fun seeing the photos Haley has been posting from New York.

Levi is 10 months old now. He's become quite the crawler and is such a cute little baby.

Dallas decided to go on a hiking trip with his friend during the days Rebecca decided to get lasik eye surgery. I was happy to do the driving. I had to laugh at this eye chart in the restroom.

As we were sitting there waiting, a girl wearing dark glasses walked out and dropped her glasses in the donation bin. Rebecca asked if she had just had the surgery and she said yes. She seemed really happy with how it went and was more than happy to get rid of her glasses.

When Rebecca thought she was finished with her surgery, they checked her eyes again and found a fiber under the flap that had just been cut. That's not a good thing! So the doctor had to come back in and get that fixed for her. 

She kept her eyes shut tight on the ride home. I picked up the four grandchildren and brought them to our house for a few hours so Rebecca could nap. But first--she needed to secure the eye shields they had given her to her face.

That evening we went to a family dinner in Andy and Amanda's back yard. They have been quite the dinner hosts lately. We don't mind. I love spending time in their picturesque yard and eating delicious food.

We haven't had birthday celebrations for a very long time. 

It was Elijah's birthday that very day. Mark's whole family was passing through on their way home from Michelle's family reunion in St. George. 

There were a few other birthdays as well.

After dinner my parents, siblings and spouses gathered around for a pow wow. We are in the process of planning a vacation and felt the perfect time to plan was when all of us were together. It's not often we have Mark and Michelle in our midst.

After each couple had presented one of the vacation options, we had a vote on which one we wanted to do. Quite a few hands had gone up on the various options.

Then when the Alaskan cruise choice came up, Andy and Amanda raised their arms in perfect synchrony as the rest of us remained still. It was so funny! 

All of us went on an Alaskan cruise together 10 years ago, so that could explain the lack of interest and desire to go somewhere different.

Caleb and his new wife Natalia ended up staying at our home that night. In between driving Brooke to an early-morning orthodontist appointment and taking Rebecca back to her eye doctor for a post-op visit, the newlyweds had gotten themselves ready for the day and I was able to tell them good-bye.

We were able to get another endowment session appointment at the Bountiful Temple today. Oh happy day!!

Speaking of happy day... I was finally able to get Aspen Grove to send us the family photos they had taken. Only three families opted for the individual family photos. 

I loved that we had been able to have an entire family photo. I did wish it had been with us wearing one of our matching t-shirts.

It was a good thing Dallas pulled through for us on having his camera and tripod so he could capture the whole group of us in our green t-shirts.

I just can't get enough of looking at all of us together. Such a blessing!!

Quotes of the Week

 As the Lord is patient with us, let us be patient with those we serve. Understand that they, like us, make mistakes. They, like us, want others to give them the benefit of the doubt.

--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Some of you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He offered an infinite and eternal atoning sacrifice. But you also may believe that His Atonement works for everybody else--but not you. You exercise faith in the Savior but may not believe that all of His promised blessings are available to you or can operate in your life. I invite you to not only know about the Lord but also come to know Him.

--David A. Bednar

As you live worthy of the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Lord can direct you to safety even when you cannot see the way.

--Henry B. Eyring