The Not so Unexpected Arrives.......
                                    ......Unexpectedly!!

     This is a touchy subject that must be approached with the utmost tact and caution.  Too much enthusiasm and someone....somewhere....sometime will read it and say "Well!!...it doesn't sound like they enjoyed it very much".  On the other hand  if we downplay our excitement and jubilation someone....somewhere....sometime will read it and say "Well!!...it doesn't sound like they enjoyed it very much".  So let's cut to chase....make the big announcement........

President Hall sent us a letter (actually it was stuffed in our mission mailbox with very little pomp or ceremony)and was  from the mission secretary.  The message was quick and to the point:.....It's time to plan on going home....

like in 

               92 Days...    

        LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!!


     The reality of returning to the real world does conjure up some interesting thoughts....For me it will be "What will I do?"  I have never really been retired....now that's an odd word.....does it mean doing nothing but "fun stuff"?  Loafing around all day?(That's not going to happen) Or do I go back and find another job using my keen intellect(who's kidding who?), sharp mind (like the push side of a thumbtack), and strong physical body(when I flex a bicep it is bigger on the bottom than the top..where the muscle is supposed to be)  So that thought is pretty doubtful.   How about another mission? (Wife is not keen on that one) Highly Improbable.  What ever it is I probably haven't done it before...or maybe I have...I'll just have to relearn it.....every day I do it.
     Sister Gibson, on the other hand, gets tears in her eyes whenever the word "home" is mentioned.  She has always been a home body and loves her life as a grandmother.  It will be a return to the world where she is most comfortable and happy.  It will be a chance for her to hug those grandkids and be a part of their lives again(and so it will also be for me).  Face time is an over-rated reality that doesn't replace the warm hugs and smiles....but it is the best we've got to work with. 
      She is the  light in my life here and has done so many  amazing things.  I cannot thank her enough for "pushing the button" and allowing us to come to this unique place.  It will be forever in our memories.
     We have made many friends here....some we will leave....most have left us (we have their memories but they are now busy with their lives)  So here's the plan:
     We are going to continue to work as we have in the past.  Do the best we can...for as long as we can and then........
      When it's time to leave, and it's coming soon....we will shed a tear,  and move on.

It's Christmas Time....We Know it...... but.....  
    

     It looks like Christmas....but it sure doesn't feel like it.  Streets and houses are decorated...there's even Christmas music. We even have a small, humble, and gloriously decorated Christmas Tree filled with ornaments that have been sent to us by Mindy and also ones we have made to remind us of our family.    Still doesn't feel like it. 
     This will be our second Christmas here.  Like most other things I really can't even remember much about our first one.  I really don't have to.  We will probably be doing the same thing we did last year.....an open house visit with President and Sister Hall and about a third of the missionaries We used to do it by casts in Rendezvous but then gone on those days.  Then on the Twenty Third we will have the mission dinner for all the missionaries.  The Twenty Fourth will be special(?).  At least our  teaching assignment was postponed (we couldn't swing cancelled) until sometime in January.  We will have Sacrament Meeting and then spend four hours serving in the Lucy Mack Home.  Wow.....it sure sounds exciting.

A Christmas Without Trees.......

                               .......Unthinkable!

  

    


     While the grandkids are back home expanding their knowledge and experience on how to bake our traditional Christmas Tree offering for friends and family we carry on here.  Doggedly we press on.  It's a little less that optimal as we only have one oven and it is always a highly questionable activity trying to bake something and finding the necessary stuff to do it.  The good news is we have....even found a cinnamon/sugar shaker.  We couldn't find one last year but good ol' Amazon came to our rescue this year.  So we are now off and running!
     We jumped in Saturday and popped out ten for the Brigham Young District and our MTC group.  The big trick is getting them delivered....so much to do....so little time....and to think someone is concerned we don't have anything to do.  We got four Saturday night and followed up with six on Sunday.  That's it for this year.....
     Merry Christmas to all....and to all a good night!!

   

The Maxwell.......We're Still Tear'n it up

      ....and Even Starting to Put it

             ......Back Together!

      The window wells are dug....they are here....and someday we will get them put in.  Then we can get on with getting the permanent underground power installed to the house so we can finish the soffit on the back side of the house.....My worst fear(nightmare) was we would be working outside in January.  Well that has now become a reality.  Ben the electrician leaves next week and won't be able to get it connected until after the first of the year.  That's known as a Nauvoo Snafu!  We will get the garage and patio poured next week do to the hard work of Elder Jensen.  He has done a masterful job in laying it out and getting it ready for cement.   Question of the day why drain in a residential garage?  Really?  Who knows why....Ok Marcus does, but for everyone else it's a mystery of the ages why there has to be a drain in a residential missionary type house.....let alone a covered cement patio on the back.  Ok...mine is not to question  or even reason why....I'm just a soldier in Pickett's cavalry...we charge on... do and cry.

     Enough of that.  We have pretty much finished the framing on the basement and the electrical is almost finished on the upstairs.  Once the plumbing is done up there we can move forward and start reworking the floors, sheetrock, and numerous patches in the walls.  Now that will be progress. Elder Pollock is a great and humble guy to work with.  

     Outside things were going well until  the porch was being removed and that loosened two sections of brick fascia that will now have to be mostly replaced.  Seems Elder Corder suggested early on in the restoration process that all this brick should be removed and replaced anyway.  A Nauvoo miracle and he got his wish...sort of.  Now he just needs to tear off the old, clean it up, and re-use it.  I don't think that was exactly what he had in mind with his suggestion.

Odds.....at the End
 

"Without Rendezvous....there will be nothing to do"  They screamed and cried.  All the while I'm fit to be tied
       Without even trying we had a District Meeting, an impromptu dinner with the MTC group, Square Dancing and a trip to Land and Records to research folks we could walk for on the Exodus Walk in February....
  Life in Nauvoo can seem like a Zoo....Believe me folks..... there's plenty to do!!
     



    

    




They said it couldn't be done....no sir...no one in years has done it.  So Elder Coleman took the Dr. Getwells Bar and Grill challenge to heart and waist  and in twenty minutes woofed down  1 1/2 pound burger, 1/2 pound of pulled pork, fries, and a drink....all for the sake of a free lunch.  There is no up side to this but the accomplishment of the feat.
     At least he didn't have to eat again for twenty four hours.  You have to admire youthful exuberance...I know I do.










    

     The alarm systems are disabled on the sites at 7:00 a.m. every day or so that's what Sisters Gibson, Schmitt, and the new FM recruit, Jennifer were told as they were hoping to get a early start. They entered a Sarah Granger at 7:19  and shortly thereafter the sirens blared.  Deafened by the noise Sister Gibson made a quick "What do I do" phone call to the FM director, Jordan.  "Sit tight....the ambulance, fire department, and police will be there soon....I will meet you at the jail to get you released".  It was a good story until he laughed.  Soon the siren stopped
and Ben came by to reset it. Turns out even the FM
director can't keep it all straight.....not even his face!