This has been another awesome week in 2020. We have had more wonderful blessings to add to our list of things to be thankful for. Caitlyn received her endowment on the 20th. We have not been able to attend the temple since the night before it closed (which according to Christine was March 11). Caitlyn was allowed 16 people to accompany her. A day or so before, Caitlyn was telling me that one of her co-workers asked if there was a spot left so that she could go to the temple. Caitlyn replied "yes, there is, but you are working for me so you can't go." This little interchange alerted me to the fact that we did have a couple of spots that I could extend to my sisters. It is such a privilege to be able to attend the temple, so I knew they'd jump at the chance if at all possible--and they did. Christine and Amelia, and Nan and Bruce were able to meet us there Friday morning and attend with us. This meant a lot to me, too, as we are not celebrating the sealing/marriage with any of our extended family due to Covid-19 restrictions. We are only allowed 16 spots at the sealing as well, and with Dallin's family and ours, we are already over that number-- we just hope we can fit everyone in who is healthy and able to attend.
Jordan, Jennie, Roy, Catharine, Nan, Bruce, Jieun. Dan, Caitlyn, Dallin, Nick, Christine, Robin Anderson, Amelia, and Eric Anderson. Adrienne left as soon as she could so she could get back to the kids, so she wasn't in the picture.
Cailtyn and Dallin--Yes, we left the masks on for historical purposes as well as for our health and safety :)
Nick and me--I pulled the mask down for the picture, but Nick said he doesn't do that right now (he's protecting Camden, among others).
Jennie and Jordan visiting with Nan and Bruce.
Jieun and Dan, visiting with Christine and Amelia
Dallin's parents, Robin and Eric
The temple experience was different than we've ever experienced before--and different from what it will be in the future. As I mentioned, only 16 people were invited in. We all arrived at the same time and were taken into the temple as a group. Caitlyn, Dallin and I were invited upstairs for all of the things that happen prior to a live endowment. Everyone else waited until they also went in together. When we got into the room, everyone was appropriately social distanced and of course, wearing masks. It was so peaceful, and so focused on the reason we were there. Caitlyn and Dallin were accompanied only by their families. I hope they remember this forever because, as I said, it will never be done in this way again. Once the temples open up again, there will be a surge of patrons--I am sure it will be very exciting for everyone.
Some other happenings:
Jennie visiting her new nephew, Camden
I spent a few hours this week making "egg gathering aprons." I made two, one for Nick's family, and one for Dan's family since they have chickens and the younger kids accidentally break eggs quite often. Hopefully these aprons will help with that. It took me a while to figure out the pattern--which I found free on the internet. Due to that, the first apron took me a lot longer than the second, which took me two hours from start to finish.
We had a birthday this week as well. Beverly turned 3. When we called and sang to her, she ran off crying. I guess she didn't like to be the focus of our attention. Elise put together a little slideshow of Beverly:
I guess she was happier on the day they had the party than she was on the actual day of her birthday.
Another interesting thing that has happened this year is that a lot of gatherings have gone digital. Christine and Nan gave a shower for Caitlyn yesterday (Saturday). The good thing about it was that some of our out-of-towners were able to join us. It was great to see and talk to Barb and Melissa. Elise was also able to be there. Becky said hi for a quick minute before she went off to do missionary work. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful extended family. Caitlyn was satisfied with the shower, even though it was unconventional. The only negative was that we didn't get to eat the delicious food that would have been served in a different setting. 😀
Also, I didn't take pictures at the shower. I guess I could have taken one of us video-chatting (Bruce took one of Nan), but it's a lot different than taking pictures of people who are actually present.
President Russell M. Nelson spoke to the world this week. He asked us to share our gratitude with others on social media. I don't participate in social media very much, but I am going to be obedient this week and share--I have so many blessings. I could share something different for months, not just a week. He also asked us to express our gratitude in prayer-- thanking Heavenly Father, more than asking Him for the things we need. As you can see from this and previous posts, our family has a lot to be grateful for--even with the political unrest and the problems caused by the pandemic that are occurring this year.
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