For us, stake conference always falls the second Sunday after the New Year. Dad always has his own preparations, but for Mom, this means a serious house cleaning in preparation for a general authority house guest. Mom washes windows, scrubs floors and woodwork, cleans light fixtures, rubs polish on the furniture, and vacuums places that have not experienced a suction hose since January last year. If conference came more often, we would have the cleanest house in Howard county. This year our guest was Elder Clayton Christensen and his wife Christine. Elder Christensen is 6' 8" tall and had to duck for his head to clear our foyer light fixture. This fine man with such intimidating credentials (a Harvard Business School professor and former Rhodes scholar) and his lovely wife were the most charming, humble, and delightful guests you can imagine. Our stake conference was truly a spiritual feast -- memorable both for Dad giving one of his most touching talks ever and for the great warmth and gentle power that Elder Christensen conveyed with his inspiring words. Mom received more than ample compensation for all her scrubbing.
Another Birthday
January is also birthday month for Mom. In honor of the occasion, Mom and Dad, Wendy, Holly, and Sadie enjoyed lunch together at the Cheesecake Factory.
And this is what Dad and I saw across the table, two wonderful daughters. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say Mom, Dad, Wendy, and Holly enjoyed lunch but Sadie was not pleased with the menu. Each selection on the child's menu was a la carte -- Sadie wanted milk and chicken fingers and she insisted on noodles. When her order came, she turned up her nose at the chicken and was distressed that her noodles were in the shape of bow-ties. Finally, Holly ordered strawberries and whipped cream which pleased her. Of course, when Sadie comes anywhere with us, she is also the entertainment. Hopefully, others in the Olsen family enjoyed the boxes of leftovers that came home.
New Dishes!
We are retiring the dishes that have served our family well for more than
thirty-five years. Back in the mid seventies, on one of our trips to visit Aunt Robin and Uncle Dick in New York we stopped at the Syracuse China outlet. Huge bins of restaurant china filled the floor of this authentic factory outlet. Workers would come and replenish the bins by literally dumping china (you would jump at hearing the crashing china) and none of it broke! And the prices were incredible! We bought twelve plain white dinner plates at 50 cents each and twelve matching salad plates at five cents each and brought them home to Michigan. These practical dishes have graced our table while surviving hard, everyday use as Wendy, Brett, Holly, Lisa, Sara, and Nicole have grown up.Now that it's just Mom and Dad at our table, Mom has wanted to feather our nest with something a little prettier, a little nicer, but still casual. Thanks to her shameless specificity when family members asked what she would like for a birthday present, Mom has directed them to the Wedgwood website that sells the pattern she has chosen. We now have a starter set of "Queen's Plain" that we are enjoying each day.
The Clarksville Chapel
For years the hope of a church meetinghouse in Clarksville has been a frustrating process made difficult by finding a satisfactory property, changes in architects, and securing county approval after many delays. Finally in December, workers manning heavy equipment broke ground and began clearing the twelve acre site at Brighton Dam and Ten Oaks roads. Now that the scrub trees and brush have been cleared away and the elevation prepared for footings, we see what a beautiful site we will have for our new chapel. Best of all, we will be able to get to church in half the time and half the miles it now takes us.
Sleepovers
We love having Michael, Reed, and Sadie spend the night. The sleeping place of choice is a nest of comforters, quilts, and pillow on the family room floor. The assembly of a beanie baby parade and construction of some fine block structures provided entertainment for the most recent visit.
Br-r-r!
It's been a cold, icy winter! Although Mom and Dad like to start each morning by circling around the pond a few times, when the temperatures have dipped into the teens and the wind is howling, we want to retreat under the covers instead. We have had some lovely mornings after a fresh snowfall when the first human footprints on the path were our own and we had the pleasure of following the tracks made by the deer, rabbits, and fox.
A word from Dad
I am so grateful for our family. I love each and every one. I am also grateful for the Gospel. It is such a wonderful experience to read the scriptures and obtain the peace and wisdom of God. It is such a great privilege to know that God is literally our Father and to pray and speak to Him.
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