Letter from Mom and Dad October 27, 2010

Love to all—

I am over to one of the vacant houses to do laundry this morning. I am a traveling laundry!! Tons to do as it’s been a week. We never seem to run out!! This week lots of jeans that are covered with sheet rock mud. Dad and Elder Browning began perfertaping on Monday as we passed inspection on Friday of the sheet rock. Elder browning walks on stilts. Dad prefers the ladder! Yesterday the stucco guys came and began the first coat. They were able to do both houses yesterday and will return in a week to do the next layer. I’ve sent a picture of our house at this stage. The gray color is just the under layer of stucco.

This morning they had to go find some heaters as it has gotten cold and damp here and the sheetrock mud is not curing as fast as we’d like it to. Lee wants them to concentrate on getting our house done as soon as they can and then complete the duplex after. I think that’s a great idea! We are always ready to have emergencies that will take them away to another project but hope we can get a lot done before that happens. I have been going to all the storage places on the farm and making an inventory of furniture, appliances and dishes etc. so we can furnish these 3 places. I found a wonderful big wooden rocking chair that has awful upholstery on it so that is my next project-to make new covers for it. My refinishing of that old dresser is coming along nicely.

Dad finally had his first appointment at the VA. We saw his primary care physician, a very nice man from India, Dr. Bonaparai. He has a big black beard and wears a large black turban, very fascinating! At first he was very serious and short speaking but pretty soon we got a smile out of him and when we left he was very cordial. He had flu shots and pneumonia shots and blood work done. We go back on December 3 to find out the results of his blood tests. The clinic seems very good however they are only open Mon-Fri from 8-5 so if you have an emergency you have to call a hot line and they will assess the problem and authorize you to go to a local hospital. If time isn’t a factor he has to go to the VA hospital in Los Angeles, about 2 hours away. I am waiting to get insurance during open enrollment with Kaiser Permanente. Because I didn’t change my address to California with the Social Security as soon as I got here I have to wait for the open enrollment next month and then it won’t take coverage until January, 2011 so right now I just have Medicare. Trying to stay healthy so I don’t need anything. Luckily Dr. Burton gave me a year’s supply of meds before we left in June.

Today I am busy making chili and coming up with costumes for the ward “Trunk or Treat party” tonight. This is the day 4 months ago that we got here! We love the people and love the work and especially love the changes that are happening to us as a couple and individually. What an incredible journey this earth experience is! Write and tell us all that is happening to each of you. We miss you , and especially miss seeing the things that each of you grandchildren are involved in. We used to catch up on waffle night. (We feed the Elders a lot so one night we had “waffle Night”. They loved it!) Please write to your “old grands” and fill us in on your adventures.(good & bad)

We love you and pray daily for you individually that you will be blessed and watched over and mostly that you will have experiences that will help you to grow. It is amazing how all of life’s challenges and struggles can become blessings if we turn them over to God and allow the Savior through the Holy spirit to lead us through them. We only need to be open to learn from them.

Have a great week,
Mom & Dad

Happy Friday!!

We are always amazed at how quickly the weeks are going by. Today is great because we are waiting for the inspectors to come and approve the sheet rock. Dad and Elder Browning were able to start on our home and the duplex again last week. They have been pretty beat each night as they have sheet rocked all 3 places in 9 days. Dad showers and then we set up the back massage pad and foot heater massage machine and he sits there for awhile. Then when he goes to bed he puts on a foam brace that keeps his arm straight while sleeping as he has tendenitis . We laugh at the nightly routine. Never thought we’d get this old!!

They finished up the home that had taken them away for the last month and I cleaned it and got it ready for the new people to move in. In the process of cleaning there was an old dresser that had been left that had been damaged and painted and was falling apart. Lee wanted us to take it to the dump but I could see possibilities in it. ( Dad says that I get that from my “daughters”!) So I have been busy stripping and sanding and have discovered a sturdy piece that will be wonderful with a little rebuilding from your Dad. I will send pictures of it when it is done. I am turning it into an entertainment center for our new home.

I’ve enclosed a picture of the Happy Elders and one of me with my newest afghan. I am now on my third. I hope to complete one each month for “Project Linus”. The weeks are busy with work here on the farm. Harvest should be over (We even held a Harvest BBQ 2 weeks ago for all the field and orchard workers) but there have been problems with the weather. Unusual rain and cool weather this month which is not good for almonds. Once they are shaken from the trees they lie on the ground for a few days before being swept up and loaded in trucks and brought to the plant. Each day they take a sample from each field and test it for moisture. The nuts need to be at 6% moisture to ensure that they won’t mold and go rancid in storage. With the rain that we had and the drop in temperature they are at 13% as of this morning. We have 2,500 acreas all shook and laying on the ground waiting to dry out. And the bad part is that they are predicting a storm this weekend. They have moved off all the trailers from the parking area and have spread nuts all over the asphalt hoping they will dry fast.

I went to the senior luncheon last week and the guest speaker was a Physical Therapist who talked about aging, exercise and things you can do to protect yourself. It was very good but I really wished that it could have been my favorite Physical Therapist!!

We love you all so much and miss you. Please send pictures. (I need updated pictures of families and school pictures!!) We know that this is where we are to be right now. I am so blessed to be able to read and study the scriptures daily. I feel such peace amid the noisy world because of how my testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel is growing daily. It is wonderful not to be caught up in the crazy working world and all of its problems anymore. There is such contentment and peace.

Hugs & Kisses,

Mom & Dad

Mission Letter from Mom and Dad October 8, 2010

Good morning—It is a very rainy and cold week. So different from the normal. I hope you all got to watch conference this past weekend. It is so incredible to be living in an age that allows us to have instantaneous council from the Prophet of God all over the world! I marvel at how blessed I am to be living at this time, in the final dispensation. Of all the other times I could have been born-what a blessing it is and responsibility to complete all the things I agreed to do before coming to earth. We had a wonderful time in San Diego with Corey, Sarah and family.

We went down on Thursday so that we could be there for the Mirmar Air show on Friday. It was so much fun watching all the different types of planes. We got to see the new Raptor fly. The Canadian Snowbird precision team was there as well as F-16’s from Hill Air Force Base. The highlight was a performance by the Blue Angels . I wish I could have recorded it for you. They fly 18” from wingtip to canopy of the next plane. Tight formations and they do incredible things.







We watched conference on Saturday and Sunday. When Dad and Corey went to Priesthood meeting Sarah, Madison, Megan, Adam and I held a dance. It was quite an occasion!! We gathered all the Barbie, Bratz, and Ken and GI Joe dolls as well as lots of little dolls. We dumped out the bin with clothing and accessories and dressed them all up. Then we grouped them in pairs and maneuvered their bodies to assume a dance pose. All the little dolls we put in a nursery outside the ballroom. Megan was in charge of the music for our dance and Sarah and I took pictures. Adam had a ball crawling all around them dancing to the music. We got so caught up in it that Sarah, being the terrific professional photographer, took individual couple photos just like at the Proms!! I have attached a few photos of our fun. Sydney was at a friends’ house so wasn’t in on the Dance of the Season!






On Monday morning we left early so that we could take a side trip to Ventura to pick up some Handcart wheels that we had taken there to be repaired. The traffic was bad as usual around LA and so it took longer than we thought. Next trip we are going to try an alternate route—longer miles but should be better time. How fun it is to be so close to family!

I want to tell you about an experience we had this weekend that was a testimony strengthener to me about the simple things of the Gospel. I have had many spiritual experiences in my life but this one is so precious to me because it concerned simple things.

On Sunday morning as we were watching conference your Dad told me that he couldn’t find one of his hearing aids. He had put them on the table in the room we were staying in before going to sleep the night before. I went up stairs to look around but couldn’t find it. Every time there was a break in conference I searched as did Dad and Corey. We went through suitcases, pockets of everything he had worn that day but nothing was found. I thought that I might have scooped it up with the clothes I washed- but nothing. I went through the garbage. Many times I took everything out of Dad’s suitcases, even ran my fingers around the seams etc. I just felt that it was gone.

On Monday morning while dad was showering I once again went through everything, moved furniture but no hearing aid. Finally I did what every Primary child knows, exercise simple faith and ask. I got down on my knees and told Heavenly Father how much we needed to find it, that Dad was working hard to serve and he needed to be able to hear, and that we couldn’t afford $4,000 for a new one.

I looked around one more time then we left for home. When we got back to Wasco Monday night I put all the luggage and dirty clothes bag on the bed and one more time went through everything. I got to the last bag, a small travel bag that dad used. It had his dress shoes and belt, a few toiletries. I had gone through that bag many times. One by one I emptied them out and put them away. The only thing left was a folded white handkerchief. I picked that up to put it away and in the center of the suitcase was a hearing aid. My first reaction was, How could Dad just throw the only one he had left into the suitcase and not put it in the container where it goes?

I went outside to find Dad and asked him to turn around so I could check his ears. I asked him if he had a hearing aid in and he said yes. Then I opened my hand and said here is the missing one. I want to testify to you that Heavenly Father is very much aware of the small things in our lives. It is so easy to become complacent and too independent that we forget to exercise our Faith that He is real and we are his. If it hadn’t been found my faith wouldn’t have been shaken but by this experience I once again learned how simple the Gospel really is and how we complicate it with worldly things. It is so easy to become complacent or prideful. How grateful I am that He felt the need to teach me the power of simple faith!

The work is hard and fun. We miss you all but know that this is where we are to be at this time. We pray daily for each one of you that you will realize who you are and the potential that you have for doing good on this wonderful earthly journey. You are choice, and chosen. May you come to know that!

With all our love,
Mom & Dad

Letter from Mom & Dad September 30, 2010

It is 5 am and things are getting noisy here as everyone is arriving and getting their equipment started. Harvest is going strong so most of these guys put in long hours. Mechanics work all night sometimes to keep all the trucks ready for the next day. After the last shift on Saturday they shut everything down and turn the huller off. The huller is the big tank that the almonds go into to shuck off the outside husk. It runs 24 hours a day and makes a lot of noise so when it goes off from Sunday morning at 6am till Monday morning at 6am it is so quiet here that it is spooky. I have a hard time sleeping on Sunday night!

From the huller, the shells and husks are conveyed along these huge white pipes in the air and they fall out holes, one of the pipes has holes for the husks and another pipe is holes for the smaller ground for feed. When the pile reaches the top the shells move on to the next hole and so forth. This makes huge piles of shells. Farms and ranches purchase this byproduct. They grind the outside husks for cattle feed and buy the inside shell for bedding in their pens. Nothing is wasted here. I will attach a picture of the huller, the pipe lines filling, and a picture of Dad next to mounds of almonds.

As they bring in the trucks from the orchards they have to be weighed on these big truck scales and recorded. Then they are taken out behind the plant into these big fields and dumped in piles. When the pile gets so big they cover them with white plastic and fumigate under them to keep things safe until they can be transferred to the hullers to begin processing. As the harvest moves along the back fields gets full of acres and acres of big white mounds. This week we went out on the pistachio harvest. I’ll tell you about that next week.

It has been a busy week with scouts, feeding missionaries, etc. Friday night we had a ward general conference bingo party. We met and talked about all the things relating to conference and then played bingo using questions from conference related things. It was a lot of fun. Everyone brought either a dessert or appetizer. These people love to get together and eat!!

Saturday night we had a baptism of a young girl (16) and then I drove a group of ladies to Bakersfield to watch the Women’s conference. What a wonderful conference. Hope you were all able to go or watch it later. Monday night we went to the Browning’s for Family Home Evening. They are such neat people.
Tuesday Sister Browning and I spent the day in Bakersfield shopping and running errands. Got home just in time to get things ready for scouts. Yesterday was the monthly South Valley Wives club cooking meeting. The topic was cranberries. We sampled lots of wonderful things! We have our monthly meeting with the general manager of this farm in a few hours and then we are planning to leave around 1pm for San Diego.

This weekend is the big air show at Miramar and on Friday it is just for the military so Corey is taking the day off and we will play! Then we will stay there and watch conference and Dad and Corey will get to go to Priesthood session together. How he wishes that you could be here too, Jason. It’s been too many years since he has gone with his boys. He is also missing going with the grandsons. That has been so wonderful. Hopefully all of the Utah group will be together and Jason and Brandon. Some year we need to have us all together for conference!

We will leave San Diego early Monday morning and drive up the coast to Ventura to pick up some handcart wheels we left there a month ago and then on back to Wasco. Can hardly wait to get on the road today!
Dad has been working hard to finish the home they are on now so that next week we can get back to our two homes here on site. Last night when he got home he was all white. They had rolled and sprayed the rooms and all the doors. They wore those white bunny suits, stocking head coverings and safety glasses and foot coverings. Looked like Martians, only white! Hey Jason—Maybe they were the Marshmallow men!! Still he managed to get paint all over his hands and face, even stuck to his eyelashes.

We have been watching the series On Sacred Ground with Truman Madsen. It is his reflections of the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. We have been using that for our study time together. Much of the Prophet Joseph’s influence has been brief encounters with people where he has shown love and concern for them as individuals. Much of our missionary experiences, and your daily encounters are one on one with individuals where we can also show love and concern. So each one of you have the opportunity to influence for good daily the people you come in contact with just by the way you are living your lives. The work of our Heavenly Father mostly comes in small ways as we connect and change hearts.

We love you and stand in awe of who you really are!! Honor bright!!
Mom & Dad

Missionary Letter from Mom & Dad September 22, 2010

Letter from Mom and Dad

Good morning from South Valley Farms—things are busy, busy here as usual. Dad and Elder Browning finished up the renovating on one of the homes so that a family could move in last Saturday. I went in and cleaned the home and shampooed the old carpets. I went back the next day and washed the windows. Elder Browning said not to, that they could do their own but they were really dirty and it is a single dad with 2 children moving in. I told him that “Windows are the soul of the home” and I wanted it to be beautiful! I don’t think he bought it but oh well maybe one of his trials on his mission is ME!!

On Thursday afternoon Dad got an intestinal blockage and was in tough shape until everything released late Friday night. So we had a quiet weekend and took things pretty easy. He is feeling back to normal now. He hasn’t had any problems with blockages for over a year now so this was a surprise. As always they are terribly painful and made for some tough hours and days. We are so thankful that everything is fine now as we have finally gotten through the paper work to get set up with the VA here in Bakersfield. His first appointment is not until the end of October. Bakersfield only has a VA clinic and for emergencies we have to go quite a distance to a care center. Haven't figured that one out yet so hopefully we won’t need to go there.

We have been renovating a home; new doors, carpets, paint, electrical for someone who needs to be in as soon as possible so we are still not able to get back to work on our house and the duplex yet.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to drive the missionaries to Ventura for transfers. We lived in that area 44 years ago when Dad was stationed at Port Hueneme Naval Base so it was fun to see the ocean again. We got to attend the Mission Meeting with all of the Elders and Mission President Murri. The whole lawn of the chapel was filled with luggage and things, lots of bicycles. We were kidding the Elders that each pile of stuff had a Gold's Gyms bar for pull ups in their pile. I guess that is a popular exercise piece for keeping Elders BUFF!!

The meeting was wonderful as the 11 missionaries who were going home bore their testimonies and the newly arrived were assigned to their trainers. Lots of singing—of course rousing strains of Called to Serve. When they announced that they wanted them to sing We are as the Armies of Helaman it was so cute to watch their faces as they tried to remember the words. As I watched their faces I could almost see their minds racing back to Primary, frantically trying to remember what came next. ( So my wonderful “15”, pay attention to all the music you are being taught. You will be using it forever!!) We picked up our new Elder and took him and Elder Ray out to lunch and then got back here just in time to get ready for Cub Scouts last night. You should see how cute your Dad looks in his uniform. ( I’ll take a picture next week and send it)

Harvest is going great here. We live in a mass of dust as everything is in motion. Once a week I go to the carwash and by the time I get back here I’m covered in a film of sand. But at least the mud is gone for a few days. I am looking forward to Women’s Conference this weekend. Mindy is singing in the choir so watch for her. We are planning to go to San Diego next Thursday to watch General Conference with Corey, Sarah and the children. It is so great to be able to see them more often. Wish that I could just “beam” you all out here to be together. Maybe someday that will be a normal thing!! I’ve attached pictures from our trip yesterday. One is of Elder Kay who left us. He reminds of so much of Jacob and the other is of an incredible tree that grows here. ENORMOUS!! (the tree—not me! Next to it I feel tiny!)

We love the work! This is a great time in my life to be able to study and read the scriptures. How I Love the prophets who wrote for our day that we might be able to withstand the evil that does surround us and will get worse. What hope and peace they bring as they testify of the Savior, and of each of you, and the important role you have to be part of this last dispensation that is preparing to welcome Him. May you each come to realize how much Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ love you and are aware of and are more involved in your daily lives then you can imagine.

We love you—HONOR BRIGHT! Mom & Dad

Home in Wasco

Trip to San Diego