Gee, I've been bad

I haven't done so well on my blogging since I got on Facebook. The interaction there is so immediate, along with hearing from people I haven't touched base with for a long, long time, that it's very appealing. But I don't want to let the blog go for too long.

We are 3 days past our end-of-February cut-off date for the next Mission Memories book, so now we are into production big time. We are totally on our own this time, but are feeling fairly optimistic. We slipped schedule a little bit because Bob was quite sick for a couple of weeks with a nasty cold, but I think we can recover nicely. We still hope to get it to the printer before the end of March . . . we'll let you know how that turns out! Our "In" group (the group we entered the mission with) is going to tour the bindery next Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to it. I love books, and love to see how they're made and repaired. We have a wonderful conservation lab in the library that repairs the books and manuscripts that have had tough treatment. I think that would be a fascinating job.

I don't know if we mentioned that we extended our mission another 4 months (I probably did) and for the most part we're happy about that, but occasionally we get a little homesick. But now we have a week-end back home to look forward to: Jake, Christi's oldest son, is turning 12 in July and will be getting the priesthood. That's too special to miss out on, so we're going to go back for it. Aside from the tickle we feel inside about seeing our wonderful family again, it will just be nice to spend a few hours in our sweet little home. It should set us up nicely for the last 2 months of our mission. We are also looking forward to visits from family during the time we're still here. My brother Don and wife Julie, my son Greg and his family, and hopefully Cameron. I feel sad that the economy has ruined so many vacation (and other) plans and hope it doesn't take too long to get rectified. The Woods will be going back to Minnesota for a very special occasion -- the baptism of Greg & Cindy's granddaughter, Tamara, who has been praying very hard about this big decision. We're all so very happy about that. They'll make a stop in SLC as part of their trip.

This has certainly been a most wonderful experience and has exceeded my expectations beyond my ability to describe. I have never for one moment, even when the snow was yucky, regretted our coming here. It's hard to put into words the special spirit that permeates this place and this work. It's a great privilege.

Love you all! Bye for now.