Well, I am so excited! We have had a great bit of news this past week! It is about Justin, and I am pretty sure that all of the family already know, but I just had to share some thoughts with the rest of the blogosphere.
I was with Elizabeth and Ian at our Stake Youth Conference, which was held at Arkansas Tech, in Russellville. We had a really uplifting weekend. It is always good to have that large a group of kids from Church get together and discuss the truly important things of life. I know my 2 had a good time, and the friends that Liz brought along are also excited about the chance to hang out with so many good Christian teenagers.
The entire focus of the conference was the Atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. The classes and speakers were amazing, and the spirit we all felt is hard to describe for someone who has not been there before. One of my favorite mini-classes focused on the way that our Savior's very infinite Atonement was also very, extremely individual. For all of us together, but for each of us, separately.
My big news, however, came on Thursday afternoon, as we were waiting to go into the cafeteria for dinner. I had found out that Justin's missionary application was far enough in the process that he should be getting his mission call this week.
Before I go on, a note to explain.. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it is typical (not required, but anticipated), that young men will choose to serve a church mission sometime shortly after their 19th birthday. These missions are for 2 years, at the missionary's expense, and they can be called to anyplace in the world. Young women may apply for a missionary service after their 21st birthday, and the call is 18 months.
Justin, (my oldest son, for those who may not know my family), has been looking forward to being a missionary from the time he could remember singing "I hope they call me on a mission", sometime between 3 and 5 years old. We always knew that his diabetes would be a factor in where he would serve.
This past year has been one of great frustration for us in this regard. Because of his diabetes, Justin cannot serve a mission, unless he has insurance coverage. My insurance through the school drops Justin like a scalding hot potato as soon as he is no longer a student. Being diabetic, no company will even look Justin's direction, a choice I can understand, from a business point of view.
What to do? Justin was preparing himself to be devastated, and Michelle and I spent many mornings and afternoons crying amongst ourselves, as we hit one brick wall after another. We had called the offices of the DHS to see if there were any government programs that might help, and were told, in these exact words.." it sounds like you're basically screwed". (sorry to anyone who finds that type of phrasing offensive, but that was a direct quote from the assistant manager of our closest DHS office.) That's how we were feeling.
Michelle, as a last ditch attempt, before breaking the heartbreaking news to Justin, had decided to call Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and see if we would have any chance of cramming the very high premium she had already been quoted, into our family budget. She just needed to know if there was a long waiting period on existing conditions.
The associate who answered the call has a fond place in our lives right now, and I wish I could name her, to give recognition. She asked Michelle if she had contacted DHS about the CHIP program. Michelle was shocked. She found out that the Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool was exactly what Justin needed. A way to be a working, even successful part of working society, and get health insurance, in spite of being a very high risk case. And the premium was not terribly expensive.
Well, to shorten a long (and probably boring to you) story, we jumped through all the silly hoops required to get Justin enrolled through CHIP. This IS government work, so the change was .......frustrating. Like having to prove un-insurability for 60 days and having to be enrolled before 63 days since you were dropped had passed, and other such nonsense.
Well, Justin got all of that covered, and went through the interview and application process for a mission. The whole time he was being prepped by us, and some of the other leaders involved in the process, that he would most likely serve in the US, because of health concerns. Justin was happy to be able to go, but he had kind of set his heart young on going to a different country. But trusting that these calls are inspired, Justin was mostly just happy to be able to serve.
BAck to Russelville, Thursday July 23, 2009!
Having been informed that Justin's paperwork was in process, I found out from our stake clerk that the letter was in the mail. I called Michelle, and told her to please make Justin wait to open it until he had us on the phone. So we had our entire Branch group together. Myself, Elizabeth, Ian , Br. Babb and Sis. Pace (YM/YW leaders for the event)Brandi, (a young lady in our Branch) and Liz's friends Brailey and Jenny. I called home to hear the good news.
Justin read the words that so many missionaries have heard, indicating that this call comes from the Lord, through His prophet, and the call was to serve in the Guadalajara, Mexico mission starting in the Missionary training center on the 21st October 2009.
The entire cafeteria looked up to see what all the shouting was about in the hallway. It is so exciting to have Justin go to Mexico! Michelle will be very anxious, but she also knows that these callings come from our Heavenly Father. She also knows that Justin will be OK. That is where faith comes in. The nerves will pass, but the Lord will watch over her baby boy. He is not so little anymore, but he will always be her baby boy.
It is late, nearly 10:30, and I have to go sing lullabies. OK, not really, but I do have to "put chickens to bed".
Later!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Hi from the Hijacker
Hey everyone! This is Elizabeth. I'm hijacking my Dad's blog for a sec! I figured that you all got the, how did he put it? the "nerd history teacher" take on our germany trip, so I'll give you all a run down on the first timer's opinion!
Well, It. Was. Amazing! We started the tour, as dad said, in Vienna. The National Library was so beautiful! He wasn't kidding when he said you could smell the history! Every thing smelled of dust and age, but it was breath taking! The ceiling and all walls that weren't occupied by bookshelves were covered with the most beautiful paintings I've ever seen! Dad was disappointed that I didn't get a picture of Charles the Great's saber, but I got some pretty good pictures inside the National Treasury. I got to see the largest emerald in the world, but all the pictures I took of that didn't turn out, so... bummer! We got to spend hours walking around and exploring Vienna, which was quite the experience! Dad's knowledge of all the little, interesting histories made it even better! We would walk past a building, and Dad could tell all of the kids hanging around with us when and/or why it was built, or damaged (depening on the building). I got to experience a 'naschmarkt', which in german means 'snack market'. It was alot like a farmers market, but it also had a bunch of small built cafes and stores for different ethnic food, and that sort of thing. It was really cool because the tour guide kept taking us to the places that catered to the tourist, not the places that the people that actually lived there ate. It was fun haggling prices at one of the little clothes boothes there! I found a really pretty indian made dress for mom that I got the sales guy to cut the price on!! The center, which literally is the center of the city, was full of street performers and 'statues' that weren't really statues! They were people that paint themselves and wear costumes, like Mozart, and stand perfectly still for hours while people drop money in their bowls! We got to watch this one guy play the water glasses, and that was really something!! he was playing the glasses faster than I've ever heard anyone playing the piano!! and he sounded amazing!! He was playing various classical pieces and doing it all while adding and taking water from the glasses to get the right tone! Amazing.
After we left Vienna, we went to Munich, in germany. We went to the Dachau concentration camp. That was... something. Even if it hadn't been chilly that morning, I think I still would have had goosebumps! Walking in the 'yard' where these people did, being able to touch the beds where people were forced to sleep 5-8 to a bed, walking through the 'shower' which was really a gas chamber, being able to look straight into the incinerators where they dealt with the bodies... It was a touching experience! Its definatly increased my interest in the events of WWII. (just watched Valkyrie the other night, and it was so much more interesting this time because of the visit to Dachau!)
Once we left Munich, we stopped in a town called Oberammergau (try saying that one 5 time fast!) on our way to Innsbruck. While we were in Oberammergau, a couple of the other kids on the tour and I went to one of the parks and started talking to some teenagers hanging out there. They were doing this sport called slacklining, and helped us try it! it was so much fun! Basically, you tie one of those heavy duty nylon tie-downs to two trees, use the ratchetish thing to tighten it, and balance on it as you walk from one end to the other. The guys that were helping us were really good! They could do tricks as they went across! after a while we ended up in Innsbruck. The Chapel Bridge there is so pretty. in 1992 it was burnt half way across, but still stands and is stable enough to walk on! in the rafters of the covered bridge, there are pictures and text depicting the stories of some of the saint, or at least thats what Dad said, I adviously couldn't read it! The bridge was over a river or something that was FULL of swans!! they were everywhere!! We got to feed some of them on the banks of the river (until the swans started to attack me!!) And any girls reading this will appreciate this bit. The boys in Switzerland are sooo much cuter than the boys in america!!(no offense boys!) Me and a couple of the girls I met on the tour spent a few hours doing nothing but sitting on the steps of a bank, boy watching. no joke. I only wish I could have gotten pictures without looking a little weird!! :) Okay, there. I'm done letting the teenage girl in me run wild!!
After that, we went to This clock factory in the middle of the Black forest. The upper story of the building was a clock factory, but the lower story was a glass blowing shop and a cafe! It was so cool to watch this guy make a beautiful glass wine glass out of this shapeless blob by spinning it while holding it in a fire! it was... amazing! Dad was pretty jazzed because he got to eat a piece of Black Forest cake in the Black Forest!! He even took a picture of it! (goof!) After our lunch at the clock factory, we made our way to heidelberg, where we stayed the last night. It was an amazing trip! We had dinner at this cafe/restraunt thing built in/outside a church. The tourguide jokingly said 'how else do you get people to come to church?' The courtyard out back, where the cafe part was, was so pretty with the flowers surrounding it, and the fountain in the center! beautiful!!
All in all, the trip was great and I'm totally going back sometime within the next couple years!! Wow! I totally didn't mean to make it this long! Well, the gustapo is getting rid of the hijacker, so I gotta run! bye everyone!! I'll hijack it again soon!!
Well, It. Was. Amazing! We started the tour, as dad said, in Vienna. The National Library was so beautiful! He wasn't kidding when he said you could smell the history! Every thing smelled of dust and age, but it was breath taking! The ceiling and all walls that weren't occupied by bookshelves were covered with the most beautiful paintings I've ever seen! Dad was disappointed that I didn't get a picture of Charles the Great's saber, but I got some pretty good pictures inside the National Treasury. I got to see the largest emerald in the world, but all the pictures I took of that didn't turn out, so... bummer! We got to spend hours walking around and exploring Vienna, which was quite the experience! Dad's knowledge of all the little, interesting histories made it even better! We would walk past a building, and Dad could tell all of the kids hanging around with us when and/or why it was built, or damaged (depening on the building). I got to experience a 'naschmarkt', which in german means 'snack market'. It was alot like a farmers market, but it also had a bunch of small built cafes and stores for different ethnic food, and that sort of thing. It was really cool because the tour guide kept taking us to the places that catered to the tourist, not the places that the people that actually lived there ate. It was fun haggling prices at one of the little clothes boothes there! I found a really pretty indian made dress for mom that I got the sales guy to cut the price on!! The center, which literally is the center of the city, was full of street performers and 'statues' that weren't really statues! They were people that paint themselves and wear costumes, like Mozart, and stand perfectly still for hours while people drop money in their bowls! We got to watch this one guy play the water glasses, and that was really something!! he was playing the glasses faster than I've ever heard anyone playing the piano!! and he sounded amazing!! He was playing various classical pieces and doing it all while adding and taking water from the glasses to get the right tone! Amazing.
After we left Vienna, we went to Munich, in germany. We went to the Dachau concentration camp. That was... something. Even if it hadn't been chilly that morning, I think I still would have had goosebumps! Walking in the 'yard' where these people did, being able to touch the beds where people were forced to sleep 5-8 to a bed, walking through the 'shower' which was really a gas chamber, being able to look straight into the incinerators where they dealt with the bodies... It was a touching experience! Its definatly increased my interest in the events of WWII. (just watched Valkyrie the other night, and it was so much more interesting this time because of the visit to Dachau!)
Once we left Munich, we stopped in a town called Oberammergau (try saying that one 5 time fast!) on our way to Innsbruck. While we were in Oberammergau, a couple of the other kids on the tour and I went to one of the parks and started talking to some teenagers hanging out there. They were doing this sport called slacklining, and helped us try it! it was so much fun! Basically, you tie one of those heavy duty nylon tie-downs to two trees, use the ratchetish thing to tighten it, and balance on it as you walk from one end to the other. The guys that were helping us were really good! They could do tricks as they went across! after a while we ended up in Innsbruck. The Chapel Bridge there is so pretty. in 1992 it was burnt half way across, but still stands and is stable enough to walk on! in the rafters of the covered bridge, there are pictures and text depicting the stories of some of the saint, or at least thats what Dad said, I adviously couldn't read it! The bridge was over a river or something that was FULL of swans!! they were everywhere!! We got to feed some of them on the banks of the river (until the swans started to attack me!!) And any girls reading this will appreciate this bit. The boys in Switzerland are sooo much cuter than the boys in america!!(no offense boys!) Me and a couple of the girls I met on the tour spent a few hours doing nothing but sitting on the steps of a bank, boy watching. no joke. I only wish I could have gotten pictures without looking a little weird!! :) Okay, there. I'm done letting the teenage girl in me run wild!!
After that, we went to This clock factory in the middle of the Black forest. The upper story of the building was a clock factory, but the lower story was a glass blowing shop and a cafe! It was so cool to watch this guy make a beautiful glass wine glass out of this shapeless blob by spinning it while holding it in a fire! it was... amazing! Dad was pretty jazzed because he got to eat a piece of Black Forest cake in the Black Forest!! He even took a picture of it! (goof!) After our lunch at the clock factory, we made our way to heidelberg, where we stayed the last night. It was an amazing trip! We had dinner at this cafe/restraunt thing built in/outside a church. The tourguide jokingly said 'how else do you get people to come to church?' The courtyard out back, where the cafe part was, was so pretty with the flowers surrounding it, and the fountain in the center! beautiful!!
All in all, the trip was great and I'm totally going back sometime within the next couple years!! Wow! I totally didn't mean to make it this long! Well, the gustapo is getting rid of the hijacker, so I gotta run! bye everyone!! I'll hijack it again soon!!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Vienna! I love this place!!
Well, I said I would try to post something specific about our trip, so here it is. I think Vienna is a great place to start, since that is where our tour started.
First of all, the Germans, Swiss and Austrians all refer to the capital of Austria as "Wien", say "veen" (rhymes with english "bean"). This is the home of the Hapsburg rulers, emperors of the Holy Roman Empire for over 600 years, from approx. 1200 AD into the late 1800's. These are descendants of "Karl der Grosse"; Charles the Great; known to most Americans by his French variation, "Charlemagne".
With a history as long and rich (literally AND figuratively)as this empire had, their capital city is going to be full of palaces, royal halls, Theaters and operas (music and art were important), fine hotels and restaurants that are over 400 years old. Can you imagine eating in a cafe that existed before the first pilgrims set foot on the American continent??
I so much enjoyed the time we had to explore Wien. I know that museums and old castles/palaces only hold a certain level of interest for your average teenagers, so I was very careful to help find things that were fun and interesting to the group. We did get to go see the National Library on the first day there. You could SMELL the history! That room was so ornate! The Hapsburgs were great supporters of the Arts and Literature, and, of course a somewhat self-serving interest in History as it evolved. There was an amazing set of globes that had been commissioned a few years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock! The curator informed us that the oldest book in the library was from 1501!! The frescoes and other ornate woodwork were just ........ breathtaking. Even though perusing the books requires very high level contacts, I could have just sat in that room for hours, soaking up the essence of time!!
We also saw the National Treasury, where the crown jewels are on display, along with other significant historical items, such as a saber that actually belonged to Charlemagne! That is a lot of history represented in one place!!
Wien also has what I believe is the world's oldest ferris wheel. That was one of the fun things we tried to make sure our group got to see. The wheel still runs, and the "cars" are just that. Box cars. Well, box-car sized cabins really. They each can hold about 20 people, or you can pay extra (a lot extra) and some of them are set up with nice tables, and each time the wheel comes around, waiters in tuxes bring the next course of your meal! Cool, huh?
Wien is also known for its fine hotels, restaurants and cafes, so eating was very enjoyable. I ate a piece of Sacher Torte in sight of the Sacher Hotel, where the dessert was "invented" nearly 300 years ago. (the actual hotel is very expensive, so I didn't think I could afford to go inside.)
Sorry, here's the History teacher emerging. Did you know that one of Wien's most famous children was also responsible for the French's love of the croissant? Marie Antoinette was the youngest daughter of Maria Teresia, Empress of the Hapsburg empire. Marie was very fond of a pastry that had been baked in Vienna, sorry Wien, to commemorate the survival of the city when it was besieged by the Ottoman Turks. The Viennese bakers had heard strange sounds in the night, and alerted the guards, who discovered the Turks attempting to tunnel into the city. The Turks were held back long enough for a reinforcing army from Poland (part of the empire) to arrive. The bakers then created a pastry to remind the citizens of their victory, so they took a symbol which had been seen on the banners of their enemies......the crescent moon.
When Marie Antoinette was engaged to marry King Louis of France, french bakers celebrated the union by producing thousands of the new queen's favorite pastry from home. so ................
I really loved Wien. I look forward to going back, maybe sometime with Michelle, where we can just spend a whole week, just the two of us!
First of all, the Germans, Swiss and Austrians all refer to the capital of Austria as "Wien", say "veen" (rhymes with english "bean"). This is the home of the Hapsburg rulers, emperors of the Holy Roman Empire for over 600 years, from approx. 1200 AD into the late 1800's. These are descendants of "Karl der Grosse"; Charles the Great; known to most Americans by his French variation, "Charlemagne".
With a history as long and rich (literally AND figuratively)as this empire had, their capital city is going to be full of palaces, royal halls, Theaters and operas (music and art were important), fine hotels and restaurants that are over 400 years old. Can you imagine eating in a cafe that existed before the first pilgrims set foot on the American continent??
I so much enjoyed the time we had to explore Wien. I know that museums and old castles/palaces only hold a certain level of interest for your average teenagers, so I was very careful to help find things that were fun and interesting to the group. We did get to go see the National Library on the first day there. You could SMELL the history! That room was so ornate! The Hapsburgs were great supporters of the Arts and Literature, and, of course a somewhat self-serving interest in History as it evolved. There was an amazing set of globes that had been commissioned a few years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock! The curator informed us that the oldest book in the library was from 1501!! The frescoes and other ornate woodwork were just ........ breathtaking. Even though perusing the books requires very high level contacts, I could have just sat in that room for hours, soaking up the essence of time!!
We also saw the National Treasury, where the crown jewels are on display, along with other significant historical items, such as a saber that actually belonged to Charlemagne! That is a lot of history represented in one place!!
Wien also has what I believe is the world's oldest ferris wheel. That was one of the fun things we tried to make sure our group got to see. The wheel still runs, and the "cars" are just that. Box cars. Well, box-car sized cabins really. They each can hold about 20 people, or you can pay extra (a lot extra) and some of them are set up with nice tables, and each time the wheel comes around, waiters in tuxes bring the next course of your meal! Cool, huh?
Wien is also known for its fine hotels, restaurants and cafes, so eating was very enjoyable. I ate a piece of Sacher Torte in sight of the Sacher Hotel, where the dessert was "invented" nearly 300 years ago. (the actual hotel is very expensive, so I didn't think I could afford to go inside.)
Sorry, here's the History teacher emerging. Did you know that one of Wien's most famous children was also responsible for the French's love of the croissant? Marie Antoinette was the youngest daughter of Maria Teresia, Empress of the Hapsburg empire. Marie was very fond of a pastry that had been baked in Vienna, sorry Wien, to commemorate the survival of the city when it was besieged by the Ottoman Turks. The Viennese bakers had heard strange sounds in the night, and alerted the guards, who discovered the Turks attempting to tunnel into the city. The Turks were held back long enough for a reinforcing army from Poland (part of the empire) to arrive. The bakers then created a pastry to remind the citizens of their victory, so they took a symbol which had been seen on the banners of their enemies......the crescent moon.
When Marie Antoinette was engaged to marry King Louis of France, french bakers celebrated the union by producing thousands of the new queen's favorite pastry from home. so ................
I really loved Wien. I look forward to going back, maybe sometime with Michelle, where we can just spend a whole week, just the two of us!
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