Happy Father's Day

I love Father's Day! I was blessed with a wonderful father myself. He was all that a father should be and then some. I miss being able to wish him Happy Father's Day today.

I love Father's Day because it gives me the opportunity of honoring Glenn for the great father he is to our children. I sure don't let him know often enough how much I appreciate his example, his unselfishness and most of all the love that he shows to our children and to me.

What a blessing he has been in our lives.

I'm not good at words so this is short but the thoughts are humungus!!

Where Has The Time Gone?

Where has the time gone??? We will have people arriving to start the stage set-up on Mon., June 21, then the pageant core cast, directors, etc. will arrive on Wed., June 23. The first family cast arrives on Mon., June 28. Right now we feel like we are in over our heads, trying to finish our preparations! It seems to be busier than last year with new ideas being implemented and additonal asignments. It is nice to know that Heavenly Father is working with us, otherwise I'm not sure we would make it. In spite of the stress, it is very exciting work and the anticipation of the opening night on July 6 is growing.

The Young Ambassadors from BYU have been in Nauvoo this past week. On Thurs. evening they performed in a newly remodeled auditorium in Carthage. Glenn and I attended the performance and it was fabulous!

By many church members, Carthage is thought of only as the martyrdom site of the Prophet Joseph & Hyrum. However, in recent years the town of Carthage and the church have worked together to create a more amicable relationship. Thursday evening was a wonderful example of how much more accepting the locals are of the church. They loved the performance and were so impressed with the quality of the young people. As the group sang, I Am A Child of God, for their closing number, you could feel a spirit of friendship and love in the room. What would Joseph have thought to have witnessed this? Maybe he did.

Love those Grandkids!

While we were in Idaho we got to see our newest little grandbaby, Brianna. She was 4 weeks old. What a special surprise to see her - we didn't think we would see her until she was several months old. Love holding those tiny little ones. Brianna is Kristen and Craig's baby.

As you can see, Grandpa had a good time with his granddaughters!

Wish we would have had more time with all of the grandkids.

My Father, Wright Hanks

My father, Wright C. Hanks, passed away on Monday, May 24, one week after having suffered a heart attack and a stroke. His funeral was Friday, May 28.

Glenn and I flew to Pocatello and were able to spend 3 days with Dad and our family. What a special time it was to be able to sit by him in the hospital and to hold his hand and tell him that I loved him. We did not fly back home for the funeral. We felt that Dad would have wanted it that way.

We rejoice knowing that Dad and Mom are together again. What a reunion after being apart for 16 years. It is a comforting thought.

I have been so blessed to have such a special father. The memories I have of him are priceless. The examples of Mom and Dad remain with us, helping us to be more faithful and devoted to our family and to our God.

Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughtful notes. We have been comforted by them and given strength.

This picture was taken in January when we flew to SLC for the final Nauvoo Pageant core cast auditions. It was the last picture taken of Dad and me together. What a treasure.

Happy Mother's Day

It is hard sometimes to think of what to write about in our blog. So much of what we do during the week is the same - lots of computer work, answering emails, phone calls, putting out little "fires". The last couple of weeks have gotten even more busy and it am sure it will continue to get busier the closer we get to the pageant. We enjoy having Pres Renouf and his wife here in Nauvoo for 10 days. We had a few lunch meetings and several good visits with them here in the office. It is nice to have the counsel and wisdom of Pres. Renouf to rely on.

This morning in our sacrament meeting the comment was made that there are now 360 full time missionaries here in Nauvoo! It is the largest concentration of missionaries in the church other than in the MTC. I can't describe to you the spirit we feel from all of those missionaries!

I played for the young sister missionaries who sang a special number in our sacrament meeting. I was to meet them at 7:15am to practice the song. I wanted to practice on the piano in the chapel before I practiced with the sisters so we left home at 7:00. When we got there the chapel was already 1/3 full....and church doesn't start until 8:00am! Our sacrament meetings fill the gym about half full. The last ten minutes before the meeting starts it becomes very reverent and quiet. It is like no other sacrament meetings I have been in! The reverence really adds to the meeting. Each week we come away from our sacrament meeting saying the speakers were the best...and the next week they are as good or better! Well, enough of this!

Today is Mother's Day and I have been thinking how grateful I am to be a mother and a grandmother. I appreciate the respect and love our family shows me. When I think of all the good things in my life, you are all a part of what I think of. I do miss all of you so much but I am grateful for the support you give us while we serve our mission. Thank you!

Springtime in Nauvoo

This last week I sent some pictures of springtime in Nauvoo to one of the ladies in SLC that is involved with the Music & Cultural Arts Dept of the church. She responded that Nauvoo must be like the Garden of Eden in the spring. She is so right! These are pictures taken the last couple of weeks. I wish the blossoms would last year round!

Prairie Grass Fire

Glenn's brother, John, has been visiting this past week. Saturday we drove to Springfield, IL to visit the Lincoln Presidential Museum. It is worth the 3 hr drive! Here we are posing with manikins of Abraham Lincoln and his family. We also visited Lincoln's tomb which is quite impressive.

We have had a great visit with John. He has spent his days visiting all of the sites here in Nauvoo and has also taken some side trips

These pictures are in front of the magnolia tree in our yard. It is in full bloom now and beautiful!

Every since we arrived in Nauvoo we have heard about the burning of the Prairie Grass field which is across the street from our home. Well the big day was last Monday! The missionaries and visitors who heard about it all gathered along the street to watch the lighting of the fire and the burning of the field. We decided that it would only be appropriate for us to hold a hotdog roast at our house just before the burn! E/S Hill who are known for their homemade rootbeer brought some for the picnic. A few of the missionaries brought additional food to go with the hotdogs. We served approx. 160 hotdogs! We had a great time. The missionaries seemed to enjoy being together and the casual visit. The prairie grass before the fire.

Missionaries & visitors eating hotdogs.

The city brought two fire trucks down to the area just in case!

Boy was I glad - the wind was blowing the direction of our house.

Men started the fire around the outer edge of the field. It only took seconds for the fire to start roaring and it moved through the field in approx 4-5 minutes

Seeing this fire helped us understand how dangerous the big prairie fires were in the days of the early settlers. They moved fast and covered a lot of area. We were told that the prairie fires moved more quickly than a running horse.

Lots of smoke for a few minutes. We were surprised that our home didn't smell of the smoke any more than it did.

Already we are starting to see green shoots of new grass growing in the field!