I feel very supported and I am so grateful.

Since receiving my new responsibilities in Relief Society, I've felt really overwhelmed with a huge list of Relief Society members that no one knows. I've lost a lot of sleep trying to figure out how to get to know them and their needs. The quantity of them seemed almost suffocating. Tonight we decided to have RS members go visit those members and invite them out. While planning this activity, my biggest concern was that no one would want to come help me. If I was in their shoes, I probably wouldn't want to do it:) Today as I was preparing, I kept thinking... what if no one shows but my presidency? Then this afternoon I started getting emails from sisters. They were apologizing for other commitments but asking for names that they could visit on their own time. They said how much they supported this activity and wanted to help in anyway they could. Then when I got to church tonight I was humbled by the desires of the sisters to take not just one name but multiple names. The stack has dwindled from a dinning room table full of names to a small stack. There is a quote by Marvin J. Ashton that says, "Satan wants us to feel unequal to our worldly tasks." Since accepting these responsibilities in RS, I've very much felt unequal to these tasks. However, tonight I realized that I have many sister willing to help carry the load. I am grateful for their goodness.

Us Together

Took this shot at a wedding last night - fun!

Back from Russia

Made it back from Moscow yesterday from a work trip. Was neat to see the Kremlin and other sites around the city. Learned a bit about Russian history and got to meet some interesting people.

Wonderful News

Forgive my boastfulness but I'm now allowed to tell--Harry received an AMAZING promotion! I have no idea how to explain what he does, but it's still with Abbott in Chicago. He's very excited about it though and in this economy I couldn't be more relieved and happy for him. Love My Go-Getter Man!!!!

Utah Vacation

Had a nice vacation to Utah; just returned today. We spent half the vacation in southern Utah, and the other half near Salt Lake City.

A few favorite things were seeing temple square, where we happened to meet a former companion of mine while touring the conference center. He plays organ for the Mormon Tabernacle choir, and let Courtney and Hal play the organ.

We also had some fun hikes in Zion National park (lower and upper Emerald Pools hikes), Bryce Canyon (Navajo Loop and Queensway hikes) and a visit to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. I also took Courtney and Hal on a longer hike to Sundial mountain in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

We spent a day taking a tour and volunteering at the Best Friends Animal Shelter near Kanab, which was pretty cool for the kids.

When visiting Provo, we took a prospective students tour of BYU, and also drove by the missionary training center.

The 4th

It was a great weekend. For the past 3 weeks we have had various children gone to different camps. It was nice to be all together again. It was really low key. We swam a few times, took in the fireworks, set off a few fireworks, had a BBQ with a few good friends and went to the drive-in theater. All in all lots of fun. Next week the big boys will be off to Indiana to work in the corn fields for a few weeks.

Tyler the mile swimmer

Tyler swam a mile a scout camp yesterday. I followed along in the rowboat. Way to go, Tyler!