Busy Lives

Dearest Family,

This is a very eventful week for our children. Katrina and her family are excited to have Kristilyn, Julie, and Melody come to visit them in New York this week from April 21-26.

We appreciated the clever blog with pictures and details of Desi, Emily, and Mordecai's trip to Wisconsin with her family. The Bainbridge family really knows how to have fun! We're glad that they are safely home and that Mike is back from his trip to California.

Sunday was a very special day for us which we spent with the Eliasons as Mark was ordained a High Priest and sustained to the High Council. I attended Primary with Kristilyn and it was fun to watch her direct the music. Grant and James are well-behaved in Primary. They were chosen as the "reverence children" for Sacrament Meeting which is after Primary. Grant kept his arms folded while James was more interested in counting the light fixtures. Mark spoke well in Sacrament Meeting about the priesthood. I was impressed with the example he gave from his work of a supervisor who had the authority but didn't take responsibility. The supervisor made excuses so there would be no blame. With no blame there was no responsibility. With no one responsible, there could be no change or improvement. The man was eventually relieved of his position so the work could progress. I've also thought a lot about the phrase Mark used of "spiritual traction." Mark's father flew up from California for the weekend so that he could ordain Mark to the office of High Priest. He is a former bishop and has ordained Mark to all his Priesthood offices. The stake president, Ryan Olsen, set Mark apart to the High Council with pertinent counsel. In the afternoon Kristilyn prepared a delicious lasagna dinner for eight of us. Phyllis Eliason will stay and take care of the twins while Kristilyn is in New York. Joe will return next weekend.

Keith went to Oslo, Norway, for work training on April 10 and was supposed to return on April 16. That was before the volcano in Iceland closed all the airports. (Pres. Obama didn't go to Poland for the state funeral for the 94 people who were killed in the airplane accident because of the danger in flying through the volcanic ash.) We appreciate Keith's blogs and Kim's frequent updates on her blog. As of tonight, Keith is in Iceland and hopes to get a flight to the USA soon from there. It has been quite the adventure which we have followed on TV and the internet. We're grateful he and his family are all right though this has been a long separation. Thank goodness for telephone and internet communications.

Julie and Jason now have some definite plans following their graduation from BYU in August. Jason has been invited to student teach for two classes in Seminary at Lehi Junior High for the fall semester. Julie is looking for a teaching position in Alpine District so they can have income and insurance.

Melody and Brandon are busy in Missouri. Medical school is a challenge but worth it. Melody enjoys her work and has many adventures in the Relief Society Presidency. They will be staying in Kansas City for Brandon's last two years but they plan to move to a safer area.

My cousin, Henrietta Wheeler from Rochester, Minnesota, is staying at the Plaza Hotel for a week to do genealogy at the Family History Library. It is delightful to spend time with her again this year. The timing is wonderful because I have some half-days for personal research so we will have good time to work together. We have had some tender experience doing temple work for some of her family members.

We love and appreciate each one of you. We are so grateful for the remarkable people that our birth children chose to marry. Each one enriches our family immeasurably. We're grateful for the wonderful homes you create. We are incredibly blessed with all of you precious, faithful children.

Love, Mom and Dad Rogers