Meet Elder Robert D. Schamel

In March, I flew to Denver to attend my nephew, Robert Schamel's, missionary farewell. He was leaving the following Tuesday for South Africa. He really is a neat kid, and I was so proud of him, as are his parents. He gave one of the best farewell talks I have ever heard. That night, LOTS of his friends (he's a popular guy) came over to say goodbye, and ended up entertaining us. Robert has been singing in a quartet, and the other three guys were there, so they treated us with an impromptu concert. It was the first time I had ever heard them, and halfway through the first song, I realized that they were really good, and since I had my camera in my hand, I set it to record. Here they are--enjoy!






Here he is with his Dad right after he was set-apart and got to put on his name tag.
Schamel kids--Andrew, Leslie, Robert, and Aaron.
Robert and his mom--my sister, Melinda.

Here we are at the airport. We had to be there about 6 AM, and it was snowing like crazy. Leslie, Andrew, Robert, and I were all flying out that morning. Good planning--Only one trip to the airport for Randy and Melinda.A great story here. We were all going headed over to security, when this girl saw us and noticed Robert's tags. She was excited, because she said this was the first time she had ever seen a missionary leaving from an airport with all his family there to see him off. (Obviously, she's not from Utah.) Anyway, a little while later, I guess she got up her nerve to approach us, and said that she was in a lot of pain because of her arm, and wouldn't be able to do anything about it until she got to her destination (Atlanta I think) which would be several hours from then. She asked if Robert and his dad had enough time to give her a blessing. Well, there we were, in the middle of the airport, with time to do it, but where? Melinda turned and saw a NTSB guy standing nearby and asked if perhaps there was a room they could use for a few minutes. His response was, "Oh, do you want to give her a blessing?" Yep! He was LDS--what are the chances?--this is Colorado, not Utah! Anyhow, he said he'd ask for permission, which was granted, and they were able to use the room right next to us, and the blessing was given. I thought it was a perfect experience for Robert at this important time in his life. Anyway, here they are. Unfortunately, I have no idea what her name was.


After boarding the plane, I think he met up with his companion in New York (or somewhere back east) and then they flew straight to the MTC in Johannesburg, (although he is in the Cape Town mission) and is now serving in a town called Knysna. He is absolutely loving it despite having been robbed at knifepoint on one occasion, and finding himself in the middle of a riot on another, all in the first month. Scary stuff! But his letters are filled with enthusiasm and love for the work. What a great kid he is.

Elders in the Basement

The problem with having missionaries living in your basement is that you get way too attached to them. These are the first two we had--Elder Chezik and Elder Leavitt. They (coincidentally) moved in on the very same day that Brenden arrived (Landon came a couple of days later), so the four of them shared the basement for about a month. As soon as their folks arrived, Brenden and Landon left us. ( Too bad for us.) This picture was taken on the night the boys came over to say goodbye to Elder C. who was being transferred the next day--so sad. They had lots of fun together--ping pong tournaments, basketball, and pickleball (only at appropriate times, of course).

We are very blessed because we have the cream of the crop--the hardworking zone leaders. We really hated to see Elder C. leave. Up here in the mountains, they have a cool, red pickup to drive. Elder Chezik goes home in August, so he was hoping to spend the last few months back on a bike down in the valley doing more teaching, which is exactly what he's doing. Too bad he spent the cold part of his mission up here in the snow and ice, and is down there riding in the 100+ temperatures for the summer--but knowing him, he's loving it.
Here's Elder Carver who came home with Elder Leavitt after Elder Chezik left. We were surprised that Elder L. got to stay--because it meant that he had been in Prescott for a whole year! But what a great missionary.
Here we are after receiving the news that Elder Leavitt was finally leaving Prescott. He's also down in the valley now. Hot, Hot, Hot. But still a zone leader. We really miss him.
Here he is packing up. He had a bunch of old ties that he never wore which he added to a bunch that Elder Chezik left, and made a ball out of them, which Elder Carver seemed to be enjoying. Too much fun! Now we have Elder Van Orden who took Elder L's place, but unfortunately, I haven't taken a picture of him yet. Guess I'll just have to save that for later.

A Dream Come True!!

The Big Day!
It has been a long time since we have had any of our children living close to us. Many of you will remember the main reason we moved to Arizona was because we had three children and about 12 grandchildren living here. Then, after only a few months, Stan and I went on a mission, and, wouldn't you know, one by one the kids all moved away, and worst of all, they took the grandchildren with them! Well, things are looking up for us now.--In January, Dave brought Brenden and Landon out, got them enrolled in school, and left them with us. Then in February, he and Roberta drove two big trucks out from North Carolina and moved into a house just two miles from us. They got here just two days after the biggest snow we've had in years. Great timing!

They hadn't seen the house they were moving into, except on the internet. But I had taken the boys over, and got their approval, so we just hoped they wouldn't be disappointed. As soon as the rest of the family got here, we took a quick trip over to have a look. Because of all the snow and ice, we could barely get up the driveway which, I must say, is pretty darn steep. But we were determined to get up there.



The next day we all went to help unload. Needless to say, the trucks couldn't get up the driveway either, even though by this time the sun was out and the driveway itself was pretty clear. So they had to unload the stuff from the truck into the car and onto another trailer and pull it up with a pickup, and then unload the trailer.
Here's the second unloading process.
Notice that everything still had to be carried across the icy driveway. It was quite an ordeal and took two days, with the piano being unloaded on the third day. But we were glad to help because we're so glad to have them here. I just hope they will stay for a really long time. (Sorry to take them away, Van Buskirks.)

A Plea for Sympathy!

Okay! I've swallowed all my pride, and I'm posting this. I had a little mishap on Easter Sunday. Was out on the back patio with my grandsons--missed the step and fell flat on my face on the concrete. You can see where my glasses cut the bridge of my nose. It scared the kids to death. Brenden wanted to help me up, but I told him to just leave me there until everything quit hurting. He said he was going to go upstairs and get Grandpa. Meanwhile, I was bleeding all over the patio. It's amazing that I wasn't in more pain. I just remember seeing the concrete coming toward me, and thinking that this is really going to hurt. My first thought was that I had broken my teeth, but fortunately they seemed okay. Next worry was that I'd scratched my new glasses (which I did, but only slightly), and then we were all certain that I had broken my nose. Not a pleasant thought. I may have, but since I knew they wouldn't do anything for it (unless it was really bad), I just sat around with ice on it. This picture was taken that evening, after I called Maren and told her what had done. Her first response was, "You are going to take a picture and put it on the blog, aren't you?" Then I called Casey--Her first response, "You need to take a picture and put it on your blog!" How's that for sympathy?

So here I am. Actually, I think I was just getting ready to say something when Stan took the picture, so you can't really see how swollen my lip was, but take it from me--it was really fat!
I should have taken another picture a day or two later, because the bruise above my lip got really ugly. Couldn't hide it, so Stan kept calling me "Charlie" (as in Chaplin) which was a wee bit better than Adolph.

I tried to cover it with all the makeup I had, and Tuesday morning after I got myself looking the best I could, I came into the kitchen and Stan said, "You look like you've been beaten." I said, "Oh (whiny voice here), do I look that bad? I really need to go to the store." Stan: "Do you want me to go for you?" (Insert this implied followup--"You probably shouldn't be seen in public.") He's a real morale booster. Anyway, I'm much better now--the bruise is slowly fading, the lip is back to normal, and I think the swelling is almost gone on the nose (or maybe not, and this is what I'm left with.)

SNOW DAY

Here's what we woke up to this morning.  It snowed all day yesterday and was still snowing when we went to bed.  So much for the "Designer" snow concept.  We got 8 inches which is really good for us. ( They got 14 up in Flagstaff.)  I know it's not too impressive for you in Utah and Idaho where it really snows.  But c'mon, this is Arizona!!!  Anyhow we're loving it, but I know you'll laugh when I tell you that this was a snow day for all the school kids.  Since we live in a town  where most of the streets and roads are steep and curvy (and some unpaved), and because the city only clears the main roads, I guess they'd rather have the kids safe at home rather than out sliding around on the icy streets.  Even this evening after a lot of sunshine and melting today, we took Brenden and Landon (grandsons) to dinner and the first restaurant we went to had a sign on the window saying they were closed and would open again tomorrow . . . and it was on one of the main streets.  Go figure!  The weatherman said today that there are three more storms coming.  Boy, I sure love my fireplace!

I took this picture from my front door. Sorry it's blurry.  I think I was in a hurry to close it. Snow was clear up to the door despite the covering over the porch.

This is looking out the door downstairs in the back.
From the window upstairs looking out the back.  You've got to admit, it's beautiful.

Happy New Year!

We opted to spend Christmas alone and go up to Utah to ring in the New Year with Bart's family so that we could be there for Porter's baptism.  We were there almost a week, and played everyday.  Being a fan of jigsaw puzzles, we managed to complete three.  Kerina was my constant companion, and is really good, although everyone pitched in from time to time.We took all the Christmas presents with us, so we got to watch all the kids open their gifts.  Porter was loving his tool kit, complete with belt and goggles.  All he needed was some wood and a few nails.  
You can't give Hannah a better present than a book.  And she has it finished in no time.
Emma tried on her new pantsuit right away, and it was just right for such a pretty little girl.
Marie's folks came for the big New Year's Eve party.  Here's her mom, Sherry, getting the party food ready.
Poor Bart had a New Year's Eve gig.  I use the word "poor" because he missed the party, but monetarily speaking, he came home a little richer.  Deep down, these musicians will miss just about anything for a chance to gig.
The day after New Year's, we all went sledding--sad to say that for me, the southern California/desert girl, it was a first.   
I spent most of the time watching, and because Bart and Marie had "geared me up" with all the best in winter wear, I stayed warm.  It looked like such fun, though, that I had to give it a try.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of me on the sled, but take my word for it--I went down twice, and it was pretty darn fun!
On Saturday, we all went to the church so that Porter could be baptized by his Dad.
And here's all the family--L-R:  Me, Andrea, Grandpa, Kerina, Marie, Hannah, Grace, Bart, and Joseph.  The three standing in front are Emma, Porter, and the cute little rascal, Jarom.  They are a great family, and we love being with them--It was really a fun week.

Catching Up . . . . Again

Our first Christmas in Prescott.  We were hoping for a white one, which we got, but not on Christmas Day.  This is our typical "designer" snow.  You wake up to a beautiful light dusting of white, and by noon the sun is shining bright, and the snow is all gone.  

We haven't had a Christmas at home for a long time, and I was determined to decorate the house even if just the two of us were going to be here all alone.  So, I got all the creches out, put up the tree, made candy and baked.  We had some neighbors over a couple of times, and then the Saturday before Christmas, I had a little party for my primary class. Those little kids are so cute, and we were having so much fun that unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures.  

On Christmas Day, we had the elders over for dinner and then played games--Elder Leavitt on the left, and Elder Chezik in the middle.  They are really good elders, and have since moved into our basement.  We really enjoy them.