Thoughts on Mother's Day

We were presented hats woven from bamboo on our latest trip to inspect a completed water system. We're going to have quite a collection.!

I love to look at my wall of pictures as I sit at the computer. You're on our wall and in our thoughts and prayers.

I wish I could be as articulate as Lucy is in writing her blog, but I'm not. I am so glad to be the mother of Emily, Maureen, Jonathan, Jennifer, Lucy, and Sarah and the mother-in-law to Jim, Tara, Jay and Christopher. AND the grandmother to Brendan, Caleb, Ansel, Seth, Connor, Alyssa, Jonas, Samuel, Ian, Owen, Erin, Natalie, Henry, and Sadie.

When I went to BYU I was teased that I was going to BYWoo, and I was quite sure that I wanted a university education and degree, to travel and to teach. I had my patriarchal blessing while I was at BYU and was told that I would be a mother and that my children would be the jewels in my diadem. So, I went on my way to achieving the goals I had, assuming that the promise of marriage and children would follow naturally.

And when the years went by, I began to wonder if my wilfulness had caused me to lose those promised blessings. In 1967 I went on sabbatical from BYU to UCLA to get a graduate degree in linguistics and to study teaching English as a Second Language. Sometime during that year, solemn assemblies were held for single adults and we were asked to come to the meeting fasting. I drove alone about an hour to the stake center. Stake presidents presided and passed the sacrament. I can't remember anything that was said, but on the way home, I had the strongest personal revelation that the Lord knew me, accepted me and my choices, and that the blessings of marriage and family would come.

I don't remember when that was but the spring of 1968 while I was at UCLA I received a letter from Carl, which prompted a response from me to come visit while I was in Los Angeles which prompted a response from him that he would come. He spent 10 days in California while we got reaquainted and caught up on each other's lives as well as seeing tourist sites in LA.

When he came home from his mission, we did a few things together at BYU and I thought he would be a good husband, but he wasn't ready then. As he prepared to go back to Helena, we talked of meeting again in Utah in June as I was obliged to teach summer school at BYU.

During the ensuing months, our courtship continued through mail, several meetings in Utah and Montana and married in September 1968. I was so grateful that we were both prepared and able to be sealed in the temple. And the rest is history that you know. We welcomed Emily in June 1969, Maureen in July 1970, Jonathan in September 1972, Jennifer in March 1974, Lucy in August 1975, and Sarah in October 1978. Carl's patriarchal blessing tells him that he chose his wife and children in the pre-mortal existence. So I'm sure there was rejoicing in heaven on September 13, 1968 and that each of you came as quickly as you could, and you were each welcomed.

There have been many occasions for joy during the almost 39 years and so few occasions for heartache. I am so glad that I (we) have been blessed with so much happiness because of all of you.

I'm not sure that my choice would be to be so far away from all of you for 18 months---though the first year in China was my choice--but I am sure that we are where the Lord wants us to be. There are times when I check the emails and there aren't any from you, that I wish you were more dependent and needed more to stay in contact. But I remind myself that means not that you aren't thinking of us, but that you each have busy fruitful lives to live, for which I'm very grateful.

I send my love to all of you on this Mother's Day, with gratitude of the blessings and growth that I've had from the privilege of rearing and knowing all of you.

Our Elephant Camp Trip

The picture of the welcome sign didn't come up and I'm working against the clock to leave for Mandalay. We left Yangon at 5am and only stopped once for a rest stop and some fuel. We wondered if this trip was wise because of the time it took to get there and we were traveling at the hottest time of the year. We learned when we got there, that the elephants are on "holiday" during the hot months of March through May, but we were able to have a ride for about an hour in the afternoon we got there and the next day see how they were trained and how they worked.

Here the elephants are coming into camp for our rides. There is a young man who sits on the top of the elephant's head and a kind of "saddle" is behind him.

The elephant comes to a stand with his head under the stand. There are about a dozen steps up to the stand and then we climbed down. At first we both were on one elephant, but we were really uncomfortable --no place for legs as we can't sit cross-legged as the natives can-- so more elephants came and we each had our own elephant.

We were given cushions to sit on but the ride itself wasn't very comfortable. But the trip was very interesting as we went along a nearly dry river-bed and through a village where the people who care for the elephants live.

Dad really enjoyed talking to the master trainer, who with one "barked" order could get the elephant to obey. I think he will write and tell you some of what he learned.

On Tuesday morning we were invited to sit on the elephants leg or stand by it.

This is the elephant that I rode the night before. The young man is 17 years old and looked about 12. They are trained for several years and when they are 22 or so go with the elephants to work the teak logs.

We watched them perform several "tricks".

Here they were all sitting with front legs extended.

Here they had all four legs on the stump of a log.

Then we watched two big elephants nudge these logs down the hill and then this one picked up one end with his trunk.

Holes are drilled in the end of the log and a chain attached to the log and the elephant to drag the logs to where a truck would be.

When we were riding, the elephants walked across this log too.

The generator wasn't working so we slept very warm. Because it had been so dry we were told that there were no misquitos, but since we had also been told that the area had malarial misquitos, we took the antibiotics before we went and slept with the misquito netting down.

All in all, a very interesting trip, despite the hours in the car and the heat. We were all glad we went. Now off on another one.