Fabulous February!

February has been full of fabulousness.  We had zone conference.   We had a district P-day.  We celebrated Valentines.  We celebrated a LOT of birthdays.  And we had a baptism!  Where should I begin?😁

Let’s start with the baptism that we had yesterday.  It was such a special experience for Elder Swenson and I as we have had a lot of time to get to know Myra and see her growth and change as she has learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  She has faced so many challenges in her life and the changes and miracles that she has seen are a wonder to behold.  We love Myra and are so happy for her.  We held her baptism on Sunday so that she could be confirmed the same day.  She has a hard time getting off work on the weekends, but the Lord has opened up a way for her to have two Sunday’s a month off.  We hosted lunch after the baptism so the day was a great celebration.

We didn’t take any photos of the lunch but I have to tell you that I made cookies that were a hit.  Amy sent me a sugar cookie recipe that was for Swig cookies.  I’ve never had one before but I made them. Yum.  One of our YSA’s from Utah took and bite and said “These taste like Swig cookies!”  So they were a hit.  I ate more dough than I care to claim--and since there are no eggs in it I guess I’m okay😂

Of course, our February is FULL of birthdays so we have had many trips to the Post Office and had lots of great phone calls home.  Happy Birthday All you February babies!

Of course, Emi is March 2nd!

For Valentines I made cookies for Institute and for the district missionaries.  I also bought myself some Tulip bulbs in water from Trader Joe’s and watched them grow and bloom.  I don’t ever remember Tulips blooming quite like this before.  They totally opened up like a rose before they wilted:

ZONE CONFERENCE

We had another great Zone conference.  They are always good and I’m always amazed at what we learn.  I feel so blessed to be able to spend so much time at the Joseph Smith Memorial.  It’s such beautiful and peaceful place.  (Although it was super cold there this time!)

Elder Sessions and Elder Crum

Sister Smith is in the middle on the front row.  She used to be in our district.
The back row has our four sisters (R to L) Sister Hendricks, Sister Young, Sister Josse, Sister Campbell. (I don’t know the other sisters?)

Just a bunch of elders including Elder Elzinga (bottom left) and Elder  Huffines.

Us with the Matkins.  They do the same thing Chris and Carol have been doing.

On District P-day our district had planned to go bowling again.  On Monday morning I Ken was unable to walk on his knee (he hurt it doing something) and my shoulder was not doing well.  So we told them we would not be able to join them.  Much to our surprise (and joy) they all came to our apartment with board games and treats.  We had so much fun and laughed so much.  They brought a poster and told us how much they love and appreciate us.  I have to tell you that it brought me to tears.  So I bought them all pizza!😆 We played Telestrations and found out who can draw and who can’t.  It was hilarious!  (They also loved working on my jigsaw puzzle)

Around the circle starting at the left:  Elder Jensen, Sister Young, Sister Hendricks, Sister Campbell, Sister Josse, Elder Edstrom, Elder Huffines (sitting) Elder Elzinga, Elder Crum.

In the front of this photo is our Zone Leaders, Elder Jensen and Elder Edstrom.  Elder Edstrom is headed to Harvard after his mission.  He can’t draw😂.  And he can’t guess🤣

This week is transfers.  I HATE TRANSFERS.  I’m already stressed about who we will lose.  I really love this district.  Every one of these missionaries is amazing.

Here was our “farewell” photo from district council: