Decidedly December!

Week 13 (December 9-15)

  
Things at the Memorial have slowed down considerably.  We are only averaging 2-5 visitors a shift so we are thankful for the evening shift where we get to meet a good number of people who come to see the Christmas lights. Week nights are not so rushed as weekends but there are still a good number.  So far the weekends have all been over 100 people each evening who come to the visitor center/house to pet the animals and get some warm cider.   The cider is getting more popular now that things are getting quite cold.  When we came to work the temperature was 2 degrees and only got up to 9 degrees during the day.  Each night for the last several there has been an inch or so of new snow.  Saturday night the weather forecast was warning people to get ready for a “nor’easter” snow storm.

When we went to bed it had started to snow and seemed to be piling up quite fast.  Sunday morning it was shoveling for sure.  There were 13-14 inches of new snow.  The phone started ringing asking Rhonda to play the organ for sacrament meeting before we got up.
Once up, it was time to shovel out the car.

There were a lot of people who couldn’t make it to Church.  (There wasn't a single member of the Relief Society presidency or teachers there.)  Some kept straggling in until just before the closing prayer of priesthood/relief society. They made it Just in time to say amen and go back home.  We went straight from Church to the Memorial where I shoveled more walkways.  As I expected on a day like today, things were quite slow for the afternoon.

Osborns and Ogdens

Undecidedly December

 

Week 12: (December 1-7)

Looking out from our front door, the grass is somewhat green.

 It is the first week of December and where has the snow gone?  As you will see by the pictures this week, much of the snow has melted and we are having a warm spell while Utah is getting blasted with snow and record-breaking cold temperatures!


Sunday we went to regular Church and then straight to the Memorial to open up.  With the new schedule, we were the only ones on schedule today.  We had quite a few guests and then just as it was getting dark, there were lots of cars that came and then just drove through.  I’m guessing they were mostly members who just wanted to see the lights.

 

 

 

 Monday  -    December 2, 2013  -   Back to the late shift again but pretty busy as people came for family home evening.  Tonight’s program was different and we didn’t have a full dinner, just refreshments in the office (still pot luck) so some of the “ladies” didn’t get to fill a grocery bag with the left-overs.  Home evening was earlier as we needed to be ready for cider and cookies for those who came to see the lights/animals and actually stopped and came in.  I volunteered to go to the visitor center,  It was pretty quiet most of the night so I just read a book and watched prior years Choir Christmas programs.  It was pretty relaxing and easy going.

Getting ready to start FHE

Wednesday   Back to the morning shift.  It was pretty quiet today.  One of the ladies that came was a convert of two years from France.  She had been to the US for 2 months.  She said she rented a car in California and had been to all the Church History spots.  After the tour, she sat in the theater (alone) and watched a couple of Church movies.  She was just on her own with no timeline so just was taking it easy.  I also visited with a couple who just moved to Tunbridge from New York.  They started asking quite a few questions and said they would come back and go through the visitor center.  They could hardly believe the Monument had been erected for 108 years.

                Friday, Dec. 6  The weather was fairly good so we took a trip to Burlington to go to Costco.  It didn’t seem like we bought too many essentials but easily spent $150.00.  We did make a stop t Christopher and Banks and Rhonda found a few things so I hurried and put them away so now I have a Christmas present.  All in all, it was a fast but nice trip.  The evening shift at the Memorial was really a good night.  There were 77 people who stopped in to see the animals and have a cup of warm cider and a cookie.  We were not really rushed but had just enough time to visit with those who came and find out if they  would be interested in hear more about the gospel.