In And Around Nauvoo!

The Lucy Mack Smith home is open and if Bryce had his way...

...it would be called the Joseph Bates Noble house - after all Joseph built it and he IS Bryce's 2nd great grandfather!

We thought we'd stop in at the Riser Boot Shop but nothing too serious was going on there.

I've served at Brigham's home many times and thought we'd check on the....

... two baby robins on the window ledge just outside the counsel room window. Cute!  

We'd never been in the above ground cellar at Brigham's home. It was cool and comfortable. 

By Lyon's Drug Store, we spotted a bee in the herb garden. Too bad we hadn't our bee box with us!

This homey picture is of the side door of the Mansion house. 

This lovely creature was donated to historic Nauvoo and will add a new dimension to our "rides"! 

Nope, just kidding! These two camels live near the small town of Kahoka, Missouri 20 minutes away from Keokuk, Iowa. They were actually for sale but we didn't think we could get them home to Canada at the end of our mission!

A Litte Bit of This and That!

This is us at the Sarah Granger Kimball home enjoying all the wonderful peonies. They were beautiful! 

Bryce and I have learned how to chat with people who write in to mormon.org. Only full time missionaries can do this. The young sister missionaries here in Nauvoo have taught us how to do it and we're enjoying it. I helped a man in Nigeria who wanted to meet with the missionaries. 

Bryce chatted with a man in Poland who had some questions about the purpose of life. 

One day last week I helped plant flowers. It was alot of fun working and visiting together. 

Yup, that's me digging in the dirt! I have to make a correction because I actually learned that it isn't dirt, it's soil. 

The full time employedd and master gardener Richard places all the plants and...

TA-DA! Instant garden! Now squint and imagine these plants a foot tall and so full you can't see the soil! That's what they'll look like in the not too distant future! Oh to have this kind of weather in Calgary, Alberta!

Kalona, Iowa - Quilts, "Sporks", and the Amish!

For one of our days off, we visited Kalona, Iowa. It was settled by the Amish and Mennonites in 1846. It's a quaint little town with many fun things to see.

We quickly learned about the goodies at the Kalona Bakery! Cinnamon rolls and berry pies! Delish!

In one of the historic houses, we admired this beautiful organ. The old hymn book on the organ looked well used. 

We thought the "spork" was an innovative idea! 

This is the sign on the original well shown below. 

This is where Grandma and Grandpa would live after they'd moved out of the "big house" when the next generation moved in. (Don't get any ideas you kids). Grams and Gramps now live in this cozy dwelling. Inside it didn't look too bad. They'd eat their meals at the "big house" with the rest of the family if they wanted. 

This was the train station. The office was on the main floor and the station master and his family lived upstairs. They'd sure have to learn to sleep through anything!!!

Bryce was trying to get some information but "Mr. Manne Quin" wasn't too helpful. 

We liked these old train lamps. 

This buggy pulled into the local hardware store. We saw several Amish around town. 

We also saw some other forms of transport and agricultural equipment. 

I'm sure this was a few steps up from the horse and plow but not quite a John Deere yet!

The John Deere factory is in Iowa and their patented color started early. 

These are butter pats that are placed on the dinner table - one for each person to put their butter on. Various types and qualities. I thought they were so cute that when we found some with roses on them at a Kalona antique store, we bought them.  

Lost Bryce for a while then found him wearing this. Didn't know I should have been looking for Abe Lincoln!  

Dear Waiter, Did You Know...?

One day at a restaurant in Quincy, Illinois, Bryce put the crayons provided to work on a missionary message for our waiter. What can be more important than to know who you are, why you're here, and where you're going? 

Or course, when our food arrived, we enjoyed every delicious bite! 

It was St. Patriack's Day and I chose traditional corned beef and cabbage -- yummy! 

At the end of the meal when our waiter came, Bryce invited him to watch the video on the pass-along-card. The Savior IS the most important part of this life. 

One Peaceful Walk and Two Discoveries

 Two days ago Bryce started his day at 7am helping in the flower garden's. My day didn't start until 9:45 am so I decided to go for a walk. I decided to walk down to the Smith family historic sites. No one was around but the chirping birds. As I walked past the Mansion House and the old Homestead and the graves of Hyrum Smith and Joseph and Emma Smith, many of the events that happened here so many years ago came to mind. The great faith of the Saints, their love of God and of His prophet Joseph Smith. I felt so grateful to be here in Nauvoo how my love for these people has deepened.

Emma and Joseph Smith's "Mansion House".  

The old homestead and graves of Hyrum Smith, Joseph and Emma Smith.

Graves of Joseph Smith's parents.

Graves on right, homestead in middle and Mansion house back far left behind the trees. 

Flowering tree near Joseph Bates Noble's home. (Bryce's ancestor) Isn't it beautiful?

Beautiful tree along the way. Not sure what kind. 

My first discovery was while serving in the Brigham Young home today. There was a robin nest on the outside window ledge. Beautiful blue eggs. I later saw the momma bird on the nest. 

Discovery number two was meeting a man that was from Byron, Illinois where Jared grew up. He knew all the Merrills very well. He's now a permenant resident in Nauvoo. What a small world! 

We Thank Thee, O God, For A Prophet

President Howard W. Hunter. 

Our mission choir leader told us an incredible story today as we prepared to sing "We Ever Pray for Thee our Prophet Dear" in Sacrament meeting. She said that she and her family decided to go to a BYU fireside held in the Marriot Center because the speaker was going to be the Prophet, President Howard W. Hunter. They didn't want to pass up this opportunity to hear the Prophet speak. At this point, President Hunter was quite frail. At one point in his remarks, a gunman rushed up to the podium and put a gun to Pres. Hunter. Apparantly, he wanted Pres. Hunter to denounce the church and the Savior, etc.  It all happened so fast and no one seemed to know what to do. One of the body guards later told her that the position of the gunman made it impossible for them to rush at him without him hurting President Hunter. She said that you could see Pres. Hunter gripping the podium and shaking his head as the gunman made his demands. Then, from somewhere in the top of the Marriott Center, someone started singing "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet". From that small group, others joined in. Soon the whole Center was singing. As the singing continued, you could visibly see the stance of the gunman change and weaken. Eventually, the body guards captured him and took him away. Since our choir was going to be singing a song about Prophets, our choir leader wanted us to realize that we as Saints can support the Prophet - as we pray for him and as we follow his council and teachings. 

President Thomas S. Monson

We love the Prophets. We love Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration. Through Divine protection, he lived long enough to accomplish all God wanted Him to accomplish. Jesus Christ is at the helm of His church and this brings great comfort and hope. We love the prophets God has called in ancient days and now in these days from the Prophet Joseph Smith down to and including Pres. Thomas S. Monson. Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ direct this work and Their Prophets. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. The Book of Mormon is true. God has a Prophet on the earth today. How grateful we are for these things. 

Annual Hot Dog Roast and Prairie Fire in Nauvoo

This is the south side of the prairie grass block that is the site of the controlled grass fire each year in historic Nauvoo. At the end of the summer this grass was 7-8 feet tall. It has been matted down through the winter months. 

Lots of people show up. This is just one part. The fire dept. is there to to supervise. 

Looking at the picture below, they started the fire from the far corner. The man in the bottom right has gone from that far corner to start the fire. And boy was it hot. We all stood withing 20 feet of it just commenting on the height of the flames. That quickly changed to backing up as fast as we could.