Is it Spring Yet?

So we have really wondered if there will ever be Spring here in Illinois. But I have proof in pictures that it is really happening as I write this post.

The daffodils are absolutely beautiful, and the tulips in the Women's Garden would be also if the deer would leave them alone! They come in nightly and raid the tulips pulling them up one by one and eating it all--then trampling the others. Of course, being FM missionaries, we get to clean up after them!

You really can't tell, but I am soaking wet in this picture. My two great FM buddies and I were caught in a downpour and finally decided to just finish the job and call it a day. We were soaked to the skin.

 The tulip magnolias are really showing their pinks and dark purples. Soon to come will be the dogwoods.

Another sign of Spring here are the birds. I know this picture is not the best, but you must see what I see out my RV window where I have a bird feeder in a tree. This is a Cardinal. Can you believe it? They are everywhere here and they sing beautifully. LeRoy even gave me an early birthday gift of a Midwest Bird Identifier chart which I use every day. Would you like to know what birds we are seeing? From the Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, to the Tufted Titmouse (don't you love that name?) to name a few. The other bird is a wild turkey--we have a large tom who often wanders through with his dozen or so hens.

The most dramatic sign of Spring here, though, is the RAIN. Let me be clear--it RAINS here. I have never in my life experienced thunderstorms that lasted for two days. They call them "training" storms here because they are like a train--one storm right after the other. They began this week on Wednesday afternoon right after we finished our garden work. The lightning and thunder was almost constant, and it was a steady downpour. We went out to dinner in Keokuk with our dear friends, Karl and Jana Hendricks from Yakima, WA. (It was so neat to see someone from home!!) They were here with their sons Kelly and Casey and his wife Amber, and they spent almost three days here in Nauvoo seeing the sites and experiencing the Spirit of Nauvoo. Well, while we were eating, it began to hail and blow, and then there was a tornado warning! We rushed out of the restaurant and headed back to Nauvoo. Their son Kelly was ecstatic about the storm because he had served his mission in the St. Louis, MO area and had loved tracting in that kind of weather--crazy!

The trip back to Nauvoo was interesting as we dodged large flooded areas of the roadway. They went to their nice, safe hotel and we headed for the vulnerable RV. If any of you have ever been in a thunderstorm in an RV you will understand what I mean. It is LOUD! And
when it is pouring we can hardly hear each other speak. Well, the
tornado warnings on the radio were constant in Iowa (across the river) and into Illinois. We watched the weather map online and kept waiting for the tornado siren here in Nauvoo to go off. It was a very long night . . . . The storm blew over several storage units out here in the RV park, our little home was shaking like crazy, there were lots of branches in the roadways, and the creeks were raging.

 This is a before and after picture of the stream we cross every day. Today the Mississippi is threatening to flood. Dear friends, do not fear, we are high and dry.

On Thursday, the Hendricks came to see us perform for the second time with our cast of "Rendezvous". They were kind and told us that it was great and we did a good job with our parts--I know that it for sure brought laughter. I kept punching LeRoy as he would sing along with the women during their parts and then forget the words when the men were to sing. But he can "kick" with the best of them!

Last Saturday, we took a trip through the country to Carthage to see the Carthage jail where Joseph Smith and Hyrum were martyred.. We had never been there and wanted to experience it as visitors before we might be assigned there as missionaries. It was quite a moving experience to see and touch it as we heard the missionaries tell about it. The mob who killed Joseph and Hyrum Smith thought that the "Mormons" would be eliminated by their act. How wrong they were! And how grateful we are!

 It has been wonderful to attend the Nauvoo Temple weekly. What a gorgeous and spiritual place! If you have never been here, this alone would be the reason to come. All of our temples are sacred places, but this one is exceptional with the beautiful murals, and rich, dark wood interior.

 

Tonight we are going to dinner with the Jensons. We met them at the MTC and they were in our District. They have become fast friends. Here they are in their site clothing after serving for the day. They are from Amalga, UT.


Last night we played "Hand and Foot" with the Hufstetlers from Layton, UT. Boy, are their rules different than ours! When we return home we will have to be reminded of the old rules (McBeans and A & B). There really are no strangers here. When the Hendricks were here, their son Kelly said that every missionary greeted them like they were old friends. That is the true spirit of this place, and we love it!

 

 

As an afterthought, I want to include this picture of one of the statues in the Women's Garden. It makes us think of our children as we raised them and anticipated the day they could walk on their own. Now, we watch them with their own children. Ashley and Brent will soon be having their first child. We are so excited to meet and know another of our grandchildren. We love them all and miss them so much!