mike and ruth

We love our family! It is so fun to visit with the grandchildren who live far away when we can, and to have family nearby so we can get to know them well and they can get to know us too. We try to visit with them as often as possible. Thank goodness for telephones and for blogs, and other means by which we can keep in touch with each other. Family events where we get together with extended family are less frequent but very meaningful because they don’t happen so often and because we see our relatives from previous generations we used to spend a lot of time with. Now we and they have our own progeny to spend our time with so our ties, although strong as always, are less often revisited with activities together. Reunions are fun each year or few years, and it is always good to renew our relationship with our extended family members. We look forward to seeing them this coming summer!

Devin and I arranged for a Skype session today. It was morning for us, evening for them. We were at home in Utah, they were at their home in Finland. We missed each other a few times but we got together at 9:10 am local time, which was 6:10 pm Helsinki time. They had already had their dinner! When we started, they had not done this before and although I could see them I could not hear them. They could see and hear me so we gestured to each other a little bit to understand. Soon Devin found a small lapel microphone that he plugged in, and then I could hear them too. HOW FUN! We chatted about the weather differences there and here, about their new house, about their adventures getting to school because they still don’t have their own car, and about the large snowfall in Helsinki. Josh said they had to have someone help them because they got into a snowbank one day. The plows appaarently can’t keep up with the snowfall even though they try, so Devin said the snow on the streets was a lot like Rexburg Idaho was. (Emily did not disagree, so it must be like that!) They showed us their playroom but the rest of the house will have to wait until they get their wireless network running. I feel bad that I didn’t think of taking screen captures while Peter was very close to the camera. Well, next time! Josh also said he has been ice skating, and that at school they “played in the snow all day today”. They didn’t see any of the Olympics but heard that Finland was in the semi-finals for hockey. I have heard that Skype has a tool that will let you save the video session, so I will look into that soon. We chatted for almost 30 minutes and then when the kids could no longer let each other hold the microphone without wanting it themselves, “it was bedtime” so we ended our conversation. What an amazing experience! Next time we need to sing some Primary songs together, won’t that be fun? Maybe a little home Evening Lesson could be a part of what we do too. We look forward to seeing them again soon!

We live close enough to the MTC that taking little items to the local delivery company is fairly easy when we find something we want to ship to friends and relaties we know in the MTC. Here Kristen and Amy have finished preparing a “care package” for Sara, now in her last week at the MTC. If you want to write or send something to her before she leaves the country you have better do it right away! Please remember extended family members who are serving missions in your prayers. We want to be better at writing to them and hope you will also try to write to them more often too. We all know how meaningful letters from home or from relatives and friends are. I remember looking forward to the mail and reading about what was going on in the lives of others. Lets not “forget” them! This time of the year when it is getting warmer I am certain that it is just as hard for them to be in class (or out proselyting) as it is for our children and grandchildren. Thank you for your service, Elders and Sisters!