Eye Update

I went to the eye doctor today for my follow up after the bad experience of my last visit in January. Dr. Mehr said he will not use the dye to take pictures of my eye again because of the bad reaction last time. He said he can find what he needs in other ways.

I had two questions for him today. Does he have and AED in the office and the answer was no, but he made a note that he will get one for the new office downstairs. He jokingly said he will name it "Eva". The other question  was,  does my condition have a name? Dr. Mehr said that I have a branch retinal vein occlusion. However, he said that the Lord must want me on another mission because the one in the right eye appears to be healing itself. He had to do laser surgery on the one in my left eye. He didn't mention the progress of the cyst that is growing in my left eye.  I go back in two months.

The pressure in my left eye has been normal since returning from our mission. Previously I have had shots two different times to re leave pressure in the left eye. The vision in that eye has not gotten worse, but I notice some depth perception problems with threading a needle and playing pickleball. The left eye is affected by bright lights.

I have a testimony of priesthood blessings. Dr. Mehr mentioned another time that I must have been blessed because of the mission at Cove Fort when he found the high pressure in the left eye had not returned. I had had a priesthood blessing shortly before that visit as well. I am grateful for a righteous husband who can administer them. Thanks for your prayers in my behalf.

2013 Reunion Planning

The rumor on the street is that we want to have a reunion in 2013 and that the Brad Ross family may be in charge of planning it and letting the Martin family tackle it in 2014. To that end, I've sent out a bunch of invites to a reunion calendar to put in the dates that are bad for your family for a reunion. Will you please add your events to that calendar so that we can see when you are doing summer camps, trips to Italy, or undergoing emergency appendectomies?

We are thinking that a lot of the cousins are the right age to enjoy a river trip. I had a great experience with a group that does river trips for scouts. They only charge $175/person for scouts on a four-day trip that includes all the meals. I suspect family pricing would be similar. They depart out of Moab. Do you guys think this would be a worthwhile type reunion trip? How many days would you want to do? Would you want to do other activities as well, or just stick with the river?

Of course, we can do something a bit more traditional in the Salt Lake/Lindon area as well, if that is preferable to everyone. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Don't forget to check for the calendar invite email and add your blackout dates.

Moving Day is Coming! (Updated)

We hope to be able to move into our new home either this Saturday or the next. If everything goes perfectly this week with all the subcontractors, we will be able to get our final inspection on Friday. If not, we'll need to wait until after Christmas.

We're going to take a couple of couches that Mom and Dad have been storing for a while, at least until Weston decides that he wants to use them. I think I will come up this Saturday to try to pick them up. I know I can fit at least two of them in the utility trailer. I may have to make a second trip later to get the third.

If it turns out that we can move in for real on Saturday, then we'll probably forgo the couches initially and focus on moving the furniture out of our home and out of LaDonna's apartment. I will probably rent a U-Haul to get the most stuff in a single load.

If anybody is looking for something to do on Saturday, I'm sure we could use the help. I'll post a note here on Wednesday when we'll hopefully know better what our actual chances are for getting in on Saturday.

UPDATE (12/19/12): We aren't going to make it for the big move on Saturday the 22nd. (Not really a surprise.) That means we will try to do it on Saturday the 29th. I think that is a date that is pretty likely to stick, so if you are around and available, we'd love to have an hour or two of assistance, especially on the Lindon end for unloading stuff.

UPDATE (12/30/12): We didn't move yesterday. We thought we could move on Monday the 31st, but that is also looking too optimistic. The weather kept throwing us curve balls as we tried to finish off the last little things. We will probably move LaDonna in to her side on Wednesday and we will move in to our side on Saturday, January 5. The house is looking so good, we can hardly wait!

Latter-day Saint Voices: Keryn

(Here is my submission to the ward newsletter)

I love reading the words of the baptismal covenant in Mosiah 18, where those that were desirous to called the Lord’s people were commanded to “…bear one another’s burdens that they may be light…”  I have been taught this principle by example my whole life, most recently by members of our ward.

Here in our ward, I have been blessed with many examples of this covenant in action.  I have been able to drop four of my five children off at a ward member’s house with less than five minutes warning, so I could rush to the doctor with the fifth child.  We have been able to call and ask for some expert advice from a ward member – even just two days before Christmas! – so we could finish building our shed.  When I totaled our van, two family members offered to lend us a car, but four ward members offered extra vehicles to us in the same amount of time.  One ward member even drove us around Orem for more than five hours over two days, helping us find a new van for our little family.  And on and on, too many to count.

President Henry B. Eyring stated “Zion is the result of people bound together by covenant and love.”  I am tremendously grateful to live in a ward with so many people striving to become a Zion people. 

"Belle here is all the help a fellow needs"

I finally finished reading "The Undaunted" about the Hole in the Rock pioneers. I really enjoyed it! (I think the copy I have was one I borrowed from Mom forever ago and now can't remember for sure.) Reading one part of the story about Stanford and Belle Smith actually coming down the Hole was extra fun because it reminded me of a talk that I heard Elder Holland give in one of those super-regional-broadcast stake conferences where he told the story. The story was so much fun, I had to quote a bit of it here.

With this roadbed finished, such as it was, the task was now to get the first 40 wagons down the “hole.” ...

They organized themselves in such a way “that a dozen or more men could hang on behind the wagon” with long ropes to slow its descent. Then the wheels were brake-locked with chains, allowing them to slide but avoiding the catastrophe of the wheels actually rolling. 

In one of the great moments of pioneer history, one by one the company took the wagons down the treacherous precipice. When they reached the canyon floor, they eagerly started to ferry across the river with a flatbed boat they had fashioned for that purpose. As it turned out, the Joseph Stanford Smith family was in the last wagon to descend that day. 

Stanford Smith had systematically helped the preceding wagons down, but somehow the company apparently forgot that Brother Smith’s family would still need help as the tailenders. Deeply disturbed that he and his family seemed abandoned, Stanford moved his team, wagon, and family to the edge of the precipice. The team was placed in front and a third horse was hitched behind the wagon to the rear axle. The Smiths stood for a moment and looked down the treacherous hole. Stanford turned to his wife, Arabella, and said, “I am afraid we can’t make it.” 

She replied, “But we’ve got to make it.” 

He said, “If we only had a few men to hold the wagon back, we might make it.” 

Replied his wife, “I’ll do the holding back.” 

She laid a quilt on the ground, and there she placed her infant son in the care of her three-year-old, Roy, and five-year-old, Ada. “Hold little brother ’til papa comes for you,” she said. Then positioning herself behind the wagon, Belle Smith grasped the reins of the horse hitched to the back of the rig. Stanford started the team down the hole. The wagon lurched downward. With the first jolt the rear horse fell. Sister Smith raced after him and the wagon, pulling on the lines with all her strength and courage. She soon fell too, and as she was dragged along with the horse, a jagged rock cut a cruel gash in her leg from heel to hip. That gallant woman, with clothes torn and a grievous wound, hung on to those lines with all her might and faith the full length of the incline all the way to the river’s edge. 

On reaching the bottom and almost in disbelief at their accomplishment, Stanford immediately raced the 2,000 feet (607 m) back up to the top of the cliff, fearful for the welfare of the children. When he climbed over the rim, there he saw them literally unmoved from their position. Carrying the baby, with the other two children clinging to him and to each other, he led them down the rocky crack to their anxious mother below. In the distance they saw five men moving toward them carrying chains and ropes. Realizing the plight the Smiths were in, these men were coming to help. Stanford called out, “Forget it, fellows. We managed fine. Belle here is all the help a fellow needs [to make this journey].”2

One more fun detail that I picked up in the footnotes of the Lund book: the Smiths eventually settled in Mancos, CO. Now I can think of that every time I visit the Gillelands in Durango.

Expressions of Appreciation

We want to thank each of you for your prayers on our behalf while we were serving a mission at Cove Fort. The Lord heard your prayers and we felt them as we served. That is one of the neatest things about serving a mission is to feel the spirit guide you each day. We felt protected from the world. It truly was a spiritual way station for us as well as our guests.

It is hard to believe we have been home almost three weeks. We still miss the spirit that is at the Fort. It was nice to be able to sort of measure your success for the day. If you had completed a tour, you know you had shared your love of the Lord.

We loved that many of you were able to visit us and let us share the Fort with you. We appreciate the Gillelands who made the mission possible by letting us use Kristine’s 5^th wheel. We were the envy of the RV Park as we had the most tipouts. Thanks to the Hannays and John for watching over our home while we were gone. We were able to make the transition back into our home with the Hannay’s assistance in bringing our belonging from Cove Fort and placing them in our living room. Weston, Devin, and Brad got all our electronics up and running.

The final act of our mission will be when we give our report in sacrament meeting on November 18 at 9 am. It will then just be a cherished memory.

I know the Lord sustained me through the mission. Dr. Mehr, my retina specialist, said that I was blessed for my service because there was no swelling at my visit on October 31 and my vision had improved slightly. He had planned to service my eye at that visit, but it wasn’t needed at this time. I go back in two months.

Love,
Mom

Latter-day Saint Voices: Bradley

Keryn and I were invited to submit a short article to our ward newsletter in the style of the LDS Voices section at the back of the Ensign. Here is my submission. Keryn will post her's shortly.
---
I've had the privilege of sailing across the Sea of Galilee, of watching the sun rise on Mt. Sinai, and of sitting in the Garden of Gethsemane. None of these are the holiest places I've ever been.

One of the holiest places on earth is the parking lot outside the Jordan River Temple. It was there, sitting in an old red Buick, that I prayed for the hundredth time about marrying Keryn. On this occasion, He filled me with the strongest sense of assurance I've ever felt. I felt like I barely touched the ground walking into the temple for a session. God had heard and answered my specific prayer after much seeking.

A small bedroom in Shawnee, Oklahoma is another sacred spot. My missionary companion was sick and we were stuck in our apartment with a small TV and video tapes of the recent General Conference. I popped in a tape to pass the time. When Gordon B. Hinckley started talking, my ears perked up. I'd heard him speak many times before, including once in person in the Marriott Center. But this time was different. This time the Lord chose to touch my heart with an overwhelming impression that the man I was hearing was a true prophet of God. This inspiration was all the more surprising because I wasn't actively seeking it.

To me, the holiest place is one where God speaks to me. It turns out to be possible just about anywhere when our hearts are turned to him.

This Monday VP candidate Paul Ryan came to a rally in Durango. Our wars Scout troop got to post the flag for the Pledge. There were a couple of pics in the paper, I posted my favorite here:  See pic here!

Big G Move

Although some of you may have heard our news, I thought I ought to officially announce the latest big development for the Gillelands.

We have decided to move to Utah.

Soon.

By the end of the month.

Yes, I am freaking out.

We do not know exactly where, but I think we are narrowing it down.  We either want to live within walking distance of G&G Ross, or we want to live in Herriman.  John is driving Gabe and Seth up to Bingham today to have them participate in the basketball open gym.  While our boys don't necessarily need to play BBall, it is our hope that they might make the team so that they will have an instant group of friends.  The coach said that if we attended open gym he could give us a fair assessment of their chances.  They will return home tonight.

I then will go alone to the Mormon Homeland to find us a place to live.  I would appreciate prayers for me that I might recognize our home when I see it.

It is all a little overwhelming and has caught even us by surprise, but we feel like this is where our family needs to be right now.  While I am still fuzzy on lots of details, I am looking forward to this new chapter in our BigG lives.

Australia

I went out to greet a big white van and three little kids greeted me and read my badge and one of them said, “That is what we are.” I could tell from their accents that they weren’t from Utah. The father John Rea comes from a family of eleven and parents came from families of over fourteen. And almost all of his family lives on the same street in Brisbane, Australia. Half of their acquaintances are family members.

We started with the video and the six children were so well behaved. They asked lots of questions, especially the two little girls. We took a long time in each room so it was good the Fort wasn’t too busy.

When we arrived in the room of light, I asked about the four sources of light and before anyone could say anything the five year old girl said, “The scriptures.” Wow! Most people get it as the fourth source and most of the time with prompting. I’ve only had a couple of people choose the scriptures as the first source of light. In the prophet’s room, the youngest boy said, “My dad is a bishop. “John said they have been to visit Nauvoo that the Nauvoo Temple is his favorite temple. They were an amazing family. I asked permission to take their picture to post on my blog.

The Reas are in Utah because one of his brothers lives in the town of Benjamin and one of her sisters lives in Salt Lake. They have been here about two weeks.

The Family Video

We finally finished the video.....or I mean Jack did. Thank you JACK! It seems that we didn't light the back green screen as well as we should of so Jack tried his best to make it look great. We had a blast filming it with you guys in the late hours of the night. Enjoy!

Dad's Testimony

Mom wasn't pleased with the way her testimony video turned out, so she asked me to take it down until she can do something better. In the meantime, Dad succeeded in getting a video of him put up on Vimeo. Now you're ready for FHE.


014 from George Ross on Vimeo.

What About Chickens?

Now that Kim is raising chickens (which I still haven't seen), is anyone else considering it? I read about it in a book that I bought for Keryn last year. Then Kim got her chickens. Then we bought a piece of property with animal rights. Now I'm tempted. I listed to an interview with Caleb Warnock and he gives the impression that raising chickens can be less work and less expensive than many people make it out to be if you know a few tricks.

Kim, did you read any books to get you started or do you have any tips about whether the rest of us should jump on this self-sufficiency bandwagon?

Until later

The Hannay video is almost done. Until it is enjoy this super cute clip!

George's Five Tours

Today has been a special day in many ways.  On an average day, giving three tours is the usual.  Rarely are we blessed with the opportunity to give four tours.  But, today I gave five!  Not only that but these tours were some of the most spiritual I have been involved in.

The first tour I conducted was with a Catholic man who had a “mild” interest in antiques.  He was from Ohio.  After going through two rooms, he exclaimed, “My wife has got to see this!”  I assumed his wife was somewhere else, but in fact, she was resting in their van.  We hurried back to get her and began the tour again.  Her love of antiques was even greater than his.  By the third room they were feeling the Spirit of the Fort and wanted to know more about why the Hinkleys were willing to work so hard and yet were so happy.  I explained as carefully as I could that they were called by Christ, through the prophet Brigham Young.  They seemed to understand.

As we continued through Fort, they were more and more impressed.  Their questions came in rapid-fire order.  When we finally got to the display of Books of Mormon, she said she wanted one.  You see, she was a Buddhist from Thailand.  I agreed to have one sent to her in the Ti language.

As we walked back to their van, the questions kept coming.  I virtually gave them the First Discussion.  Will anything come of our meeting?  I can’t say, but we all felt the Spirit and at least a very important seed was planted.

All of my other tours today had special meaning to me and my guests.  I met a father and son; the son was soon to depart on a mission to Lansing, Michigan.  I met three history teachers who gained a strong and personal testimony of the faith and sacrifice of the pioneers.  I met a sweet family with three daughters.  They all loved the spirit of the Fort and before we concluded the parents were (almost) ready to sign up as missionaries when retired.

Being a missionary at Cove Fort is so much more than being a mere tour guide.  Mom and I have become tools in the hands of the Holy Ghost as we talk about the lives, sacrifices, dedication, joy, and accomplishments of the Hinkleys and other pioneers.

We and our guests are blessed every day.

President Holland's Message on Africa

I know this is West Africa, but it made me think of Eric and the Gospel of Jesus Christ that he is going to preach. There is so much power in this knowledge. It feeds my soul and gives me so much hope.

http://www.lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/unto-all-the-world/emerging-with-faith-in-africa

Behold the Lot

We are under contract for the purchase of a building lot! Keryn has lots of details on her blog. I thought you might be interested in seeing the spot on the map where it lives so you can check it out.
http://goo.gl/maps/bQtH

Now we get to figure out a floor plan that will work for us. The lot is pretty flat and should accommodate just about any sort of house we could afford to build. (We spent a lot for the lot, so we'll have to be as frugal as possible on the building.)

As you know, we'll be living with Keryn's mom in a sort of lopsided duplex arrangement. We had originally planned to also have Keryn's grandma live with us, but grandma has decided it might be more enjoyable for her to live a little farther away from a band of rampaging children--in a peaceful retirement community closer to her daughters in American Fork.

We'll keep you posted as we move through the process. I was thinking if we could get soon-to-be-Dr. Theo to come dig our foundation, we could save a ton of money. I'm sure Kim can do all the drywall, and Steve can convert old pallets into framing materials. What do you think? :-)

Sleeping Anywhere

Little kids can sleep ANYWHERE. I'm jealous of this skill after a week with the scouts. This sweet little kid was riding on my shoulders during a family walk. She had been holding a water bottle and guarding it like precious treasure. About a block from our house, she dropped the bottle. I picked it up and handed it back to her. At the same time, I noticed my ear was covered with drool.

Soon, the water fell again and she slumped all the way over. She stayed that way the rest of the way back home and into the house. I flipped her over onto her bed and she still merely readjusted to get more comfortable.

It's good to be a kid. Thanks for the chuckle, Miriam.

Come See Us!

Come visit us! You can camp in our front yard. You can use the showers in the community bathrooms.
July 24, Aug 3-4 are days that we will be in costume. Cove Fort Days is Aug 3-4 with free hot dogs and plenty of entertainment.

Happy B-day Nic

Hope you have a Texas sized HAPPY DAY!!!

Redesign

I applied one of the new Blogger templates to our blog. The old one wasn't well supported anymore. I took this opportunity to clean up a couple of other things on the sidebar that had previously broken, such as the calendar that no longer had a public view anymore.

I also got rid of the link that Mom and some others used to sign in to Blogger. Instead, there is now either a "sign in" link at the far top right corner of the page (if you aren't already signed in to Google) or else a link called "New Post" (if you are already signed in.)

Your feedback and suggestions are welcome. I'm open to doing a fancier template if you guys would like that.

Mother's Day

I love both of the necklaces I received for Mother's Day. One is stamped with Kim, Michelle and Nicole, Brad, Skip and Weston around two silver discs. The other was made by Mercy. It is purple and silver and it goes with my outfits very nicely. I will treasure of both of them.

Two Brothers

I wish all of my teenage nephews and their families would watch this documentary. It shows the growing up years of two brothers and follows them all the way to their missions. It is a pretty intense inside look at growing up.

http://byutv.org/seethegood/post/The-5000-Days-Project-Two-Brothers.aspx

Yeah, it is over an hour long. Maybe on a Sunday afternoon you can gather around the computer and watch it. After having seen the movie, I totally want to do yearly video interviews with my own kids. I think it would be an awesome gift to give them someday.

New blog for Cove Fort Mission

Look us up and feel free to make comments.
 http://georgeandevaatcovefort.blogspot.com/

Thoughts & Information

We are starting the countdown! Only 2 more weeks and we will be in the MTC. The time is going quickly now that are talks are history.

I can't decide whether to add to our old mission blog for our going and comings at Cove Fort or just post here. Any preferences? ( I was sad to see my wallpaper had disappeared from the West Indies Blog.)

We will go down to Cove Fort a week from tomorrow and return on Tuesday. We still have several things to take down. It will take Kim's car and trailer to get us back home in November.

We were surprised at the strict rules...

In your call letter, President Monson made the following statement, "You will be expected to devote all your time and attention to serving the Lord." Please plan to observe those instructions faithfully. Do not ask for special favor or time off except in a dire emergency. Your family should be advised that you will not be able to attend baptisms, weddings, or temple sealing, if it requires you to miss your missionary duties, or to leave the mission.


We had thought we would attend Eric's graduation, but I guess not.

Addresses:

May 7-15, 2012

Elder George Wellington Ross
Sister Eva Peters Ross
Utah St. George Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604

May 15-Nov 7, 2012
Elder & Sister Ross
Cove Fort Historic Site
HC-74 Box 6650
Beaver, Utah 84713

Go, Durango!

The 6th best small town in America. Sorry, Page.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/The-20-Best-Small-Towns-in-America.html?c=y&page=7&navigation=next#IMAGES

To my AMAZING family:

Thank you for supporting us at mom's memorial services. It meant a great deal to me for all of you to be there. My brothers were appreciative of your support as well. The services went better than a couple of them expected. It was good for them to feel of your spirits.

I should have had one of you do the program. I checked it several times through the past few weeks and I still didn't see two major errors. Francis is not spelled with an e and mom and dad were not married on Aug 21 but on Aug 19th. I also left her brother George off the obituary notice. Yes, as you suspected, I am getting old and forgetful. Too many things like that happening these days.

It has been a tender mercy to not be reporting to the MTC on Monday as was the plan for 3-4 weeks. Sorry John to have rushed you in getting the 5th wheel in place only to have the date revert to May 7. You can't believe how much we appreciate your sacrifice on our behalf. We now have a couple of weeks to get the trailer organized and ready for occupancy. We will make at least one trip down and stay a day or two.

Thanks again to each of you and the part you played in the success of a memorable day for everyone who was in attendance. A special thanks to Kim and Steve for the food and the atmosphere. It was incredible.

Dorothy Amalia Buck Peters

She was born February 7, 1918 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Francis Morgan Buck and Ellen Louise Pederson Buck. She married Ralph Peters on Aug 19, 1940. They were the parents of five children: daughter, Eva Ross, and sons, Leon, Alan, Orin, and Westley. She was a successful wife, mother, and business partner with her husband, who preceded her in death. She died January 3, 2012. She was 93 years of age.

She is survived by her five children; 14 grandchildren; 27 great grandchildren; and four great, great grandchildren. 

Seattle IT IS:)

Okay folks, I believe we will be having the reunion on the beautiful Island of Bainbridge in the middle of the Puget Sound. We are very excited!!! We will be back in SLC next year as I understand from Kim.

The Dates have a slight change to Wed, Aug 1st thru Sun, Aug 5th. We will have organized activities Thur- Sat and would love for you all to attend church with us on Sunday at 10:00AM if you can.

I will have more details a little later.

This is really the prime time to visit (knock on wood) as the Northwest ends her summers on beautiful notes of Sunshine. It's January thru the end of June-urary that is the problem time.

Reunion Preferences

We're looking forward to the Seattle option for the reunion. We're thinking that we could spend 2 days travelling up, 3 days reunioning, and 2 days travelling back. We'd hope to swing by important sites like Mt. St. Helens either on the way there or back, plus some other sites along the way. You'd hate to travel all those miles and not see anything in between!

We are planning to rent an RV for the trip. It is something we've been talking about for a couple of years with the kids and they are excited to try it. It is expensive, but I think it will be worth the investment. Anybody else thinking of RVing up?

We still haven't heard back about our Education Week commitment from Aug. 13-17, but we need to be sure we have a travel buffer around that. The other week that we already have a reunion for Keryn's family is July 13-15. We are teaching a class on June 7-8 and 28-29.

If we end up in SLC for the reunion, we won't complain. Maybe we'll plan a shorter trip up to Seattle in the off-season to save a bit on the RV rental.