Week #33, 24 - 30 July 2017

 It was another busy temple week for us.  Our shifts were busy with the baptistry filled constantly on Monday with families and group.  There was a group of Young Women from Tempe, AZ, who was nice to talk to.  We attended sessions Monday, Wednesday, and Friday when off shift and I attended  an extra one on Tuesday.  We are working through our family file cards and enjoying the blessings of service.

We had a treat with watching Ian Mattson on Tuesday while his parents went to a session in the temple.  They are from our stake at home.  Ian is 7 years old, has been to Nauvoo before, and knew just what he wanted to see again.  We rode the Oxen pulled wagon, tasted delicious bread, and got a gingerbread cookie.  He was expert at making a rope and was excited to walk away from the blacksmith shop with a small horseshoe and a prairie diamond.  He got hungry so we stopped at Peter's Place, newly opened at the east end of town, and he enjoyed a corndog while we had hamburgers.  The fries were great and we had sweet corn nuggets for the first time.  They were pretty tasty. 

Robert, Mindi, Ian Mattson, Barbara and Bob at the Nauvoo Temple.

Other than our hours in the temple, we did laundry, cleaned the apartment, shopped, and went to our weekly scanning project.  I also had a class with Sister Swing.  The weather was humid, hot and muggy for a good share of the week and then come Saturday, it started to cool.  Sunday morning was a pleasant 60º.  

These beautiful flowers adorn the front of the William Weeks Home.  He was the architecture of the original Nauvoo Temple.  It is located on Young Street by the mail room.

We enjoyed our drive to and from Washington Branch today Sunday.  We were barged on the way so we turned around and drove up the east side of the Mississippi and crossed over at Burlington.  We were about five minutes later than usual.  Sister McBride (They are the missionaries we ride with to church.) was the concluding speaker in Sacrament Meeting and gave a great talk on the blessings of "gathering" our ancestors into our families by providing temple ordinances for them.

Sister Overy, the Primary President, had a surplus of vegetables from her garden and offered them to anyone who would like to take some home.  I was delighted to take fresh tomatoes and squash.  We enjoyed grilled zucchini and sliced tomatoes/cottage cheese with our meal.  That was a real treat for us.

We concluded our Sunday evening with Elder and Sister Beck coming over for cinnamon rolls and a round of rummy.  They had not played it before and we had a great time teaching them.  Sister Beck did really well the first part of the game but I came out the winner.  We enjoyed the time together and sharing experiences.  

Temple Fact:  When the Saints first arrived in Nauvoo, there was not a designated spot for a temple.  In fact, one was not found until 1840 with the addition of the Daniel Wells property on the bluff, at the geographical center of an expanded Nauvoo and with a commanding view of the river.  The street that runs in front of the temple is Wells Street.