Melody's Mission Call!

We returned from our visit with Michael, Brittany, and their family in Harrisonburg on June 26, and as much as we always hate to leave, this time we were eager to arrive home because we were pretty sure Melody's mission call would be waiting in the mailbox--and it was!  As she pulled the large manila envelope out, she was so excited she could hardly stay in her skin; eventually she stopped dancing around the driveway and hurried up to her room to have a word of prayer and open it in private.  By the time I came in with some stuff from the car, she was in the foyer, weeping incoherently and almost hysterically.  I knew before Bob clarified that these were tears of joy, but it was several long moments before she showed me the letter, signed by President Monson, calling her into the Lord's service and assigning her to serve in the Ukraine Dnepropetrovsk Mission!

(I hate to admit this, but I'm pretty sure this is not the expression I'd have on my face if I'd just been told I needed to learn the Russian language by the end of the year...any year...  It may take me that long to just learn how to pronounce the name of the mission!  I feel like calling for Vanna White to see if I can buy some vowels...)

As you may be able to read, Melody will be learning Russian in the MTC in Madrid, Spain.
We spent the next hour or so excitedly discussing various aspects of the call and things Melody enthusiastically shared with us from her packet and the internet.  She stayed up late into the night calling all her siblings (fortunately most of them live in later time zones...!).  We are so grateful for her whole-hearted desire to serve the Lord and accept His assignment.

We are also grateful for and humbled by the influence and preparation Melody was blessed to receive as a result of her service in the Atlanta North Mission home the past year under the direction of  President and Sister Bennion.  (I butted into the picture too, as I had the same privilege from the beginning of their mission three years ago.)  It was while serving there that she first heard the Spirit whispering things she had never considered; it was there that those promptings were confirmed, and she made the decision to serve a full-time mission.  She's already a great missionary!  She is teaching the "new member" lessons to a former classmate who recently joined the Church, and is a good example and influence wherever she goes.

This has nothing to do with anything, but President Bennion served in the same mission Bob did, several years earlier; he was also "Cosmo," the BYU basketball team's mascot, during his time in Provo!  He could make baskets from mid-court while riding a unicycle!  (Sister Bennion told me that, not President...)  We miss them and their daughter Christine already!

Ganz Family Reunion at The Farm

Saturday, 24 June 2017, Grama Weiler and her only surviving sibling, Aunt Dottie, gathered with many (nearly all of the second, quite a few of the third, and even a few from the fourth, generations!) of the posterity of their parents, William and Bella Epstein Ganz, at the Farm in East Berlin, PA.  Aunt Dottie, the youngest of the family, is standing in the doorway talking to Becky (Bob's sister Chris' younger daughter); Bob and Chris are to the right of the barn (near the PortaPotty we subsidized...our modest contribution to the event, along with the hand-washing station inside the barn in the next photo.)

I wish these pictures did justice to the amazing improvements Kate and Gary have made to the property!  These shots of the inside of the barn hardly show the awesome ambience they have created, turning a 19th century barn into a picturesque place where all three of their children were married.  Can you see the sign over the bar?  It welcomes everyone to the "Ganz Reunion," but interestingly, there was no one named Ganz in attendance!  Uncle Bud, Grama Weiler's only brother, married late in life and left no posterity; and of course the Ganz girls - Claire, Nancy, Bobbie, and Dottie - all passed their married names on to their children. For this event, two-thirds of the floor space was set for serving and dining.  (Gary, of course, did the cooking in his state-of-the-art gourmet kitchen, serving from a nice catering setup with hot and cold compartments.  He and Kate both took the week off their full-time jobs to prepare for this; cooking for over 50 people and mowing that property is an ambitious undertaking, and I can't imagine what it takes to get, let alone keep, that cavernous barn free of dust and cobwebs!)  The other third was open floor, and they had plasma cars, corn hole, and other fun diversions.

Grama Weiler, seated in the center, in blue, visiting with her niece Maggie.  Behind her, in the hat, is Aunt Dottie.  In the background, under the horizontal lights, is the hot and cold buffet table; the food alone was worth the trip--and one family came from Sweden just for this reunion!

Grampa and Grama Weiler mingling among the masses.  I wish I could identify all the various family members; I spoke with most of them, but my sieve-like memory cannot retain the names.  I can't even tell you the name of Kate's current dog, shown above--only that, like all her many pets, it is named after some food item...  (You may remember some of the earlier animals:  Kiwi, Oreo, Necco, Sushi, Saki, Latte, Kernel, Vidalia...)

I will be perfectly honest and tell you (though I'm ashamed to admit it):  I was not looking forward to socializing with a bunch of people I'd never met, most of whom I knew would be doing, drinking, and discussing things way outside my comfort zone.  I confess:  I went for the food.  I will be perfectly honest and tell you also that I haven't enjoyed myself any more than I enjoyed that day, in a long time!  I felt an instant connection to many of them, and an almost overwhelming feeling of familial love for each and all of them.  I hadn't really thought about it before, but I'm now convinced that the Spirit of Elijah covers the living as well as the dead.

Cousins clustered cozily and conversing around the firepit.

Bob and various relatives enjoying the reunion.

Our cousin Sarah El-Tahar (Bob's sister Kate's oldest) documenting the event.  The kid in the baseball cap to the far right is either Axel or Bruno, one of the twin sons of Bob's cousin Lars (Aunt Dottie's younger son) and his wife Dodi; they are the ones who win the prize for coming the furthest to attend!

Sweet Lillie Belle Weigand (who is named for both her maternal great-great-grandmothers), daughter of Eryn and grand-daughter of Bob's sister Kate, represented her generation so graciously, offering tours of the property.

I know all my own children will sigh with envy and nostalgia at this picture of Melody in the canoe on the lake, with the dock and the barn in the background.  I don't know how long it has been since y'all have been to the Farm, but it seems there is always something "new and improved."  Have you all seen the old summer kitchen that Grampa and Grama Weiler used for a storage shed, which Kate and Gary turned into a state-of-the-art gourmet kitchen with an artist's loft above?  

Melody greatly enjoyed her last visit to the Farm before leaving on the mission.  At the moment this photo as taken, she did not know where she would be serving, only that her call was en route from Salt Lake City.  Knowing it would be awaiting her at home may well have been the only thing that could've torn her away from this idyllic place...

Almost Heaven...

In June we drove up to Harrisonburg, VA and spent time with Michael and the boys while Clara and Brittany were at Young Women's camp for the week.   One day Michael took Melody to West Virginia on a white-water rafting trip!  (M&M--our first and our last...)  While they were gone, Grampa and I had a lot of fun with Robbie and Henry.  For one thing, we celebrated Robbie's 5th birthday (a little early).

We brought our tandem bicycle from home, hooked up Michael and Brittany's trailer, and rode all over the Shenandoah Valley (OK, maybe not all over the entire Valley, but it felt like it before we got home!  Would you believe into town to the library and nearby Purcell Park?)

Saturday of that week we drove up to PA for a Ganz family reunion, which will be covered in our next post.  We were SO glad the girls got back from camp and we were able to have one day with them before heading back to Georgia!

We surely love these good-looking people, and not just for their wonderful Southern hospitality!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

In the six years since my last attempt to send you a blog post for Father's Day, I have forgotten what little I learned about posting, and have to start all over!  In the ? months since Melody helped me formatted the home page of this "new" blog, it has become seriously outdated by the arrival of five additional grandchildren, with another in the oven... The only way to keep up with it is...to keep up with it!  So here I go again, promising things I have never been able to deliver, but exercising hope that this time, things will be different!  (Actually, I hope I am different now...)

Shall I start with our mutually favorite thing--posterity?  How about pics of those five missing grandkidlets?

Meet Miss Georgia Mae Weiler, the most recent addition!  Born 20 April 2017 in Provo to Caleb and Shannyn, she arrived a week early just so she and Mama could attend Daddy's graduation from the MBA program in entrepreneurship.  She was less than 6 weeks old when the whole family moved to Sandy.  I was able to attend her blessing and spend a fun week while they were still at BYU.  Can you believe how big Clark and Jane are now?!

Master George Tyler Wright was born 31 January 2017 in Grants Pass, OR to Bethany and Keith, joining big brother William.  Bob and I both got to meet him shortly after his debut, and were able to participate in his blessing, too, though he didn't seem too thrilled about it...

The same trip (we flew into SLC for a few days, from there to Medford, OR, for a week, then back to SL for a few more days), we got to meet Russell James Weiler and participate in his blessing, too!  We were glad Joseph and Jenna waited a few months (he was born 9 November 2016) so we could be there.

I was in UT for the blessing of Andrew Allgood Weiler in July 2016; he was born 28 June to Seth and Marissa.

When I went back in Jan/Feb 2017 with Bob, we were delighted to see these cousins interact.  This photo was taken in Aunt Ruthie's house in Provo, which she graciously opened to us for family get-togethers while we were there.

If I haven't confused you enough by going backwards in chronology, let me throw another monkey wrench at you by inserting this last baby out of sequence.  (I have to get Melody's help to import photos of Eden Asha Weiler, as they are all from Facebook, not my personal camera.)  She was born 18 October 2016 - between Andrew and Russell - and of course made her debut in New Delhi, India.  And no--she doesn't have dual citizenship, as India doesn't recognize that; if she wanted to claim Indian citizenship she'd have to surrender her American citizenship.

      

Whew!  This has taken all I have - and depleted much of Bob and Melody's energy, too, trying to coach me through this and console me in my emotional extremity when I thought I'd lost it - so I will close now and promise to post more, often, so I can learn how to do it before I forget.  Happy Father's Day, Dad!  Love and blessings to you and Mom!