Nov. 19, 2017

Thursday will be Thanksgiving Day!  My heart is filled with gratitude for so many blessings.  The list is topped with my Savior, my Father in Heaven (in either order), my testimony, my family, my friends.  But there are so many little things as well.  Shoes to wear for one.

Today on the subway to church there was a man sleeping who had no shoes--just socks and the toes were out on the right foot.  I didn't want to invade his privacy, so I didn't take a picture.  But it made me wonder when was the last time I was grateful to have shoes and boots and other things to keep me warm and comfortable?!  I hope all of you--young and old take time to express gratitude to each other and to our Father in Heaven this week.

Yesterday I had a wonderful visit with Todd Mortensen (Adam in the "B" film in the temple).  He had finished with confirmations with some members of his ward.  I was assigned to the baptistry.  I introduced myself and then told him that Ann Marie Thompson is married to my son Chad.  He had such and instantaneous and positive reaction!  He shared so many memories of every member of the Thompson family from his years at Tempe High School--even mentioning the PBJ sandwiches after the football games.  He wanted a report on every member of the family.  I was really happy that I could give a fairly complete report.  I couldn't remember where Jess moved after leaving Tucson as a Pediatric cardiac surgeon and I wasn't certain of Stephen's profession.  He was amazed that Jon is a CRNA now.  He of course mentioned that he used to date Amy in high school.  It was such fun chatting away.  Then, he casually mentioned that he had a Prescott connection as well.  You will never guess--he is the great-grandson of Uncle Merle Allen.  I was stunned and quickly told him that Uncle Merle's second wife was my Aunt Opal. He remembers meeting Aunt Opal. It turns out that Merle Jr and Carol are his grandparents on his mom's side!  I wonder if my Goodman cousins had made this connection.  Merle Jr is a patriarch now and Bishop Mortensen and his wife hope he is still giving blessings when their four daughters are old enough to receive blessings.    It is a small world in the church.

I don't have pictures this week--but I will next week, because the missionaries will be setting up chairs just a block away to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I am excited to see it in person.  I always try to watch it on TV while working on dinner--but have had limited success.

We will eat Thanksgiving dinner in the apartment of President and Sister Bench with all the missionaries who don't have any family to spend the holiday with.  I am providing apple pie and a green salad.  The temple is closed on Wednesday and Thursday and then we are back to work on Friday and Saturday.  On Wednesday I plan on going to Macy's and lots of other places near Times Square, Penn Station (34th St as in "The Miracle on 34th Street) and Grand Central Station to look at Christmas decorations in the stores.  I might not have time to hit them all--but I'll give it a good try!  That should put me in the holiday mood, don't you think?

Right after Thanksgiving we switch back to the day shift.  I don't know our exact schedule, but I will have it be next Sunday.  So you can reach for Face Time or phone calls in the evening!  Please do!!

We love each and every one of you and pray for your well-being and happiness.  Send us pictures of your holiday events.

Love,
Mom, Grandma, Jeanine

 These are the last of my Walter Rane pictures.




The first one is the sons of Mosiah bringing Alma the Younger to his parents after encountering an Angel.

The second one is my favorite--Moroni realizing that Mormon is dead and he is now truly alone as the last of the righteous Nephites.

This one is a more common theme--from the New Testament--Mary and Martha with the Savior.









REMEMBER TO MAKE THIS A WEEK OF GIVING THANKS FOR YOUR BLESSINGS!

November 12, 2017

Recently I read something in the Church News that touched my heart.  At the training for the new temple presidents, President Russell Nelson said, "... you will come to realize that temple service is the crown jewel of all of our work in the Church."  He had another great quote, "The temple is the object of every activity and every advancement in the Church."

It makes me feel very grateful for the opportunity of serving in the temple five days a week.  I may get tired and discouraged at times--but it is truly an amazing privilege.  I feel the blessings of the Lord and know He is pleased with our offering.

But this service does come with sacrifice.  Yesterday I would have liked to have been in the temple in St. George, UT instead of NYC, NY.  Quinn and Niki were married there.  Here is a beautiful picture I "stole" from Rachelle's Facebook account.

Tonight we had our Temple Workers' Devotional.  It was beautiful.  The music was touching and the thoughts shared were inspiring.  We could truly feel our Savior's love.  I wish I could send the spirit of the meeting to you thru the digital world.  Undoubtedly, you have had similar experiences.

Cold weather has arrived in Manhattan!  Yesterday we had a record low for that date.  It was only 24 degrees.  But on Friday the wind was howling and the chill factor must have been much lower.  I had to walk 12 blocks to an appointment and my nose and ears were frozen--even after wrapping a scarf around my head.  I must admit it is a decorative scarf--I will be buying a winter scarf at my first opportunity.  Spencer also needs a scarf and he now realizes that he didn't put gloves in the box of winter stuff we shipped out ahead of our departure.  So we will be buying gloves for him as well.

I have been fighting a head cold--it just keeps coming back since I have allergies that compromise my immune system and the cold air triggers the coughing and sneezing.  But hey, I'm not sleeping outside, like this poor homeless man I saw in Central Park in the middle of the day on Friday.  I wonder if he walks at night to keep from freezing and sleeps during the day.

Spencer is still facing challenges with vertigo and energy level.  But he is continuing to loose weight and looks great.  He has an MRI tomorrow.  But he doesn't see the doctor to get the results until December.  Hopefully, that means they aren't expecting it to show anything terrible.

Central Park is still my favorite place to walk.  The "erector set" buildings are all down now that were set up for the marathon.  It was amazing to see them go up and taking them down is just as fascinating.  Last week the weather was perfect for the marathon--in the 60's and slight rain.  Today it is in the 20's and bitter cold breezes.

When we came home from church last week we could hardly get thru the crowds--it was shoulder to shoulder and not moving until we got north of Columbus Circle.  That is because we live so close to the finish line of the marathon.

It looks like they even put up a temporary statute at the finish line.  Does anyone know who Fred Lebow is?  I wonder if he has some history with marathons.

I took another picture in Central Park.  I wanted to see glorious leaves.  But the color change has been minimal.  Then the trees in front of our building just lost all of their leaves overnight.  The green leaves are on the sidewalk and in the gutter and they are turning immediately brown.  My guess is the frost did it.  I guess I won't see the color changes after all.

This is snap shot is across the platforms in the subway.  We were waiting for our train to go to church.  It is pretty typical.

I came home after Sacrament Mtg today because of my cold.  It was insane on the subway.  Shoulder to shoulder and hardly a hand hold to reach.  I got on before it was so bad and had the corner seat in the area for elderly and handicapped people.  A lady got on with two canes.  The three other people sitting in my area were all about 50 years younger than me.  They just kept their eyes on their phones and did nothing.  So I stood up and offered my seat to the lady.  She was very appreciative.  I think it "guilted" the young woman next to me because she then got up and moved away--without saying anything--not even "excuse me" when she stepped on some man.  He wasn't too happy with her.  Sometimes people are so polite.  But if they are focused on their phones, all human decency seems to vanish.  I'm glad that from everything I've observed, our grandchildren and children are more conscious of other people--even the shy ones are polite.

We love you and miss you all!
Jeanine

November 5, 2017

This has been a bitter sweet time for me.  I'm feeling a little homesick. 

Last week was the wedding of Spencer's oldest grandson--Nathan Judd.  His wife is the beautiful Mallory.  How I would have loved to have been there.

We were so happy that they were married in the Mesa, AZ temple.  That is the best way to start out an eternal marriage. 

And it was a wonderful privilege that Spencer's brother-in-law, Mike Vance was the sealer.

 We love being with family and we are happy for the reports we have received about this event.

Friday was the dedication of the ramada at Aker Park in Prescott--just across the fence from the original Tenney ranch.  Lucy Mason spoke about Dad and his wonderful influence in her life.  My three siblings who were there (Ron, Harold, and Diane) also spoke.  I would have loved to have been a part of the day.

I did get to at least contribute to photos for the plaque and helped in the planning stages.  My brother Carl did a lot in that area.  He was the moving force.  We appreciate Kitty for being sure some pictures were taken and always being a part of  special times in the family.

Fortunately, Aunt Pearl Romney, Dad's last surviving sibling attended, as did cousins Lark Cyr and Mike and Sandi Reid.  Lucy Mason rounds out the next picture.

We hope that our immediate and extended family members will have opportunities to enjoy this spot for picnics and cook outs. There some wonderful hiking trails.  We can all enjoy a walk down memory lane.

Now, I'm sounding old, as well as nostalgic!

Next weekend is another wonderful family event as Rachelle and Dave's son Quinn is married to Niki in the St. George temple--we will miss that as well.  But hopefully I'll have a picture to include next week.


Now on to Spencer's report:
We, the Browns don't communicate all that often.  We could do much better at phone calls and emails.  But, I do think (in our defense) that we are engaged in doing our necessary tasks--teaching our children, living an honest life and keeping up with our prayers and scripture study.  Maybe there is hope!

In our combined family, I'm happy the way our children are turning out with four missionaries.  There will be an untold number for our "50" grandchildren who will yet go and serve.  By the way, service can take other forms as well.

Next comes marriages that create new families and future generations.  They will balloon and repeat themselves.  That can be mind boggling to think about.  We hope our efforts will produce family lines with people who are good and serve the Lord.  All of us need to remember that there is repentance and we can make better choices.  This will be true in this life and in the life to come.  It is never too late to set our affairs in order.  I've even made one or two mistakes in my life!

We are pushing on each day.  I have had headaches and dizziness, but in all I wouldn't change anything.  President Bench, the temple president, gave us a good compliment in our interview and that makes things even better. 

I love this work!  I love the people who come!  I love the Lord.

The other day a black man came by the front desk on his way out.  I asked him where he was from.  I had guessed he was from the Dominican Republic.  "Oh, no," he said, "I am from Sierra Leone".  Then I told him we have a grandson serving a mission in that country.  He grabbed me and pulled me close and said "Thank you for serving my people. I want to bring all of them to the temple." It verifies what our grandson, Spencer Raymond says.  They are a loving, touchy-feely people.

Another wonderful experience (tender mercy) is that Jeanine's brother, Carl taught us how to use a FamilySearch app (Find-A-Record).  I was impressed, but didn't have time to use it until now.  Jeanine has spent a lot of time showing me how to look up family lines and find relatives who are lacking temple ordinances.  Some may lack just one, like a sealing to spouse or parents, but some lack everything.  Most names are from 200-300 years ago.  I still don't know much about the computer, but this program is producing and will produce hundreds of names.  The challenge now is how to facilitate getting the work done.

We love all of our kids and grandkids in the combined family.  Our daily prayers are about you each day--especially those with handicaps, who struggle with a living and who have other specific challenges.

Spencer