HURRAH FOR ISRAEL

We began the week by driving to Victor, New York to a movie theater.  We saw "Heaven is Real".  It followed the book pretty good.  The young boy that played the main character had mesmerizing blue eyes.  Of course the movie totally lifted my spirit....I look forward to the day when this grandma looks like the prime of her life again...and those that know me know I would prefer to twinkle even though I am not a star!

This morning at 6 AM I got brave and drove to the Palmyra Macedon High School and began my early morning swims again!!!  It has 6 lap lanes and I got a half of one to myself and it was totally awesome.  The school is about 5 minutes away.  They have early morning swim 4 days a week and charge $1.00 admittance...Tomorrow I am to serve from 8 am till 5 pm...should I swim?  Such a difficult decision...can I be ready in time....Oh My...swimming is so profound compared to the stationary bike I've been riding in the mornings.  Too bad I was born with such a negative attitude about exercising....but still loving the chocolate bars....Mitch Park Y in Edmond opened at 5 AM.  Too bad this one doesn't do the same..but I do so enjoy sleeping later.  Of course Elder Bushman can't understand all this wishy washy stuff...he just gets up and runs his 3 miles and then eats his hershey kisses all day.  What's the problem?  The battle of the metabolisms continues.  I still wear the fins and goggles like I did when I was swimming with this awesome group last summer!

The Palmyra Macedon High School Pool: 

Of course now the hair was driving me buggy as some days I need to be at the temple by 8:00 AM so I found out who all the ladies at the temple use to cut hair and talked her into an appointment at 7 PM before I started cutting it myself.  I'm so blessed to have natural curl.  I told her to cut it so I could run my fingers through wet hair and go.  Elder Bushman is jealous of my hair!  Ha!

Our travels today took us to another finger lake where we visited Watkins Glen State Park.  It was too long of a walk for me to go see all the waterfalls on the mountain...so Art took pictures at the top.  We drove forever to get there too...but Art enjoyed the driving and I napped.  I have a daughter-in-law Allyson who's maiden name is Watkins and so I thought of her all day! 

We have served in the Temple for two weeks and have about got the way they do things in New York down pat.  It is such a lovely temple and the people are so friendly.  Sometimes I feel like I am in Paradise just waiting to go to heaven to be with my departed family.  Other times, usually when I have served a shift in the office, I wonder if I can survive a year with this schedule!  All of you know the feeling, I am sure.  Then when I was warn down one day,  I saw a 96 year old man come to do sealing's and he was so cheerful and alert and I remembered that I can be an angel just for him for today...as he has been my angel for just being there.  We are The Lord's Hands.

I watched a sister enter the temple with a walker.  For every 4 steps she took she progressed one step.   A couple of people quickly went around her and moved on. I could tell it would take her forever to get to where she was going.  I was about to leave my post and ask if I could help her when a young girl came into the temple and stepped in front of her.  She looked back at her and said, "Sister you remind me of my dad and his walker, how about letting me give you a ride"?  The other sister said, "I have MS and can't seem to get this body to move this morning, I would appreciate a ride".  Then she began to turn her body and sit on the chair in her walker.  It took her a good minute to sit down.  The sister that offered to help her said, "Good job".  Then she twirled her around and leaned into her face, told her to lift her feet a bit, and off they went down the hall, the both of them giggling and talking.  I stood erect and wept for the tender sight The Lord had allowed me to witness. 

Today we are going with other couples to a Lilac Festival in Rochester NY.

 As you can see everyone loves the Lilac Festival....huge crowd!

Church in Cortland Ward was awesome today...other than the fact we had to drive 1 1/2 hours both ways.  The Primary children sang and gave us paper flowers they made.  Then the Bishopric passed out carnations and chocolate after Sacrament.  A Brother Ayres gave us a loaf of home made wheat bread.  He makes the bread for Sacrament each week.  I got messages & a card & phone calls from my son's & daughter & their families.  It was a good mothers day.   Our New Zealand missionary is being transferred Wednesday and Elder Moore is from Woodruff, AZ. about 20 miles from where Elder Bushman grew up.  We also have two sisters in our Cortland Ward.  

After church we went to the Carman farm in Marathon, NY.  Gus and his wife Jean and their daughter Marie & son Walt live there.  Jean is homebound and needs someone with her always.  Today Marie stayed home with her.  We took the Sacrament to them.  They had another daughter and grandson visiting with them.  Elder Bushman and the Grandson administered the Sacrament.  We then had Chicken Pie  & homemade applesauce with them.  After dinner Brother Carman took us on a tour of his Dairy farm.  He just sold the remainder of his cattle in April and it has been really hard on Gus. He is 80 years old.  His father purchased the farm in 1900.  The home and barn are now over 150 years old.  The Glaves (we served with them in the OKC Temple) were their neighbors for years...it is a small world in the church.

Gus has a 1954 Chevy truck like the GMC Elder Bushman's dad drove.  Art was very impressed.

The bottom of the barn was where they milked the cows and the top is where they stored the hay.  This is Gus by the hay bailer in the top of the barn.

Gus told us to look at the back of the barn and he has his own set of stars to look at all day long.  The barn has holes that the sun shines through!  The whole top of this barn is usually full of hay bales and the ladder was to climb to the top of the bale stack...pretty scarry.

Well, this was a full and interesting week.  We have met some wonderful people and have had some wonderful experiences.  I fell at the first of the week and hurt my arm so am trying to recover from that.  I have bruises & torn muscles to show how frail I am.  It has made me ponder the sacrifice The Savior made for us, "bruised, broken and torn for us On Calvary's Hill"...I have some bruised, and torn muscles by Cumorah Hill...I feel sorry for any pain I caused The Savior and hope I can heal and help others heal as we serve in this sacred place.  "Thy name we Bless!" Hurrah for Israel!