Guess what now!

Well, the good news is the pain in doug's chest was not a heart problem. It wasn't a kidney problem, and it wasn't a hyadal hernia. The bad news is---your papa has shingles! And that is painful. Anybody who had chicken pox as a child is eligible to get shingles as an adult. The little chicken pox virus stays nested right there at the end of your nerves until something makes them get mad and flair up. In Doug's case I think it was the stress he was under trying to learn everything he could about Israel in two weeks so he'd feel qualified to direct this group we were asked to take. I know he worried about it a lot because these folks paid big money to have the best and Doug knew he wasn't the best in this field but he wanted to be.

To back up, we had a great month with the travel to Israel and then almost immediately afterwards the trip to the South Pacific. We studied the history of the ancient church as told in the Old and New Testaments, and then we studied the history of the restored church. Missionaries were out sharing the gospel in the Sandwich and Society Islands as early as 1844. And when you go on a church history tour with the religion faculty you get introduced to every significant blade of grass and port that a Mormon pioneer/missionary ever stepped or landed in. Names like Addison Pratt, Matthew Cowley, Ephraim Magleby, and David O. McKay a little later are revered on the Islands. We visited sacred monuments for all those men. And there are still people living who remember and tell the stories of the miracles they performed and the prophecies they pronounced. What a wonderful, humble, spiritual people they are. It was great!

When I got home Doug and Drew had a surprise for me---a new computer. It's beautiful---so streamlined and FAST. The problem is, it's a Mac and they are a little different than the PC I was used to. The other problem is we haven't found all my old files yet so it's kind of like having amnesia---there are holes in my computer memory. Drew has spent hours trying to get it all put together and we're up and running for the most part.

Didn't you love getting the ultra-sound pictures of Mandy's and James' new twins? Just seeing them so definite like that with body parts makes this whole idea more than a concept. Those are real babies in there! Mandy, I saw mostly heads. Did you find out for sure anything about the sex? Does your doc still think they are boy/girl twins?

It was fun to have Terri here for a quick week-end. She made the most of every minute and got a lot done. I think Wedding Planning could be her vocation if she chose to pursue it. Right now she says she loves being the PE teacher for several private schools. And as you can imagine, the kids love her.

It was fun to hear all about the Marathon when we got home. Sure would like to have been there. It sounds like a good time was had by all. I'm looking forward to a repeat next year. How about you?

The next thing coming up is our Fourth of July family reunion. I've got to get going on the food assignments for the Swedish Heritage dinner. Anybody have a perference about what you'd like to bring? Let me know quick and you may get it. I'm going to get a list from Tina of everybody who's coming and I'll send you all a list of the possibilities of food items. You've been to enough of these now you probably already have an idea.

Lots of love, Mom and Dad