Life After Our First Mission: Parties, Parties And More Parties

Home Sweet Home

Our Little Temporary Apartment

We are still a bit in limbo since arriving back in Portland. We are home, but not home. As you know we are interested in going back out in the Mission Field as soon as we can, so we have taken up temporary residence in a one-bedroom apartment several blocks from our permanent house, which is occupied by Kae and Kerry and the kids. It doesn’t make sense for them to move until we finish the next mission.

We have enjoyed spending time with the family. The grandkids seem not to have forgotten us and enjoy spending time with us. Thanks to skype they were able to recognize us without any hesitation. We look forward to spending time with each individual family, separate from the big group, during the next few months, so we can create some unique memories for each of the grandchildren.

Fourth Of July Breakfast

When we arrived at the apartment we found it furnished with some of our own furniture and the kitchen stocked with food and utensils. Enough stuff to keep us alive for awhile; however, we have been invited out to eat almost every day we have been home. We celebrated with food several days at McAllister and Denita’s wedding events and again on the fourth of July there was more food than we could eat. If you thought we had lost weight while living in Denmark, don’t worry; we will put it back on at this rate.

Last Sunday we had the opportunity of attending church in our home ward and greeting our many friends. They were very gracious in their “welcome homes”. We enjoyed the testimonies and the good feeling of being home. I must say however, that it was not without thinking about our Frederiksberg Ward back in Copenhagen. In fact, throughout the past two weeks we have frequently checked the clock to fantasize what was happening in our favorite Temple. I have, on many occasions, visualized passing the recommend desk and walking down the circular stairs to the dressing rooms. I have visualized being in the Baptistery, the ordinance rooms and the Celestial Room. We don’t ever want to forget the wonderful feelings we had while serving there.

Kids Bicycle Parade

Tuesday morning we attended a session at the Portland Temple. It was unusual to see the ordinance room filled to capacity (I have been to many sessions in the Portland Temple when there were only ten to fifteen in attendance). I thought back to Copenhagen, when there were only ten to fifteen in attendance and started calculating which temple experienced the higher percentage of attendance. If a Stake has approximately 2,800 members the calculation is thus: The Portland Temple District with fifty stakes has 140,000 members. A session of fifteen has a percentage of .0001. The Copenhagen Temple District with three stakes has 8400 members. A session of fifteen has a percentage of .002. Even when the Portland Temple has a full session of sixty-two, which we had last Tuesday, the percentage of attendance is .0004. The attendance of fifteen has no significance; it was used only because it was a common figure for both temples.

Emerson and Dakota

On Wednesday we celebrated the fourth of July by attending the Flag Ceremony and breakfast at the church with Milwaukie and Clackamas wards combined. Kae and Dakota and Emerson came with us. Later in the day we gathered at Sellwood Park for a picnic. In the evening we sat on the ridge overlooking Oaks Park and the city to watch the fireworks on display. Tova and Jeff, Rick and Pam, Kitta and Peter, and Karen were there with the kids, Kyton, Simon and Case. It was a wonderful summer day. The first since we arrived in town. Up to now, the weather in Portland and Copenhagen has been very similar; however, our forecast and Copenhagen’s forecast for the next week is quite different.

Us With Kyton

Friday evening we were invited to Bill and Peggy Self’s for a get-together with family and many old friends from the old Alameda Ward. Bit by bit we are getting connected to our former “life” again.

Saturday we celebrated Kyton’s birthday at Jan’s. She always put on a great feast. We were there with Kyton & Simon, Tova & Jeff, Rick & Pam and Jan & Dave and Gigi. Again, it was a wonderful summer evening with enough breeze to make the air comfortable.

Tonight we gathered at our house, which is Kae & Kerry’s for now, and celebrated Kyton’s and Norma’s birthdays. Everyone was there except Kirsten whom we haven’t seen since we arrived home. We hope to get together with her this week at her workplace.

Angie and Dash kissing Kae

It is a very unusual circumstance that has us being invited to our own house for dinner, and seeing someone else driving up to the dinner in my car, and leaving our house after the dinner together with the rest of our children. I guess we’ll get used to living in a makeshift environment.

I hope you all found our new address.

I’ll close for now.

We love you all.