The First Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Bosnia and Herzegovina

I know I am a couple of weeks late in posting about this, but I felt it was important to do so anyway.

At sunrise on Wednesday September 8th, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the preaching of the gospel--a practice usually observed before LDS missionaries arrive in a country for the first time--on a hill overlooking Sarajevo.  His visit to Sarajevo was part of a six country tour that also included Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Macedonia. Under Elder Nelson's direction, Elder Kopischke of the First Quorum of the Seventy organized the first Branch of the Church in Bosnia.

The people of Bosnia are loving, open, hard-working, and family-oriented.  It was not hard to love the few that we got to know well and, if we were able, we would not hesitate to live in Sarajevo again.  I can't tell you how sad we are for not being there to witness such a wonderful historic event for that country!  However, my feelings of love and gratitude for the Lord in choosing this time for the gospel to be preached in Bosnia (as well as the surrounding countries) are immeasurable!


Picture of the current Sarajevo Branch--which is a little bigger than when we were there--and Elder Nelson, courtesy of (now) Branch President Gary Sombke, second from the left.

Freedom! Er, I mean, Joy School!

Today was Kiddo's first day of the preschool he's doing once a week with a few other kids from Church. I'd checked out a couple of books from the library about it, so he knew what I meant when I told him he was going today. He was thrilled! Even more so when we got there and he saw the assortment of cars to play with.

(My little boy is all grown up!)

On the drive home, when I asked Kiddo what they'd done, he listed all of the different kinds of cars and trucks. I asked him if he'd learned about gardens (the theme of today's joy school) and he said, "Carrots!"

And that's good enough for me.

MVY

We are officially upper class: last weekend we vacationed at Martha's Vineyard. Actually we had some friends get married there, but I think the very fact that we have friends that would get married at Martha's Vineyard indicates that we ourselves are socially elite. Right? Uh, right.

In any case, it was a fabulous weekend. It started out a little rocky (an accident on the freeway making us late to the airport, causing us to run to our gate only to find out that our flight had been delayed an hour because of a hurricane, and then the airline cancelling our connecting flight because we were the only passengers booked on it and we arrived 15 minutes too late), but we're so glad we opted to fly all the way to MVY instead of flying to Boston and then driving/ferrying the rest of the way because that little 9 passenger (10 if you include the pilot) was great! I've never been in such a small plane before, and it was a beautiful view of those Massachusetts islands.

Kiddo always reads the safety instructions.

After getting all dolled up, we headed over to the Old Whaling Church for the wedding ceremony. Kiddo was fine until he discovered that there was a step to get into our bench. And then all he wanted to do was jump off the step over and over again while we were in a 150-year old church, where every sound is audible for the rest of the audience (and the happy couple) to enjoy. So, he and I went outside to the front of the church and were the first to congratulate the bride and groom when they came out a little while later.

After that, everyone was shuttled off in buses to the reception where there was good food, friends, and a lot of dancing. Kiddo fell asleep while we were on the dance floor, so we shuttled back to the hotel where he slept the night away on the couch.

We said our good-byes the following morning and then spent the rest of our time enjoying Edgartown's lighthouse and beaches. Martha's Vineyard is quite the beautiful place!

Morning Jog

Kiddo is a runner by nature. He'd rather run than walk no matter where we are or what we're doing.

A couple of weeks ago, Brandon and Kiddo went for a walk which, of course, became more of a jog. They ended up jogging a mile away before Brandon convinced Kiddo to turn back.

Well, if Kiddo really wants to run, we might as well join him, right? So now it's become a semi-regular morning activity for the three of us. Kiddo chooses the route and sets the pace. It ends up being a few yards of jogging, followed by a minute or two of stopping to notice something interesting (or point out yet another car that is driving by), followed by more jogging.

We get plenty of funny looks and comments from the people we pass, but heaven knows I'm not the one who wants to run. Honest. It's my son.

Definition of Exhaustion

EXHAUSTION: noun The act or process of being extremely or completely tired...

...to the point where you fall asleep while sitting on the couch as your mother is exercising in front of you.

Fame is so fleeting

September's issue of Southern Living came out last week. I tried to hold on to our notoriety as long as I could, but it's officially September now, so I can't fool myself any longer.

Our month of fame has ended.

It was good while it lasted, but the world has already forgotten about us.

And I'm still trying to find a framing store that will do justice to page 28.