The Beginning September 18 2010

What do you do when you lose your home of 15 years and you can’t get a job? You go on the road in your RV. Getting rid of most of the accumulated stuff of 40 years and packing the rest takes up a lot of time and makes for big time stress; especially, when your husband falls out of the motor-home trying to scare away a bear and ends up breaking his arm, hand and wrist so severely that surgery is needed to repair them. For the full story, go to grampdog.blogspot.com. We have felt like mini Jobs (bible prophet) for the past two years. It must have been really obvious because even our home teacher commented that our lives lately were like Job’s. The hardest thing we have had to do is leave behind family that we have been close to for so many years.

David's city rhyme: Safe and fine in La Pine.

Our Motor-home in Jimmie Dad's front yard

Finally, we started our new life on the road. La Pine, Oregon was our first stop to visit Uncle Jimmie, David’s uncle and Patty, David’s cousin.

Terrie, Jimmie Dad and Patty

I first met Uncle Jimmie last year and we both felt an immediate bond. Since then we have developed a close relationship. He says it’s like we have the same DNA because we have the same interests and thoughts about a lot of things. He has become the father of my heart and his daughter, Patty, my new sister. Although, I have two wonderful sisters already, there is more than enough room for this very special lady in my family. Patty and I had a great time attending the Social Security 101 meeting in Bend about 45 minutes away where we got an overview of the system. As for Dad’s, I lost my dad 35 years ago in a freak automobile accident when I was 22 years old and he was only 45. It was a huge loss for me. Uncle Jimmie and I talked about him being my Dad and he told me I could think that I now have two dads, David’s Dad, Vern, and him. For the sake of less confusion, I will use Vern Dad and Jimmie Dad from here on. So my life is improving greatly even though it doesn’t look that way from a material stand point. I am trying to take to heart the statement, “you can’t take it with you.” Jimmie Dad tells me that at some point I will feel as if a huge burden was taken off my shoulders when the house and most of our belongings are gone. I hope so.

I found out something really great at the library in La Pine. I have been worried that I would have problems getting “free” reading material while we are on the road. This is very important to me because I love to read and David and I read all the time. The library has a rack of what they call browser books. These are books donated to the library by patrons. The library does not include them in their inventory. They are for traveling people like us who don’t have library cards because they don’t stay in one place long enough. You can take these books and bring them back to the library when you have finished reading or you can keep them and share them with others on the road. The librarian told me that most libraries should have this kind of program. I also got to meet more of the locals. The cutest kids were at my table in the library. The young 14 year old boy asked me how I was in Spanish and I when I answered him back in Spanish, he told me he didn’t understand. The other 14 year old, a very pretty girl, said he was a Spanish speaker wannabe. The boy wanted to make sure I knew that the girl had a very strange name. He told me her name was Pebbles. She told me her parents named her after a singer. I knew I was getting old but I didn’t think I was that old. I have never heard of this singer. I thought she was named after Pebbles as in the Flintstone children Pebbles and Bam Bam. The other little girl was 7 and she made sure I knew that her school was close by. I wondered what their parents did for a living in this very small community. Their answers weren't very specific except for the fact they were in the medical field.

Aunt Coleen, Terry Gale and Uncle Bobby

We also got to visit with David’s Uncle Bobby and Aunt Coleen who live in La Pine on the other side of town. They invited us to breakfast one afternoon because they know we don’t like to get up too early. Aunt Coleen made us breakfast for lunch. She makes the best whole wheat pancakes we have ever had. They came to visit at Jimmie Dad’s house but I was too sick with a bad cold flu to see them. I could hear them talking and laughing from the motorhome. I was so disappointed I couldn’t join in. I love to laugh.

Terrie and Jimmie Dad at parting

Lonely motor-home at the rest stop

After spending almost two weeks in the beautiful high desert of Oregon in La Pine we left to go to Salt Lake City. We traveled over 400 miles to a rest stop on the other side of Boise, Idaho. We didn’t get much sleep at the rest stop because the truckers arrive late and leave early.

David's city rhyme: We is great and in Salt Lake. October 2 2010

We got to Salt Lake just in time to hear conference. We enjoyed the talks by the apostles and other general authorities as usual. I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf’s talk. He stressed slowing down and focusing on the essential; paying attention to divine things that matter most especially when bad things happen. He said to concentrate on the basics, our relationships with:

1) God: We need to seek Him, open our lives to Him and give our lives in actively following Jesus Christ. We should spend meaningful time with Him through prayer and scripture study.

2) Family: Love is spelled TIME. We should spend time with each other; dinner time, Family home evening and fun time. We should enjoy our differences and our commonalities.

3) Fellowmen: We should be sensitive to the needs of others; giving service where needed. Even if all you can do is listen that may be all that someone needs.

4) Self: Learn to see yourself as God sees you. Enjoy what God has given you, His creations.

The first Sunday here we had a wonderful dinner at Mom and Vern Dad’s house. Last night we got to spend some time with Deanna and Kelly, David's sister and brother in law. It’s great getting to see the family we don’t get to see often enough.