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Dear family,

I love nice days.  It has been a nice week off from work to help here at home.  I'm glad I have a good job and don't dread going back.  I love you all!

Love,

Dad

Wednesday, March 10, 2021
9:27 pm

Good day today.  After the big kids went to school, Julie and I went with Camilla, Nathaniel and Hazel to Thanksgiving Point to see the butterfly exhibit.  It was fun and similar to the exhibit at the Smithsonian in DC, but has the advantage of being only 30 minutes away and included in the price of our annual membership.

I made some strawberry jam this afternoon.  Spencer and I attended a priest quorum activity watching the Face to Face event with Elder Gong introducing the Children and Youth program.  It was really good; I made lots of notes for ideas to help this be effective in our ward.

As I have been pondering what I am supposed to do as Bishop, a couple ideas came to me.  One thought is to create a "vision" for our ward.  I don't necessarily want to make a big production out of this; I'm afraid that would be counterproductive and turn people off from the effort.  Instead, I'm thinking of creating a personal aspiration statement that describes my service as Bishop, then using that to guide a similar idea with the Ward Council that is almost created organically.  I think this effort, or something like it, is going to be essential to me serving in a way that makes a difference.  I anticipate it will also make my service much more a purposeful labor of love.  I want my service as Bishop to be about serving and loving, with almost no thought for the duration of that service.

Hazel got her foot poked again to check her bilirubin.  The number is almost identical to where it was 48 hours ago, but that's a good thing because she is older.  Since we have started supplementing her nursing with a bottle, we are hopeful that will help her grow better.  I also got a stinky diaper for the first time since she came home from the hospital.  That also helps get the bilirubin out.  Grateful she is doing well.

I had an online meeting this afternoon with the credit union Quantum group.  Partway through I turned my camera on and showed off Hazel.  That brought the meeting to a sudden stop as I got to introduce her to my colleagues.  It was nice.

Ministering: I went to the Chun's home to help give a blessing to Andelyn.  She has not been feeling well.  They aren't sure the extent of the medical problems she has, but they are sure faithful and loving to her.

Thankful: I'm really grateful that the Priest Quorum activity tonight went well.  I'm also thankful for personal revelation to guide my decisions and actions.

More later…

Two views of our visit today to Thanksgiving Point.