One of the themes for my life in the past two years has been, "Where Can I turn for Peace." We started the month with a visit on Sunday, August 2 to The Dallas Texas Temple grounds. The gates were locked and so we just sat at the entrance and marveled at the beauty and peace that surrounds the building. We look forward to the day we can return to the Temple when it opens again.
We also we able to stop at the Kansas City Temple on Tuesday, August 11. It was so majestic and beautiful on that hot August day of travel. It was definitely a refuge from the world and a place to find Peace for a few minutes.
We ended the month in Utah and a night visit to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. 
We took Logan and Preslee with us to see this beacon in the city. They live just a few miles from it and often go and park in the parking lot and just talk and enjoy the peace. It was a beautiful night with the moon peaking through the clouds.
We took Logan and Preslee with us to see this beacon in the city. They live just a few miles from it and often go and park in the parking lot and just talk and enjoy the peace. It was a beautiful night with the moon peaking through the clouds.
These three Temples all have special meaning to me for different reasons. Emily was sealed (married) in the Dallas Temple and Brian was married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. Great memories as we visited and enjoyed the memories.
William
Nora
Minnesota also has wonderful Sunflower fields so we spent our Sunday afternoon driving about an hour to a beautiful field for family pictures, Another photo bomb of family pictures:
We had a lot of fun with all of the props and things placed in the fields for photo shoots. Great family pictures with Adam 20, Eric 18, Abby 17, Zach 14 and Emma 11. They are growing up and it is nice that they are all still together to have these family outings. They have two new Rottpoo puppies that came along, but they were not interested in family photos and just wanted to lay in the shade of the sunflowers. It was their first real road trip and lets just say Adam got a new pair of jeans out of the deal due to car sick puppies!
Abby and Eric are Seniors this year and this was a cute Senior Picture. 2020 is an interesting year to be in school and we wish them the very best as they embark on their final year of High School.
This is their garden and it has provided a generous bounty. We always get fed so well when we visit and this visit was especially great as we ate from the garden. The green beans were picked and immediately cleaned and cooked. They were the best I have every had. We made homemade pasta sauce by roasting the cherry and roma tomatoes with onions, garlic and peppers in the oven. We then pureed them and added fresh basil and other herbs for a delicious sauce.
It is never all work and no play when we visit. We enjoyed the wonderful food and our daily walks around the lake in their neighborhood. August is the month it finally gets warm and is warm just long enough before the cold nights of September come in.
We arrived home to our loaded Pear tree that was ready to be picked. We have 4 Pear trees and this year only one had pears. We picked about 150 pounds of pears and then gave away as many as we could. They were the best pears we have had in many years. There were not as many, but they were very large - the biggest one weighing in at a perfect 1 pound. It only took a few to make a cobbler or strudel.
I made 6 Pear Raspberry Strudel and gave them away. We spent a Sunday afternoon delivering to a few friends. It is not the same with Covid-19 when you deliver, but I wanted to share and let friends know I was thinking of them. Oh, they turned out so good - I love adapting the original apple strudel to other fruits in season. The Pear raspberry and Pear cherry were both really good. The strudel is so much lighter than a traditional American Pie.
Preslee loves Grandmas Cinnamon Rolls. She especially likes to sell them. So, we spent a day making them and she set up a cute stand on the corner of their house - on a nice busy street, and sold about 50 rolls. We made Cinnamon, Nutella and lemon. People asked if next time they could place orders and be able to get more. She made about $80 and that is going to be for some tumbling equipment she is wanting to get to help her. We sold all of them with none left for us to eat, so I got up on Saturday morning and made another batch. We gave some away and managed to eat the rest!
Saturday afternoon was spent at the football field for 4th grade cheerleading and football. It was a very hot day! It was so fun to see Preslee in her element and having a great time. It brought back so many memories.
All good things come to an end and we returned the car on Sunday afternoon. It was such a fun time and beautiful weather to enjoy the ride.
What a gathering of missionaries! It was such a great reunion to see so many that we had served with. We realized that most of the missionaries that we directly served with are from Europe. Of the 60 that were there, we had served with about 15. We especially were happy to see so many of the Senior Couples. It was great to catch up on life and to hear about their past several months at home. These people will always be "family" and we are so grateful that we were able to serve with them and to continue learning from them as they share experiences with us. We look forward to many more reunions in the future.
Brian, William,Nora and Beth
William was a little afraid of ALL of the BEES on the plants. He was being very cautious about where he was willing to have his picture taken! Made for a cute photo.
Beautiful picture of the Kansas fields and sky. It truly is in the middle of the grasslands and prairies.
Fun baking with Grandma. Cupcakes baked in ice cream cones. Oh how I love the internet when I need help with a recipe. I made these all the time for my kids and it was a trick to get them to stay standing while you bake them. I found this great idea and it really worked. So much better and no mess.
It is always fun to visit The Nifty Nut House in Wichita. It is a store filled with nuts, chocolates and candy. We managed to spend about $40 on all this healthy!?!? candy. Let's just say we ended up with a lot of jelly bellies.
We have really enjoyed re-connecting with our grandchildren since we have been home. They have grown up so much and we enjoyed our daily walks, lots of UNO and Mario and Minecraft on the tablets.
We combined this visit with continuing North on I-35 and returning to Farmington Minnesota for a work project with Jaime and Andy. They purchased the home they had been renting for a few years and it was time to clean out the garages. We spent three days emptying, cleaning and finding many memories. We filled a dumpster, had a large garage sale and donated two van loads to the local thrift store and night shelter. Toys were organized, clothes sorted and important papers found.
Abby found these Winter overalls and thought they were the next fashion craze.
Minnesota also has wonderful Sunflower fields so we spent our Sunday afternoon driving about an hour to a beautiful field for family pictures, Another photo bomb of family pictures:
After two weeks being away, it was time to hit the road again and return back to Texas to take care of our own yard. It is really nice to have a stopping place with Brian and Beth in Wichita. It makes the 14 hour drive bearable when we can stop and have an amazing Taco dinner and a comfy bed before we finish the last 6 hours home.
Monday was a special treat as we hit the road again and traveled to Temple, Texas. We had driven through on the freeway many times, but we had never actually been in the city or around to see the sights. 
There are a few people that come into your life that make a real difference and you just know they are friends for life. We were so fortunate to serve with Elder and Sister Bretzing on our mission. We all got sent home the same day, but they still had over 7 months to serve on their mission. They have not been released and continue to serve via Zoom meetings and other media. We got to visit with them while they were in Temple visiting family. We spent the day at Chalk Ridge Falls Park. It is nestled in a park outside of the city and it was so fun. We hiked and waded in the water and had such a great time.
It came complete with a swinging suspension bridge. We even had to navigate down this steep trail to get down to the falls. It was a short trail with lots of adventure.
It reminded us of the many adventures in Germany we had together. We love the outdoors and the beauty of nature.
Claudia is like a sister to me. We shared so much in the mission and I was so grateful I had someone to talk to and share recipes with. We both learned from each other and fed and lot of missionaries. She truly is a forever friend.
We are finding there is a lot of Texas we have not seen in the 40 years we have lived here. We need a few more road trips and adventures. We just need Covid to be in control so we can visit other places. Bandera Texas is next on the list - deep in the hill country of Texas!
I have always wanted to go to Marfa Texas where my father served during WWII. I would really like to go at the end of September, but we will have to see how the conditions are at that time.
We have also enjoyed the time we have had with Joshua and his family. The Twins graduated from High School in the Spring and are starting college. They have decided to set up an office in our home to come and do their on-line college classes. At least it helps them have a quiet place and seems like they are going to school. Treats at Grandma's are an added benefit.
On Tuesday, August 25 we flew to Salt Lake City to visit Emily and her family. We had planned to stay with her until Ian got food poison from food they ate waiting for us to arrive at the airport. He was so sick we decided to get a hotel and stay there for a few days. 
Preslee was so excited to have us visit. She greeted us with a decorated house of streamers and treats. It was a great Welcome.
Emily is living in a very small home until their new home is built and it is a true adventure with 6 people and one bathroom, but we make it work. We decided to get a car rental and always ready for a fun adventure, we rented a 2008 VW convertible bug. WOW, did we ever have fun and acted like we were back in school at BYU driving around town.
She would like me to be there every weekend for a sale. It is a pretty good business for her considering it is a glorified lemonade stand.
We lasted about and hour and a half and it was time to get out of the heat. Shopping was calling my name and we had places to go and to see.
We visited my Sister Pam and her husband Mike on Sunday. It was a wonderful day with family. I have lived away from family for 40 years and as we get older, we enjoy the times we can be together.
We also went to Utah for a mission Gathering with Pres. and Sister Brown. Because of Covid we could not meet in a formal gathering so we met up Provo Canyon at Canyon Glen Park.
A special Thank you to the Robertson family who came from Idaho and we got to meet. We served with their son both in Freiburg and in Austria. WE LOVE Elder Robertson. We had an immediate bond because of Idaho, but truly came to admire and appreciate this dedicated young man with an amazing testimony and love of Jesus Christ.
This week in my scripture study, I have been reading in Helaman in The Book of Mormon. This was a very dark time on the earth with many wars and much bloodshed and turning from Jesus Christ and His teachings.
Helaman 5:12 - "And now, my sos, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation . . ." This was not new to them. He tells them to Remember what they had been taught. He goes on to tell them about all of the darkness and "Bad News" of the day. It is not much different than our day. Pages and pages are written about the bad news: Political corruption, Devil having a great hold on the people, Truth rejected, Apathy towards God's power - not recognizing who God even is, lack of repentance, forgetting the blessings from God, and then God chastens His people to help them to Remember. He teaches about PRIDE and the dangers of it. He then ends His discourse with the Good News. What is the Good News that has happened in your life in the past year amid all of the darkness?
Temples have continued to be a place of peace and refuge and many more are scheduled to be built.
Service opportunities have increased as many have sewn masks - our Church contributed 6 million in Utah alone. We have helped many countries with Humanitarian aid. I have been able to serve others through our mission and at home. Service helps keep us close to Jesus Christ. I have learned to
LOOK TO GOD AND LIVE. Helaman 8:15 - "And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.?"
The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues to go out to the world and people are being converted.
The Power of the Priesthood is on the earth today to guide and direct us and to give us the word of God for our time. I am so grateful for a living Prophet, Pres. Russell M Nelson who guides and directs the Lords Church on the earth today.
One of the things a Prophet does is call people to Repentance. I am so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and that I can repent and allow His atonement to take place in my heart and bless me with renewed strength every day to carry on and do better today than I did yesterday. We are not perfect people living in a perfect world. We are here to learn and grown and become. Through Repentance I can become what I was sent here to become - no comparisons to others or judgments made.
The Good News is that I know who I am - a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me and provided a plan for me to come to this earth and learn and grown and return to Him for Eternal Life. That gives me hope, happiness and great joy with a purpose to my life.
It is so much easier to seek the good in life than to be in bondage with the bad news. Seek for Truth in the coming days and find the Joy!
We ended the month with a visit from Ellie and Michael. Ellie is a special friend from Freiburg Germany that was baptized two years ago. She is attending school at BYU-Idaho and we got to spend a little time with her. She attended a German speaking activity on campus and met Michael. He served his mission in Berlin Germany and the best part is that he is the grandson of our dear friends who we served with - The Blanchards! The family of friends continues to grow, We are so happy for them and know they were blessed to find each other. Ellie is part of that Good News and has been blessed by the choices she has made - even leaving Germany and family and finding JOY! What a great reunion!
We ended the night with other dear friends from the mission, The Homer's. It is really a small world when you travel half way around the world and find people from your own home town. My Dad and his uncle were good friends and Russ' parents were good friends with John Homers family. The Homer's were the backbone of the mission. They served in the mission office and kept everyone safe and sound in their apartments. We loved being with them in their home. We were with them exactly 1 year ago that same day in Vienna showing them the sights. It was great to share memories and to continue a friendship. Our lives have been touched by so many wonderful people.
I think we will need September to rest up for the last three months of the year and all of the holidays. We are already looking forward to The Nativity Display and all that the coming days will bring.
Until next month,
Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's
