November 2022!

It's been a busy and amazing month, so let's get started!

We started out the month with a trip to St. George to see some of our mission buddies...

These guys are just the BEST! Forever and always...

We laughed so hard! We had a great time. I'm not sure why we didn't play any games, though...hmmm.

I also learned a new skill while I was there...

FLYING A JET! Ok, just kidding...you know me so well.

We just happened to find out that our sister-in-law, Becky, was doing an "Art in the Park" that weekend IN ST. GEORGE!! It was so fun to surprise her!

And we were surprised to find Millie there too! Way fun!

Becky even talked us into tapping into our artistic side...

Yep, we did that!

The following week we spent a super fun day in Prescott...

Ok, everyone say it with me...SO MUCH JOY!

They are growing so fast I can't stand it. Oh, and then this happened...

Meet Otto Arthur Klundt, our 5th grand baby.

He surprised us by coming 3 weeks early, but all went well and he brought joy, happiness, love, adoration, and SO MUCH CUTENESS to this world.

As if that weren't enough good things, the next week we traveled to California to be with my family for Thanksgiving. Life is good!

And I mean that sincerely even though this happened on our way there...

DO NOT BE ALARMED!

So, we were headed down I-10 just about to come into Quartzite when out from underneath the motorhome in front of us a large metal plate came right toward us. Suddenly everything seemed to be in slow motion and yet it happened so fast. It seemed to be moving upward like it was going to go over the top of the car, but then it just fell on the windshield and bounced off. Miracle #1- we were not hurt despite being covered from head to toe in glass. There was not a mark on us! Miracle #2 - we were very close to an exit with a service station and we made it there with no problem. Miracle #3 - after calling all over for a place nearby to fix it that day (haha) we found a place in Hemet (right where we were going) that had the right windshield in stock and could fix it the next day. Miracle #4 - my brother, Jon, had a trailer that could tow the car and he was able to come out and rescue us.

Thank you, Jon!

Miracle #5 - while we were waiting 3+ hours for Jon to come, we were able to sit in a Carl's Jr. and play games!!! Life is so, so good!

We went on to have an amazing and super fun Thanksgiving! 

This is a deep fried turkey that was a first for me.

Can I just say DELICIOUS? JUICY? AMAZING? Yep, all three.

Nana's buckeyes...Thank you, Tracy, for making them, with all of my heart!

The best, of course, was the family time...

So many beautiful nieces.

So many beautiful pies.

Lots of baby holding, a joyful highlight!

Family is just the best thing ever.

We drove up to Idyllwild Friday morning to see where my brother, Mike, and his family live. I don't usually get car sick when I'm in the front seat, however,...oh, never mind. We played lots of games, ate pizza and basically a great time was had by all...

I can't believe how much joy there is in the world!

We made it home Friday night very tired, but with our windshield intact! 

Now on to a merry Christmas season!

Best gift ever.

We love you, family and friends. Thank you for the love.

Scott and Julie

October 2022!

We have been home for a month now and I’m still adjusting to civilian life but we’ve been in Utah visiting family and that has helped a LOT!

First of all, can I just say, “I’m so glad we live in a world where there are Octobers.” Thank you, Anne Shirley, for being so eloquent and so wise. We have taken a couple of drives up Nebo Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon…

Yep, it’s a beautiful October! I’m savoring every minute!

Just like this cow…

Life is good for all of us. 

Ok, here comes the family time…

After 18+ months, we’ve been catching up, reminiscing, having some great gospel discussions, um, eating quite a bit, playing games and playing games and playing games.

Family dinner…we had such a great time!

Thank you Jan and Margie for the yummy food, hospitality, and togetherness!

Temple trip to Provo City Center…

Life is just that good!

Wednesday we had a couple extra minutes in Provo so we walked around BYU campus…

It will never stop feeling like home there. And I will NEVER stop being thrilled when I get a BYU Alumni magazine in the mail addressed to me! The law school (bottom left) still looks the same and Scott’s photo is still on the wall with his graduating class!

More family time…

Have I mentioned how good life is?

Best buddies.

So we had a moment…

This is us…with ALL 4 GRANDKIDS! Life isn’t just good, it’s THE BEST!

And just when you think it can’t get any better…

…grandchild #5 is on the way! Cate had her baby shower and we are so excited for them! Yep, pretty excited for us too!

Scott and I have been learning how to play pickleball recently but we’ve never had as much fun as we did Saturday night…

It’s such a good life.

It really, really is. As I continue to adjust to post-mission life, I feel peace and safety with my loved ones, of which I have been blessed with so many. And there is also great comfort in the words of our prophet, Russell M. Nelson:

“I bless you to be filled with the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ. His peace is beyond all mortal understanding. I bless you with an increased desire and ability to obey the laws of God. I promise that as you do, you will be showered with blessings, including greater courage, increased personal revelation, sweeter harmony in your homes, and joy even amid uncertainty. I promise that as we create places of security, prepare our minds to be faithful to God, and never stop preparing, God will bless us.  He will deliver us; yea, insomuch that He [will] speak peace to our souls, and [will] grant unto us great faith, and . . . cause us that we [can] hope for our deliverance in him.”

It’s so, so true and I am grateful for that knowledge and the peace it gives me. 

I’ll finish with my fave scarecrow from the Scarecrow Festival…

“Awesome Grandma”… it just speaks to me for some reason.

As they say in the TNM…love you, bye!

Scott and Julie 

Homeward Bound

So that was kind of fast! Our mission has ended and we are back home in Arizona, and yeah, it's over. But the memories and relationships and growth and joy will last forever!!!

Join me for some highlights (amongst all the weeping, joy, craziness, blubbering, excitement...OH THE EMOTIONS!

Last staff meeting...worthy of a staff photo!

Goodbye dinner with the women in black.

Packed up and ready to go...I don't want to talk about it.

We decided to take 4 days to get home and not drive so far each day because we were TIRED! We had decided to travel home in a very direct path, however we did see a couple of interesting things on the way...

Oklahoma City bombing site...one chair for each victim...very sobering and also peaceful.

Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo...

...never thought I would see Cadillacs face down in the ground and decorated so interestingly, but I'm always open to new educational experiences.

And here we are...what a beautiful sight.

It feels so good to be home...I miss Tennessee! AGH!

We had TWO DAYS to get ready for our homecoming so it was mass hysteria for a little while but so, so happy...

The Weavers and Sister Guernsey came all the way from Utah! 

We also had some missionaries from various parts of AZ that joined us. SO MUCH JOY!

It was a super happy day that I didn't want to end. I am forever grateful for this mission experience and the eternal relationships we have made. It is and forever will be a cherished time.

Grandma Klundt came down to be with us for our homecoming also and we all headed up to Prescott the next day to see Ashley, Emma and James. Ok, get ready for photos of grandkids, y'all!

4 generations! 

So much happy right there!!

Reading time!

Game time!

More happy! Most adorable face ever!! (The one on the RIGHT!)

Most adorable face ever! (The one on the LEFT!)

Life is good.

Cori and Jordan invited us over for dinner the night after we got back and we were able to see their beautiful home. We went out with them again on Wednesday to a Korean restaurant.

It's called something that sounds like pom-bi-diddy (pause for Scott to roll his eyes) and it was pretty darn good. The meat was magically delicious...unlike Lucky Charms.

We spent the rest of the week going through boxes that we had left here and wondering why, after 18 months of not using it or missing it, we were putting it all BACK in the cupboards. Life is such a mystery. We have made some progress, even more than we would have thanks to Grandma Klundt, THANK YOU! 

We are slowly getting used to being home and wondering how our mission could have passed so quickly. We loved the feeling of being on the Lord's errand all the time, automatically, and we miss that. We will now be making more of an effort to be anxiously engaged in good causes and continue to gather Israel in other ways. 

Thought for the week...

"Because the Restoration reaffirmed the foundational truth that God does work in this world, we can hope, we should hope, even when facing the most insurmountable odds...why should we not hope that righteous desires and Christlike yearnings can still be marvelously, miraculously answered by the God of all hope? I testify that the future is going to be as miracle-filled and bountifully blessed as the past has been. We have every reason to hope for blessings even greater than those we have already received because this is the work of Almighty God, this is the Church of continuing revelation, this is the gospel of Christ’s unlimited grace and benevolence" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, April 2020).

I love the hope I feel because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's true and it's filled with miracles. 

I leave you with a beautiful AZ sunset...

I have missed our street!

...and a GLORIOUSLY YUMMY cup of Handel's ice cream...

I have missed French Silk Pie!

We love you!

Just plain old Scott and Julie