Grandma Bay, Amish, and General Conference

My parents came the day before Easter and were planning to spend a week and a half with us in Omaha before heading out to Utah for their mission.   Mario and I were planning a short getaway to Kansas City and to Jamesport, Missouri to visit the Amish community.  But my grandmother was hospitalized and then released but needed around the clock care.  So my parents needed to head back to take care of her in Missouri.   They plan to cancel their mission and stay with her until they can convince her to move back to Florida with them.   They headed back to Missouri on Wednesday morning and by Wednesday afternoon, I decided to head down with the twins to visit my grandma too since I haven't seen her since last July.  

It was a long 6 1/2 hour drive and I hate driving.  My sister teases me that I took 4 days to travel from Tucson to the Grand Canyon a few years back.  The boys and I got in at 8:30 that evening and were able to spend a few minutes with her before heading off to the hotel.  Then we went back and visited her the next morning before we went to Meramec Springs that is just down the road from her home.  The boys had a great time at the park.  Then we went back to my grandmother's house and visited a couple more hours.  It was so good to sit and visit with her.  I have such fond memories from my childhood of going to her house to spend the night, picking berries off her bushes, and also going to eat Sunday dinner at her home during the years they lived close by.  I thought that she looked great considering all that she had been through with having to be hooked up to oxygen and the recent hospital visit.   It was sad to say goodbye but she looked so good, that I am confident she'll be around for a while longer.

I decided that I better break the trip home into 2 days so we left late that afternoon and drove up to Independence, Missouri and visited the church sites there.  We got a hotel and the next morning we toured Liberty Jail.  The boys and I really enjoyed our visit at the jail.  There was a strong Spirit there. After the jail, we took off for Jamesport to see the Amish.  I am obsessed with the Amish.  As a child, I was obsessed with  the Mafia so anyone that criticizes by Amish obsession should just appreciate that I am no longer into watching Mafia movies.  I love Amish books and the people in general.  I love how they are so forgiving.  I love how they don't have to deal with all the trash that we have to deal with today in modern society.  They are such simple, loving people.  Mario always jokes that I am ready to convert.  Ha!

The boys were excited to go with me to visit their community.  We arrived with no plans or agenda.  We pulled into the tiny town and I saw a few Amish buggies and a few stores, but they looked very "English."  So I found a pamphlet at City Hall and called a tour guide.  He met me about 30 minutes later and took us on a tour of the whole town.  We quickly found out that there aren't many Amish within the city limits.  You have to travel a couple miles out of town to see all their farms.  We watched the children play baseball at recess.  We visited an Amish thrift store.  I thought about buying an Amish dress and telling Mario that I decided to convert.  But Zach found a vest that he wanted so I bought that instead.  I found one for Eric too.  We went to a couple bakeries and bought lots of yummy treats like donut holes, cookies, and pies. Everything was so fresh and good.  We went to a furniture store and one day I plan to buy some (when I have my Venice home paid off) and we aren't moving every couple years.  The furniture is pricey but so beautiful. The only thing I bought at the furniture store was a wood cutting board.  I bought some baskets at one of the bakeries.   The boys got so excited when the first couple Amish people spoke to us.  They thought they talked a little funny.   To me, it was a dream come true to visit their community.  I wish that I could have been there with Mario, but the boys were a good substitute.  After bringing home some of the baked goods, Mario got excited to go there himself.  So hopefully we'll be able to make it over there before we leave Omaha in a couple years.

Today was filled with conference talks at my house.  I remember when I was a kid, I didn't enjoy conference. My parents only made us watch the Sunday morning conference.  As an adult, I look forward to conference in April and October.  I can't get enough of the talks. I need all the advice I can on being a better wife, mother and Christian.   What a blessing to have the Priesthood on the earth and to have inspired leaders to give us messages that are perfect for our time.  I love cuddling up on the couch with my paper and pen (and lots of conference snacks-picked out by Eric this year). So as you can see, I pretty committed to my church.  Despite what Mario thinks, I am not converting to Amish anytime soon.