Good bye Des Moines...hello Iowa City!

What a jam packed week!  I got the report done right on Monday! We took the Badgers and Evans out to dinner at a cool place; the Machine Shed Tuesday night after getting everything ready for our new missionaries to arrive Wednesday: flight plans, new missionary manuals, new trainers, district leaders, Sister training leaders, and zone leader manuals ready! 
We got to have dinner, training and testimony meeting with the 15 new arrivals!  They are super! Having had their pictures on my wall for the last 5 weeks made it so cool to meet them all! 
Thursday was transfer day!  New assignments, new leadership callings, then dinner, testimony, and farewell video with the departing missionaries, including the Badgers And Evans!
Friday morning I rushed to get letters printed, signed and sent before we shut down and tore up the office!   We worked all day and it wasn't quite done! 
Saturday we packed up the apartment and our personal stuff in our car, then Elder Quincy went to finish load up the office, while another moving crew came and packed up the Sanders', ours, and the APs apartments!   Then we all drove to Iowa City and unloaded and started setting it all back up! We were so tired last night!  It was all we could do to stop and eat and get a few groceries! 
This place is nice and really feels like home already! 
Today we went to the Iowa City 1st and 2nd ward testimony meetings.  We haven't been assigned anywhere yet!  We got to see Sister Peterson! 
We had Elder Quincys birthday dinner with the fun Sanders today!  First time I've cooked this week!
Tomorrow 6 Elders are coming to help us!  Hurrah for youth!  So hoping my computer is up and functioning tomorrow!  So much to do!

Yummy meal, good company!

Monday cookie day!

Dinner party!

 The new apartment!

My desk getting put back together

Leaving Des Moines

Corn's been growing!

Loading up!,

Empty

.last visitors

Brought me a baptism form!

All leaving this month, but the APs

New missionaries!

Working and preparing to move!

I had a learning experience doing reports and getting caught up in the office after the 2 days in Nauvoo.  Turns out I did the report wrong!  Sweet Sister Evans helped me repent and straighten it all out!  This is the last week she's got my back!  Hopefully I learned enough from my mess UPS!
Yesterday we took a load of stuff to our apartment in Coralville.  We visited the future office site and had a lovely dinner at Cheddars with the Sanders.  Today was our last Sunday in the Easter Lake ward. 
This week will be crazy busy with transfers and moving the office and our home.

The Des Moines capitol building

Des Moines skyline

Cool reflection across from the Capitol building

The Drummands are traveling thru and stopped to see their old apartment

Our next city.

The office space isn't ready for us yet!  

Hopefully this will be ready cause ready or not we're coming!

This squirrel was fearless

We visited a member from Missouri in this hospital.

First time I ever finished a quilt by hand!

Feasting in Nauvoo!

We had a busy week with staff meeting lasting late enough that I didn't get my Monday baptism stats report finished and sent Tuesday morning before Zone conference.  Zone conference was uplifting!  I got to see my companion Hermana McKay who I trained in Chile 42 years ago! We left early and tried to get Edmonds keys working, gave Br Harrinton a blessing in preparation for his stem cell harvesting in Iowa City this week, and took Alain to see an immigration lawyer in Cedar Rapids who was very helpful!
We got all caught up in the office! We got to help teach the multi lingual family with the Elders again! We had fun going to a Mexican restaurant with the Sanders Saturday night and took them to see Racoon River park.
Sunday we went to 2 wards again hoping the family we taught would be there, we had the Sanders over for lunch, did service with the Waukee Sisters and headed to Tama!  We had dinner and spent the night at the Robert's awesome house so we were close to pick up Paul and Lea to go to Nauvoo!  They were endowed, sealed, and had a daughter sealed to them! 
We drove to Barry Illinois and decorated Elder Quincys veteran dad's grave.
We spent the night in another awesome home with the Cummins across the street from the temple.  We got to go with them to clean the temple that night!  They fixed us a lovely breakfast which we ate before we drove to Carthage, and visited the Carthage Jail.  Then we got to attend a temple session with the departing missionaries and the Badgers!  Food for the soul!  Now we're home getting laundry done and preparing for our 3 day work week with so much to do!  Such a great adventure! 

The office staff

Sister Yourstone (aka Hermana McKay)

Alain with the lawyer

A deer hiding in the trees

This guy served 13 months in the Des Moines mission office and now is the bishop to one of our missionaries!

Racoon River Park

First time doing yard work on a Sunday!

The cool bedroom at the Robert's

On our way to the temple at 5:30 am!

Pouring rain soaked us on the way in!  

Great ward support!  Marshalltown is awesome like that!

Elder Quincys dad's grave.

Carthage Jail

This room is a sacred place where Hyrum died and Joseph fell shot from this window.

Outside the window where Joseph died!

Back to the temple!

All these missionaries, including President and Sister Badger leave in June!

View from our bedroom window!

These two are such a joy!  They are sealed and armed with power from on high!  How I love them!