HIGH PRIEST SOCIAL (gonna miss this)

Our ward had a High Priest Social which was code for "Say Goodbye To The Sants". How sweet is that?

Our church building... how I will miss rushing our family in the doors to snatch our row out of the hands of someone who got booted out of their row.

Anyway, Terry DuPape is our High Priest group leader and I don't think you can find a nicer man. He is very compassionate and generous, as is his wife. He is a baker/chemist and has kept our family in pancake mix for a few years now.

Terry and Phyllis DuPape.

I adore Phyllis. She loves purple. So do I.

The Cordells live across the street from us. When I had my horrible surgery a few years ago, Leslie came over and read to the kids. They loved it. She has a real flair for performance. She frequently drops off little gifties and treats on our doorstep. Scott taught my kids the football signals for FHE one time. They LOVED it.

The Sorensens moved into our ward a few years ago. Evelyn always had the perfect comment in Relief Society and now she is Matthew's primary teacher. I love her cheerful countenance and peaceful disposition.I don't know her husband well, but I will say that he always has a smile on his face.

I remember when these love birds got married! The Pulliums were on the Activities Committee with me and I appreciated so much that they shared with me the need for supervised public bathrooms at ward activities.

Now I'm gonna get teary. I have visit taught Vicki for most of my eight years here. I am so lucky. She is the hardest working woman I know. She has great faith, courage, and grace. I will miss our conversations. I've gone to Ward Council with Bruce for a few years. He is consistent, faithful, and smart.

Start the water works. How I adore Minnie Wilkinson! Rachel had to interview someone who had lived in Spokane for more than 30 years. They had just redivided the ward and Minnie was now in our boundaries. So we introduced ourselves and interviewed her. Minnie says that she will always remember that I was the first person from Northpointe Ward to talk to her. Well, that was one of the best decisions I have made. I love Minnie. She is so sweet. Rachel chose her as her secret Grandma in Young Women once, too. She told me once, "I have been a widow for 20 years. I live alone but I am never alone."

If you want to talk about the backbone of a ward and the personification of charity and good works you need look no further than Phil and Karen Sokolowski. A book could be written on their service. I will say that they drive people to church and activities and when I visit taught Karen she always made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. She has a great laugh. I have learned a lot from her. Phil helps with the scouts, in addition to 1000 other things.

The first Sunday that we went to church in the Northpointe Ward Chris Grimes was the bishop. He walked up to us, warmly greeted us and said, "We have prayed you here." He was one of the reasons we felt so welcome when we moved in. Later he was Ben's Scout leader and Ben has a lot of respect for him (as do Larry and I). Besides being an excellent cook, seamstress, purse designer (check out her link on my sidebar) and homemaker, Marcie has raised wonderful children and she is down to earth and hilarious to talk to. I admire her.

Lorraine has been my visiting teacher the past few months and she is so nice. She has also been Joseph's primary teacher. The Brooks were also on the Activities Committee with me. They are good folk.

How we love the Derby family! Here they are with just two of their six children. You would be hard pressed to find more loyal, faithful, hardworking friends than these two. They are smart, fun to talk to, and have given us much service as we were preparing our house to sell. Jennifer is as stubborn as I am and that may be my favorite thing about her.

Ahhhh... Karen and Steve Hathaway. The Sunday she introduced herself I was like, "Where is she?" Because I have an Aunt Karen Hathaway (maiden name) and so I was kind of like, what the? But it wasn't my aunt. Karen is lovely, gracious, and understanding. She is a dedicated Grandma and she and Steve were our hometeachers. Steve always gave a sincere lesson that was spot-on for what we needed at the time.

Well now... what do you say about the man who was your beloved bishop and then Stake President? Thank you? Doesn't start to cover it. He will be greatly missed by our family and has been in the top three most influential people in Rachel and Ben's lives. Dawn and I talked a lot when I first moved in and I enjoyed her conversations. We both have husbands named Larry that are Civil Engineers that wish they had become dentists. (haha) We both have 4 sons and we were both certain that our last children were girls. They were not. Dawn hosts the most lovely lunches you would ever attend.

Lyn Cummins is the best garden grower I have EVER seen. She is amazing. If you look up Proverbs 31, you will see Lyn's picture. I don't think there is one thing on this earth that she can not do. She always has a willing hug that is a REAL hug not a faux hug. If you talk to her, you feel loved and important. Gary will be remembered by me for saying, "If I haven't given you the paper, it doesn't exist." He is a very thorough ward clerk. He has great stories. And he cooks a mean BBQ.

Let's just drown in Charlie's eyes, shall we? Lovely. I feel better.

So at the social we ate.

And swapped stories.

And said, "see ya later".

Because I don't do goodbye.

PS

Here is the Francis family. I adore Laura and she cuts a mean hair cut. I will not find someone who can stack as well as she can - ever. Sigh.