so much to say, so little time to say it

Elder Craig and Sister Jan Zwick

Unbelievably, this was the only picture I got of the four of us! Can you tell I was a little out of sorts? My brain can only do so many things at once, and for some reason personal pictures were not a high priority. I am bummed. But, alas, the memories are in my mind and I will try to write some down so that I don't forget.

As the Zwick's arrived the first thing out of their mouth was, "Thank you. Thank you for what you are doing." Very sincerely. And that's pretty much how the whole three days went! They were so kind and supportive and helpful. They have had experiences that they could tell stories about for a good, solid week. (And I could have listened to every one) Sister Zwick was very thoughtful about the house. If I had really started whining, I'm sure she would have put a bug in some one's ear, but after hearing about the house they lived in in Chile, I certainly couldn't complain! She told us, "When we got there, there was red carpet throughout the house. The last President had had a dog so there were stains all over. There was a bright pink couch on the red carpet and behind the couch hung a velvet picture like you might buy in Tijuana!" OK. She wins. Hers is worse! We were just grateful they weren't upset with the changes we had made.

From the moment they met Hailey, they treated her like she was the greatest thing since "sliced bread". They were so sweet to her, she immediately felt comfortable and happy around them. They took a 16 year old daughter with them to Chile when they served as Mission President there, actually four children accompanied them (one handicapped), so I think they really had a clue what Hailey has been feeling and going through these last four months. At their request, Hailey missed school on Friday and came to Conference with us. She sat on the stand with us and at the beginning of the meeting Elder Zwick asked her if she would come up and stand next to him, and then he asked her to tell the missionaries what "being on the mission has meant to her and her family, and how she felt about her Savior". She was really amazing when she spoke! And I think for the first time, she was really starting to feel like she believed what she was saying (about being here on the mission). I think she is always honest when bearing her testimony! :)

One of the greatest things for me about having them here, was being able to ask some one for advise. Some one who had a lot of experience, and who was like me. Some one I trusted! That was nice. My favorite part of the "tour" was shaking hands with each one of my Elders and hugging tightly each one of my Sisters. The Spirit was overwhelming and the love I felt for "my missionaries" was over powering. Hands down the best part.

I learned so much! And I think each of our missionaries did too. They were taught by the spirit, and therefore learned what they needed to hear to help them. It was wonderful! I bet Jon has had fun reading the missionaries letters today. They write him each Monday. I bet they have been great! We were truly blessed this past week. When it was time to say good-bye, I honestly felt like I would miss Jan (Sister Zwick) being by my side. Funny how you can feel so connected in such a short time when you are both working for the same cause! It has been a great learning experience. I was exhausted. Then Saturday and Sunday were the Santa Rosa Stake Conference. These people are getting sick of hearing from us...I am sure!

Jon has a killer week of interviews ahead. I don't know how to help him with that. I feel like I am a little on cruise control, for a day or two. YIPPEE! Maybe a trip to Ikea is in store, so I can buy my own set of white dishes. It is time. Again, thoughts of Thanksgiving keep popping into my head and I get pretty excited to see all of "my people". Life is good! We are blessed!

waiting on wednesday...

well, the day is here! elder and sister zwick should be arriving at 1:00. i think everything is ready, so i decided to sit down and write while i have a few minutes. it has been interesting trying to prepare for this day. food to think about, a talk to be written (most stressful for sure), hailey moved out of her room, hoping the house is clean enough, and trying not to feel like a hypocrite as i pulled on my nylons this morning :). i really can't believe how calm i feel though. what a tender mercy! i feel like this will be a wonderful three days, for our missionaries and for us!

i ran into four of our missionaries this morning as i was trying to buy some bagels for elder zwick. (they don't have normal bagel stores here...but i think i found some that will be tasty.) they were all big eyed asking, "is he here yet?", "do you know anything about him?" i could feel their excitement and nervousness, not knowing what to expect. i'm sure they will be overcome as they each shake his hand tomorrow morning before our meeting begins! i am sure tomorrow will be a day many of them will never forget! we just don't get to be around general authorities very often these days, and close enough for a handshake and a look into the soul! yikes. did i have to write that? what a blessing for our mission!

so, the stress feels like it is past (though it may come back around 5:00 as i'm trying to get dinner ready!), and my nerves are much better than they have been. thanks for your extra prayers in our behalf. the Lord is truly blessing me. here's to a marvelous three days! :)

ten on thursday.

1. i have been neglecting my personal blog and it makes me very sad.
i am going to try to do better. we'll see.

2. i have complained about fresca before. i repent. when all you are drinking is water...fresca is really a special treat! :)


3. this week THE BUNKER'S received a very large box in the mail. from their dear canyon gate ward family. i'm pretty sure kathie dye was the inspiration behind the box. she always amazes me! what a totally unexpected, perfectly timed, much loved and much appreciated gift. we got (my favorite) soap and lotion for the kitchen sink, perfect dish towels (my other favorite), a harvest cookbook (YES i will use it, i am cooking a lot these days) and a very fun thanksgiving decoration. the bestest part was all of the love notes written by our loved ones back home. each day i go and take the notes out for the day of the month, and read and cry and sometimes laugh over what has been written. actually, i am not the only one who is reading the love notes. hailey and jon are totally enjoying them too. it was just the boost we needed this week! thank you!


4. hailey's toe nail is officially gone. the whole thing, off her big toe. it was kind of gruesome as it tore away little by little, but is such a relief to have it completely gone now. (she wanted to save it and put it inside a cupcake for kristen at thanksgiving. i threw it away!)




5. today i went to visit the napa and fairfield zones. with the president and his assistants of course. they continued on to the vacaville and woodland zones after it was time for me to come home and pick hailey up from school. my point? it is always so wonderful to meet with our missionaries!!! they truly make all of this worthwhile. the majority of them are trying so hard, working, obedient, trying to figure out how they can do more, have more faith, be more obedient so that the miracles will come. they are so willing to "give away all my sins to know thee." (like King Lamoni's father...Alma 22) they are so grateful for the gospel and the atonement of our Savior, that they find joy in trying to share that "good news" with their brethren in northern california. i love the missionaries of the california, santa rosa mission!

6. i went to the dermatologist yesterday. had a little spot on my forearm biopsied. :) yes. i am old and i have a lot of skin damage!

7. elder zwick and his wife come to visit a week from yesterday. i wish i could be totally relaxed and just love every minute we have to spend with them. I feel myself getting a little closer to that every day...but especially thanks to rhonda, for her encouragement and her personal knowledge of him. it makes me feel like we will be ok.

8. the promised picture of the greened up land, with just a little rain. it has amazed me! it has been so dry all summer, then it rained a little and now it is greening up. i guess that happens when you aren't in the desert.


9. only 21 more days until i see ALL of my children here in santa rosa! i am so, so excited! happy birthday to me...i am counting down! this is what i look at everyday. not the same as up close and personal.


10. i am done. out of anything worthwhile to say. CHANGED MY MIND: number ten is: i love you all! happy trails!

BIG MIKE IS 30?

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL DAVID GARDINEER!

One of the happiest days of our lives was the day Mike joined our family! He is totally a great fit. We are so blessed to have another "son" that we love and admire and feel totally attached to. Mike is fun. He is kind. He is patient (beyond belief!) He is loving. He is hard working. He is positive. He can fall asleep anywhere, easily. (like me) I know the very "best" Mike. I love him! As I write this, I am on my laptop, driving to the Oakland temple. My choice of pictures is limited, but I have a few, so enjoy!






We hope you have a very happy day! We love you!

hidden treasures of sonoma and mendicino counties

the past two weeks we have found some hidden treasures here in sonoma and mendicino county...thanks to some local residents with good information, and some visitors who helped us get out of our rut! :) with megan as our scribe we actually started "a bucket list" (in her words) of 100 things we would like to do before our mission concludes in july, 2012. we need some more advise from long time residents and missionaries who have enjoyed some exploring along the way.

while keri was here (by the way, it was so great to see her!!!) we went to st. helena for the day. it was a nice, curvey, two lane road drive, with beautiful scenery along the way. i think it must be very close to napa, but if you know me very well, you know i am very dislexic when it comes to directions, so let me be very clear, i am not sure! st. helena is a cute small town with some fun shops and lots and lots of great eateries (i guess, we liked the one we tried), and wine drinkers (i felt a little like i was back in carmel). My favorite purchases from the trip (if keri and i are together we will make purchases): a) an inchworm for beau's first birthday. b) some farm animals for beau (i want him to be practicing what sounds they make!) and four deer for lauren (the daddy-buck, the mommy-shelley, the sister-lily and the brother-bambi). c) some drinking glasses made in eureka (a keepsake).


a vineyard on the road to st. helena.


the only workers i have ever seen harvesting the grapes.


my dear friend!


our classic eatery. but look at the line...it is legendary. :)

we also explored armstrong grove. it is a redwood natural reserve that is about twenty minutes from santa rosa. i loved it! others who have seen the redwoods in oregon and washington and probably yosemite, might not be as impressed as i was with armstrong grove, but it was a fun little hike/walk to see the tallest and oldest trees there. we had a fun time! it was a short drive past some vineyards and through some beautiful country.


a beautiful grove of trees. so quiet and peaceful there.


we started out pretty chilly!


isn't she just cute? and happy looking?


sun coming through the trees.


this tree got the nick-name colonel lance armstrong tree. can you tell why?

last weekend while megan was here, we took a longer drive (a little over two hours) to fort bragg. fort bragg is north and west of santa rosa. you get there by driving on a two lane, very, very curvey road (with hair-pin turns), and vineyards, and lots of beautiful scenery along the way. i am very sad! i missed some beautiful shots of the grape leaves turning the most beautiful colors. i thought i would be able to make jon stop on the way back, but then we tried another road going home. sad. sad. now i have to go looking for some to show you! anyway, do i sound like a broken record? beautiful scenery, vineyards...blah, blah, blah. i thought hailey was going to hit me if i said how beautiful the trees and the fall colors were one more time...but that is a post for another day...when i get those pictures of the vineyards. :) fort bragg ended up being worth the stomach turning drive. :) this is a peak at the town.












it was so great to have megan here with us for a few days. i thought she was going to be all rested when she returned to p-town...then i got a tweet today saying she was sleep walking. what? sorry sweetie! hope you can sleep tonight! we love you!

beau michael is one today!

Happy Birthday sweet little man! Can it really have been a year? Every time I look at this little guy, I remember what a miracle God gave us. I am humbled and thankful to have two beautiful miracles from our Heavenly Father. Today though, we celebrate Beau! He is walking I hear! And, he is totally adorable. He is into everything, he loves tasting whatever is in his hands, he is definitely a little more active than his older sister was. All I know is he brings "sunshine" where ever he goes! We love you big boy! Have a happy, happy day!


This was the picture that we received on his birthday invitation. It said, "it's my birthday...let's party!" We're in...only we will do it from Santa Rosa! Here he is over his year...








You are PRECIOUS! We love you!!!

missionary moments

i thought it would be nice to share a couple of great missionary experiences that i have had this week.

first - tuesday we had a senior meeting in willits. at this meeting all of our senior couples reported on the things they had been doing this past month or so. my heart just swelled as i listened to their reports! they are making a difference! i'll share just one that the snow's shared with us. they are serving the ukiah stake. they were given a list of names of endowed members who were currently without a recommend. they weren't given much, if any, information about these people, but as the ward mission leader pointed to one sister's name, he said, "sister snow, if you can get her back, you can go home!" (the snow's have only been out a couple of months) sister snow has been a little homesick from time to time, she thought that sounded good:). as they started visiting these members, and this sister in particular, they first got acquainted, and then on a second visit they brought a treat, and by the third visit, on more than one occasion, the member told them they would be at church sunday! including the sister that was supposed to be the toughest nut to crack.


gordon and sarah snow (roosevelt, ut)

i'm sure the people living in those wards have been trying and working to make a difference for these people. they were obviously thinking about them, because they were on the list of people to contact for the snow's. but the Lord helped the snow's accomplish something, that the others just weren't able to do. they are at church again now, for a few weeks, all of them. the snow's are there to help along the way, with anything they might need. being a missionary with your sweetheart is a great opportunity for you to bless others and at the same time bless your own family and yourself! the biggest adjustment for some is spending 24/7 together:). i have enjoyed spending time with my sweetheart!

second - wednesday evening, two hours after keri arrived we were at the home of frank and louise. when we picked sister bytheway up, she was a little nervous about the lesson. she said she hadn't felt right about several lessons she had prepared earlier in the day, but that she had finally concluded to teach and testify about the book of mormon, it finally felt right. she did great! she had gotten a copy of elder holland's conference talk. i'm pretty sure parts of it went over their heads, but the spirit was so strong, and when sister bytheway shared her testimony everyone could feel it. she then invited louise to follow her Savior, Jesus Christ and be baptized. it was incredible. louise said she would think about it. i think she needs a little more time. but she is golden! what a treat to meet she and her husband frank. they are sweet people. missionary work is the greatest work we can do! it is thrilling. it feels good. you love people unconditionally. the spirit guides you. your own testimony grows. you feel like you can be bold. it is wonderful.

at least for now :).


keri thought it was pretty funny to see me dressed in all my missionary garb! good times!

ten on tuesday

1. i know. i am really writing this on wednesday. but that is such a good title i used it :).

2. last week, my only begotten son, j.t., sent me a gift. i had no idea how great a new iphone could be! it is so fun to be using my phone again. all kinds of cool new things to do with it. video text messaging...who would have thought? woo-hoo! good times! thank you tod!


3. general conference. wasn't it wonderful? i kind of felt a little homesick looking at the salt lake temple and the snow capped mountains. (why? i know that isn't my home!) i had so many favorites, i can't even list them all. at family home evening i had to look at my notes (my memory is a mess!) and i kept saying, "oh, and I liked ________, that so and so said!" i have to admit, i snoozed a couple of times. it is different not being in a dress in the conference center! i will get in a new routine i am sure.



4. hailey went back to dance! yippee! i got a tip from a friend about a studio that was really good at tap (hmmm) and the owner was very fun and a very creative choreographer. hailey wasn't excited to try. she went though, and took a tap class and a jazz class. when i picked her up afterwards she was smiling (a good sign). she said, "the jazz is horrible! you know, like the very worst team you would see at a competition? worse than that!" then she laughed. she said it felt good to dance again. the owner wanted her to be on her competition team. hailey was really struggling about committing to that, but she decided she wanted to go back yesterday. when i went in and explained to the owner that she would not be able to commit to every saturday, she was disappointed. but i found out that what they learn in class is all for recital at the end of the year, and that competition numbers are only taught on saturdays. so, she can be a regular dancer, who goes to class and learns and just has one recital a year, without the added pressure of rehearsals and extra days, and competitions. SHE IS THRILLED!


5. jon spent wednesday, thursday and friday on the road last week. he came home very tired. this week he left tuesday and probably won't be home until thusday night. he is interviewing friday and saturday too. i hope he has the strength. interviewing takes a lot out of him to say the least. then add the long drives and i am concerned about him :)! isn't he a handsome mission president though?



6. lauren informed me last week that she now can jump off the diving board! "i'm not afraid anymore grandma!"
i am still waiting for video footage. i'm afraid i might be waiting for a whole year. :(
she also told me she was going to be a really. scary. ballerina. for halloween. i can't wait to see that one!
what is beau going to be?



7. sunday after the closing prayer in the afternoon session, i looked up and said, "let's go visit grandma!!" wrong thing to say. hailey immediately got sad. finally we went for a drive and she started to come out of it again. poor girl. sundays are the hardest day of the week. too much sitting around! we found a beautiful place, where one of her friends goes to think (or make out with girls), that is on top of a mountain and you can look out over the whole valley. he took her and her friend there at night and she said it looked like las vegas with all the lights. we will have to go back. in the dark. hopefully pedar won't be there :).


8. hailey joined the otters last night. they are a santa rosa swim team. she LOVED it! i was amazed. she has a really fun coach, and she loved the feeling of the work-out. she wants to do everything! "i want to play tennis! i want to play golf! i want to be on the badminton team! i want to play indoor soccer!" she wants to try it all! i love that about her!
I want her to get a driver's license :). just kidding!



9. i am enjoying my life. i find i take it one day at a time. it helps me be happy. yesterday i was asked to explain my responsibilities as the mission president's wife. i'm still not sure exactly how i am supposed to carry out those responsibilities. i know i am supposed to pray about it, and then i will know. :). i am working on it. i think it changes from day to day, and crisis to crisis. most important, i am supposed to keep my husband upright! i am realizing that takes more than food, water, sleep, love and smiles. it is fun learning and trying!

10. keri is coming. in less than seven hours. what more can i say? HALLELUJAH!!!