Teaching

Tonight we had a real treat. The branch presidency decided it's time for the branch to have a "Preparing for the Temple" class. Who better to teach it than those who have been to the temple the most. President Holbrook asked us to teach it. :) Tonight was the first class. It was so neat to be able to talk about something we love so much. And we were sitting across from this:
Throughout the class, we could see pictures of many of our family members and the letters the grandkids have written and pictures they've drawn for us. It brought home what we were talking about: eternal families. We love them and miss them so much. We're so glad we know we can be with them throughout the eternities. We are grateful for the knowledge we have of our loving Heavenly Father and the understanding we have of the Plan of Salvation. We love that we know so much about the temple and for the many opportunities we've had to attend. What a sweet evening.

This week in Siberia:
We feel like we're in Camelot--almost all of the snow has fallen at night. There haven't been any big storms, but often in the morning there's a fresh skiff of snow and it has gently accumulated throughout the winter. This winter has been mild by Siberian standards. We've often joked with the young missionaries about whose prayers were being answered. We've been praying for a mild winter and they've been praying for colder weather (as in well below frigid). Until recently, it's been our prayers that have been answered. Both fall and winter have been warmer than usual by about 10 degrees above average. Even so, there is no January thaw in Siberia. However, we have had some almost normal weather in the last few weeks. It's even gotten down to -35 a couple of nights. Fortunately we haven't had to go outside much, and when we did it was for short periods mostly during the day and we had our fantastic Russian coats, hats and boots to keep us warm. The white on Dave's scarf and hood are from his breath freezing on them.
This last week things have started warming up. Dave took the liner out of his coat because he was too hot with it in. Arline has found she can leave the warm mittens home--her regular gloves keep her hands warm enough. Although the forecasts show we're not supposed to be above freezing yet, today on the way home from church we saw obvious signs of snow and ice starting to melt. WE HAVE SURVIVED A SIBEЯIAN WINTER!