Picking up sticks on the Temple grounds so the gardeners can
start mowing.



The Reflecting Pool is drained and cleaned once a year. It has fish
but we had never seen them until now.



The help these days.



The temple sits right under the flight path of the landing jets at
Gatwick Airport.  In this picture, is hard to gauge the size of that jet.
It is a monster Dreamliner.  It makes the windows shake.

The Party is Over

The Party is Over

March 26, 2018

      All good things must end. We know we didn’t come on this mission to party so we are truly ready to get back to work after a four week shutdown of the Temple. We have loved our time of service in the “garden” and dusting chandeliers and “skirt boards”.  (Baseboards for all us Americans)  

      Our final day of physical work was on Friday and we, again, were outside. It began as beautiful Jacket Day Weather.  There is such a sense of peace and beauty on these grounds. We collected branches so the mowing of the grounds can begin the week. Spring is just around the bend! 

      We both commented throughout this break that hard physical work instills in us more of a sense of pride and ownership in this Temple.  I am so thankful for the time I’ve had to work and reflect and talk to myself while being outdoors. 

      This last Saturday, we helped our good friends, the Allens, move down the road to a small Council House flat. After theee years of service, they are leaving the Temple. We  were so happy to end our week with this project. It helped us (me) not feel so distraught about missing our little, beautiful Ellie Fuentes’ baptism. We are so happy for her! 

My love from jolly ol’ England, 

Sister Seaman....aka Mom and Grams

PROPER ENGLISH LESSON:
*ta mah to -------tomato
*pram ------buggy or stroller
*queu -------line

The Tower of London and the crown jewels.  Get it?

Tower of London looking at the Tower Bridge in background.



Stonehenge



Winsor Castle.  The Queen was not in today.



Stonehenge.  Massive undertaking for somebody 3500 years ago.

A Week With The Baum's

A Week of Holiday With the Baum's

March 18, 2018

     They came and went. It was a week with the Baum's. It has been one week of pure holiday and sight seeing. It seemed as if they brought the AZ sun with them. When they left that same sun disappeared and it is snowing to beat the band right now. When I hugged little Mikael, the first thing out of her mouth was not "Hello" or " I missed you!" It was, "Grandma, does everyone smoke over here?"  I kind of wondered that myself. In our little bubble out here on the London Temple Grounds, I hadn't noticed many smokers.
    Oh, it was so good to see them! They were all champs for making the long trip and then, hitting the streets. We were only one of a zillion parades of people dragging along our suitcases with our Lindsay in the lead with her cell phone pointing the way. There was no time for studying the people and the sights. I was in fear of holding up the show. Little Mikael drug her green polka dotted suitcase over toes of the homeless, had occasional run-ins with knees of passerbys, and even two wheeled it over potholes.....But man, oh man, she kept up.  Let the fun begin.
     When I am sitting on my front porch in little ol' Show Low, AZ twenty years from now reading this blog, what do I want to remember? What will stand out when its all said and done? I think I know. It will be my feelings of being with some of our family. I truly could have cared less what was on the agenda. What monument, statue, or palace was next. Just take us with you. We will bring up the rear.
     Can I say that one highlight on our first day city was to see three brave, happy, young missionaries doing street contact in the middle of five million people in downtown London. They stuck out like "sore thumbs" in a good way. Noah and Ezra, that is what we want for you. I can see you both doing that in a few years. You two were such great travelers - if you were fed. Another highlight was to see the show, Hamilton. Those folks have nothing on you,  Macy. You are just as talented.
      We will forever remember our week of holiday (as they all say in England) with the Baum's. We will remember the sacrifice it was for Jace to show up and let Lindsay run the show. We will never forget the biggest sacrifice it was for all of them to leave our little Elijah home in AZ.  They brought warmth and sunshine from Home. It was such a brilliant week.

Feeling so blessed,
Sister Seaman.....aka Grandma and Mom

PROPER ENGLISH WORDS:
*Diary - an English calendar
* to "hoover" is to vacuum

Back to Work

     We report at the Temple tomorrow at 8:30 for duty.  Whatever that is.  It could be a lot of things. The temple is still in shut-down mode and will be for this week, the last of 4 weeks. Clean-up, putting things back, cleaning the remaining chandelier.  It won't be gardening as the garden is now frozen over and covered in snow.  We were scheduled to be in the garden.  Oh well.
     It will be a little bit of a relief.  This last week was one of the most on-the-move holidays that I have ever done.  Bless Lindsay's heart, she was bound and determined to see as much as she could. We walked and walked, rode the tube with way too many people, took the bus tours and rode the trains.  We did get to see a lot of London and some of England.  It was great but busy.
     Some of my highlights would be Stonehenge, The Tower of London (yes, I saw the Crown Jewels of England,) Westminster Abby, Bath (as in a hot springs developed by the Romans over 2000 years ago.)  The United States does not have history like this.  The architecture of all the old buildings is so interesting.
     We didn't go out to our assigned ward today.  We stayed close and went into East Grinstead instead due to the weather and road conditions.  It was a nice change for me.  The spirit was good.
    We are looking forward to September now as that will be the next month long shut-down.  Maybe we will be able to go north and see Ireland and Scotland.  Who knows.  If you're in the neighborhood, stop by or just say hi.

Sincerely,
Elder Seaman




   
   

The fire-pit at the London Temple.  They have to burn everything
that comes out of the Garden.  The dogwood we cut is burning here.



Picture of back-side of our apartment house.  Dogwood in the foreground
that hasn't been cut yet.  Notice the Angel Moroni at the top of the picture.



The Temple Gardeners.  Graham and Perry.



First bird nest in England.  They are hard to find.



One of the guides in Winston Churchill's house.  She is 92 years old.
She called herself a Churchill Debutant.  She just loved him.  She
was also a wealth of information.  She was 14 when WWII broke out.



Looking out over the Churchill estate on a rainy day in England.
My friend is Kerry Baum who is serving here at the temple with us.
He was special forces and worked at the pentagon for a while briefing
the joint-chiefs.

Dogwoods, Cedars, Brambleberries......it's all the Lord's Work

Dogwoods, Cedars, Brambleberries.....It's all the Lord's Work

March 12, 2018

     We've just experienced our best week in England. With the temple shutdown, we were assigned to "work in the garden".  Now, I'm so visual. Doesn't that sound so proper and English?. Working in the garden is a pretty way to say yardwork. It has been a week of chopping, pruning, and piling.

    Our quiet days together in the back of The Lodge, where we live, were spent in lots of reflection. I wandered back to our Independence MO mission where we were initially assigned to work as FM missionaries. We were to do this same type of work there and were quite disappointed when our calls were changed. This is our chance to serve the Lord outside! I couldn't help but think of all the good people we met in MO who did this type of work day in and day out. They would often stop by the office and show me pictures of their day's work clearing brush at Haun's Mill or flowers planted at Far West. Now, I feel even more their sense of accomplishment. 

     This week, my mind dwelt the most on my childhood and my dad. The temple fire-pit has burned all week with our cut dogwood. The days were cool and cloudy, with sun peeking through the clouds often. The smell of the fire took me to my dad's fires when he was cooking Dutch-oven;  fires when we camped at Lake Powell or up in the cool pines; even fires when we burned our trash at Fool's Hollow as young marrieds. Fires are almost a lost art in AZ anymore. There is nothing like sitting by a fire and pondering the meaning of all things. As were starting our work on our first day I could feel in my bones that those same bones would pay a price for the bending and chopping. My mind couldn't stop thinking about us, two kids, chopping dogwoods for the Lord in England. Who would ever have thought? Did it count for something? Is the Lord aware of us? And finally.....my ultimate desire......will our family be blessed by this? Immediately, my dad popped into my head. I saw him cutting cedars on the Church Ranch. I could almost smell it. Did he make a difference in his Church Ranch assignment? He did to me and I want Mike and I to be like that. We have resolved we will do what we are asked to help build the Lord's kingdom. Some things are easier than others. Chopping dogwood is a wonderful project. After a day's work, we would stand back and look at our progress. Who would ever think a piece of cleared ground could do that to two mature missionaries like us? 

     I have included below, the letter my dad wrote as he was being released from cutting cedars. My family, the bottom line is this - whatever work we are asked to do for the Lord - Will the Lord and mankind respect our efforts and know that we "dig our postholes deep?"

      

June 1990 Dear Presidents Tenney, Hall. and Owens, The thing that never changes is change itself. I never once thought I would go out before Reed (Hatch). I feel bad about that as I've told him so much I'd stay with him til he went out. Last Tuesday, June 12, the half mile at Long Hollow needed some additional work done to make it look good. I took two men with me and we finished it about sundown. We had a fire and a 12" oven going on the high point of that ridge - north and a little west of Long Hollow. There we could see the sunset and feel the clean wind. I was nearly overcome with emotion in realizing I was ending my years of service. I soon realized my emotions wouldn't let me come before the committee again. Besides, I know each man there respects me and knows I dig post holes deep. So the little fire with the 12" oven and my two helpers became my farewell party. When we begin to think we own our church jobs and we are indispensable, it's time to go. I hope to get to teach somewhere. The worth of souls is great if we help save it be one soul. How great will be our reward. Best Wishes, Elbert Lewis

So, Pruning Dogwood and I love it and you,

Sister Seaman....Mom and Grams

P.S. Kortney Taylor Walker Tenney was born April 5, 1991 in Show Low, AZ. She was our first grandchild. We all doted over her as if we had never seen a little girl baby. She was beautiful, smart, quiet, and kind. Her and Cody had a Gender Reveal outing this past weekend at home. They will bless us all with a little Tenney boy baby in July. I can almost close my eyes and see him. I so pray he has Cody's freckles. Isn't this wonderful news!

Chartwell Again

     After seeing the movie "The Darkest Hour", Kim needed to see Chartwell again.  This is Winston Churchill's home.  This time the inside of the house was open to the public.  It was set-up just as it was pre-war.  Some of the furniture, paintings, knick-nacs are original.  The more I know of this man, the more I respect him.  

     He was probably a genius in many respects.  Did you know that he won a Nobel prize for literature?  It was easy to imagine him sitting in his study, smoking a big cigar, drinking champagne, the Union Jack flying over his head (in his study,) and working on a speech, or reading, or writing a book.  His estate is impressive and beautiful and, all though he really couldn't afford it, he loved it and so do I.  It is everything that a man could want.

     I am tickled by the news of Kortney's new baby.  The first great-grand baby.  What a blessing!  It feels like I am getting old fast.  I guess I am.  If I am lucky, I will get to see this boy serve a mission.  That would only make me 83.  Maybe, just maybe.

     The time in the Temple Garden this past week has been so therapeutic. My back is sore and I have a blister on my middle finger, but I can see accomplishment.  It is hard to see accomplishment in the Temple.  Day in and day out we work, praying that who we are helping will accept the work and that it will be of great worth.  We will not know for sure until we meet all those souls on the other side.  We have great faith that the Lord knows what He is doing and so we help where we can. 

     I pray that you, my friends and family, will also find yourselves lost in this great work.  I had a gentle reminder this week that I needed to forget myself and go to work.  I will.

Sincerely,

Elder Seaman

     

     

     

     

Pictures of our Paris Temple Trip

Christus at the Paris Temple.  It is outside.  It was cold.



Paris Temple.  It is a beautiful temple.



Kim standing near the front door of the Paris Temple.  Isn't she lovely.
Notice that the temple does not have an Angel Moroni.



King Louie's Palace at Versailles, France.  It is called the Chateau.  This place is
bigger than Show Low.


Paris in the Almost Springtime was a Killer. It was cold!
Notice we drove by the Eiffel Tower and that was enough.
It would have meant getting off the Hop on-Hop off bus.
The highlight of our trip was the beautiful Paris Temple.
Those French workers looked like us - just couldn't understand
them. We decided we are two sheltered kids from little ol
Show Low, AZ and that it fine. Pine trees are just as magnificent
as the Eiffel Tower. It was a grand opportunity, though, to see
how some of the world lives.

The Paris Temple

The Paris Temple

March 4, 2018

    I got tricked again. When we got our call to the London Temple, here I am, a little old gal from Show Low, AZ expecting to go to the big city. Little did I know I would be living out in the countryside with a horse pasture across the street from the temple. And I love it.

     We drove by the Paris Temple this week when we were driving down the street in Versailles. Someone pointed it out to me and I almost missed it. It looks as if it is in a strip mall. But it looks beautiful in that strip mall. There is a big office building right next door and directly behind The Christus. It is one of the few temples that does not have a steeple with Angel Moroni on it. The main entry for patrons is on the back side off the main street. And guess where it is - in Versailles - at least forty-five minutes away from Paris. 

     We were able to do sealings and a session, The rooms are very "French" with beautiful stained glass windows reflective of Claude Monet's gardens full of lilies, cornflowers, lilacs, and hollyhocks. They are absolutely beautiful. Of course, I was most interested in the temple workers. There are five American couples that are there daily working with the French Saints. Our sealer was a Frenchman who was so apologetic of his English. He would read the ordinance in halting English until someone encouraged him to let it fly and do it in French. Those beautiful words flew out of his mouth. I have heard those words enough to get the jest and spirit of the sealings. 

     I am such a people watcher. I love to study all of us and make up stories in my mind about where we all came from and how we got where we are.....What inspired these French workers to live and love this church that was started in America so many years ago by a young uneducated farmboy? I think we all know what it is.....the Holy Ghost prompting good people throughout the world to look to the Savior and find His One True Church. 

     The morning we attended the temple, it was snowing and oh, so cold! It continued throughout our whole trip to feel like it was twenty below. Looking back, I believe that while we were in the temple was the last time I felt warm for four days. We left the temple to go to the Palace of Versailles. Now, that was a contrast. We paid something like twenty euros to get herded around like a bunch of cattle in a snowstorm from one end of the building to the next. So, I'd like to report I am now cultured. I can go home and talk with the best of world travelers that I saw King Whatshisname's bed. I will also report that there was No Sitting Down anywhere on those fancy chairs in the palace. And that takes me back to the Paris Temple. The first thing out of my mouth when we sat down in the waiting room was, "Oh, these chairs! They are so comfortable." The furniture in the Paris Temple was worth the trip. It was so lovely. Check it out if you ever get there. While you are at it, compare it to the king's furniture at the palace. His had real gold on it. There were ropes covering it so poor tired tourists wouldn't plop down on it for a respite. I'm telling you, I'll take the couch in the Paris Temple over any item in that fancy palace.

     "We are a temple building and a temple attending people".....Thomas S. Monson

I want to be included in this bunch. My girls at home, I pray for you and your families to be in this bunch also. Set times. Commit to that time. Drop it all and go to your temple. It offers the same blessings of the beautiful Paris Temple. We are such a blessed people to have temples dotting our earth. They spoke French in Paris. I didn't understand it but the Lord does. I know the Lord loves us all and because of that love, we can access the blessings of temples in our personal lives. Wherever we may be.

My Love,
Sister Seaman....aka Mom and Grams

PROPER ENGLISH WORDS:
......none to report this week. That is what happens when this girl spends her week in France. By the way, I know a couple of French words now. Bonjour and Merci.....