June 23, 2018 Mom's Birthday

Gift for mom from Sam

August 1, 2018 First day of Trek

Trek 2018 Jacob and Maria Bischoff

July 29,2018

Dear Great, Great, Great Grandchildren,

This week you will commemorate our families journey to Zion as you dress up as pioneers and reenact the sacrifices and trials of our westward trail. Please remember that although your experience will be hard, it will be impossible for you to fail. Food will be plentiful and you will have resources for medicine or other things should you need them. Our journey on the other hand was not so guaranteed.  We didn’t have the Twitchell’s providing our food. We were hopeful that the price we would pay would not require our lives. Alas the price was our four small children. Our first babies were twins and they were only 4 years old when we left Denmark to follow the saints to Zion where we hoped we would find the religious freedom our hearts longed for after we were converted through testimony born by the Holy Spirit to our souls that we could not deny no matter the cost. We knew that God knew and he would hold us accountable to him for our fulfilling of his commandments.

Please remember as you are cold, my sweet barefooted babies. Please remember as you are hungry, our limited rations to get to the valley. Please remember as you sing and dance that that was one of the ways we too found joy on our journey. Please remember as you find opportunities to serve and love those around you that Saints in all generations are called to “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;” Mosiah 18: 8

Please remember that although this will be an “act” for you. It was all too real for us. Leaving our home country and traveling across America was for you!! We did it for you. Our children died to give you the freedom and friends in the faith that only Zion could provide for you. Opportunities such as young women’s, EFY, temple attendance, and young men’s were made possible by our sacrifice in 1867 to leave all that we knew including our language and home to bring our family to Zion. Your blessings now are the inheritance more priceless than any wealth we could give you, please never forget it came with a high price for us.

Please like us, hold fast to your faith even when the shadow of death takes your loved ones from you. Endure with peace in Christ your trials, knowing he will never leave you comfortless, and know that Angels attend you. We watch you from the other side and as Angels helped us push handcarts when we could go no farther on our own, we and many others will be there to help you push whatever burdens you are called upon to carry in this life. We loved you then more than ourselves and we love you no less now.

Your Pioneer Grandparents,

Jacob and Maria Bischoff

Maria had a prayer, which was kind of a motto by which she lived that she would always share with her family. It read: 

“Lord help me to be true to myself and faithful unto Thee. I ask not for fame nor wealth. I ask wisdom and goodness. I ask Thee to inspire me with truth, enlighten me with love. Guard me from my greatest dangers, and make me useful to thee. Help me to overcome evil and live the example I would teach. May I be true, faithful, holy of heart and life. Make me equal to my duty, never above it. May my hope by an absolute trust in Thee.”

On the way home from EFY

Things that Sam said he learned.

He would like to be praying for the "gifts of Nephi" to choose Joy.

EFY Choose Joy

EFY Choose Joy

EFY-July 16,2018

Ready for a fun week! 

July 11, 2018 Kanarra Falls Hike

Kanarra Falls Hike Day 2 of High Adventure

July 10,2018 First day of High adventure

Prayer this morning "Please help us to see you in the small things"

July 6th, 2018 Love Letter

July 6, 2018

Dearest Sam

What a joy you are to our family. I am so grateful for you in our life.

You uniquely bring order and cleanliness to our otherwise chaos and messy family. I love it when you get inspired to clean and love the hard work and diligence that you tackle big jobs with. I am so grateful for your willingness to clean the kitchen every day and have been able to work because of your willingness to work.

I am so grateful for your discipline and ability to do your work each day. You have inspired me to try harder to be consistent.

I am so grateful for your ability to get yourself to church each Sunday without my help. I am so proud of your testimony and desire to serve righteously as a priesthood leader by getting to church each week without being pushed by me. You have helped me get to church through your good example. What a blessing to us all.

I am so proud of your desire to have a job before your 16 and your willingness to put in long hours in the hot sun to work for the bounce house business.

I am so inspired by your “launch pad” and your preparation the night before to be successful each day.

I love your music and your hard work and diligence to learn the Clarinet, Saxophone, and the piano. I love hearing you play and enjoy playing “Petey’s King of France” with you so much!!

I am so impressed by your hard work at school and the diligence and dedication you are showing for getting a scholarship.

I am so grateful for the amazing gifts you have given me. I love my missionary bracelet best but mostly love your thoughtfulness and sacrifice to give me something special.

Three things that I hope you always know:

11.    I love you more than you can ever imagine!

22.   Heavenly Father and the Savior love you more than that.

33.  You are destined for GREATNESS! I know that.  

Love you forever and ever

Mom

July 4th, 2018 Bounce house work

June 22, 2018 Crazy Hair

President Nelson's Fireside for the Youth

Dear Sam

I love you all so much! Sam and Emily and I were able to go to the conference center last Sunday and listen to the Prophet and his wife's counsel to the youth of the church. I loved it so much!

It was amazing to hear the whole congregation singing "Hope of Isreal". They said there were 20,000 + people in attendance and it was so powerful to join in singing this amazing song as loud as you could. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AFbB0Y6WZk

I felt powerfully the call to pray for the countries of the earth that did not have the blessings of the Gospel at this time. Pres Nelson talked about a meeting he was in over 50 years ago when he was a Sunday School board member or something. Before he was called to the Quarum of the 12. In this meeting Pres Kimball challenged everyone to pray for China that the doors would be opened for the blessings of the gospel to be given to the people of china. Pres Kimball also asked everyone attending the meeting to learn Mandarin. Pres. Nelson was obedient to both requests from the Prophet. I loved this example to me of doing what the Prophet asked.

He immediately went home and asked his wife to start learning Mandarin with him. This lead to him getting connections to Chinese universities and being a guest speaker there. He was asked to do open heart surgery on a famous Chinese Opera singer and saved her life leading to his being given a high honor in China as a "Old Friend of China". All this because he followed the prophet. 

He also said he has been praying for the blessings of the gospel to be available to the people of China for over 50 years and asked all of us to join him and extend that prayer to include the whole world. 

I love China from my time serving as a missionary to Taiwan and was so impressed with Pres. Nelsons willingness to tackle such a hard language to follow the prophet without knowing why. I loved the ability to see into the future of following the prophet in Pres. Nelson's life and seeing all the miracles that have happened because he was obedient. 

I wonder and am excited to see what miracles and doors will open to China receiving the blessing of the gospel because of Pres. Nelson's status as an "Old Friend of China"

I got a stronger desire to serve in the kingdom and share the amazing blessings of the gospel with all in my circle of influence. I also got a greater desire to teach you all Chinese. 

Love 

Mom

President Nelson to Youth: "This Is the Mission for Which You Were Sent to Earth."

"My dear young brothers and sisters, you are among the best the Lord has ever sent to this world. You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation!" —President Russell M. Nelson

President Nelson has invited the youth of the Church to be a part of the greatest cause and greatest work on earth—the literal gathering of Israel. This is why youth were sent to earth at this very moment, to fulfill their mission in helping all of God's children receive the gospel of Jesus Christ on both sides of the veil.  In his devotional address, he invited youth to do five things that will help them as they participate in the gathering of Israel.  Hold a seven-day fast from social media. Make a weekly sacrifice of time to the Lord for three weeks. Keep on the covenant path. If you are off, repent and get back on the path. Pray daily that all of God's children might receive the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Stand out. Be different. Be a light. Give to a friend one copy of the booklet For the Strength of Youth.

Made with Love, Hugs from Mama Wendy

A Lasting Hug from your Mama Wendy

My love for quilting started as a young woman. I had an amazing beehive leader who made it one of her goals to teach 12-13 year olds homemaking skills. She helped me make my first and several other quilts including one for Angie’s wedding in 1993, long after I was not her beehive anymore

My second experience was for my wedding. Grandma Rebecca made us several quilts. My favorite was a light blue that she had hand quilted. Something about cuddling up with her blanket as I was a newly married bride just learning to be a wife comforted and blessed me with strength and renewed dedication to be strong like Grandma Rebecca. It made me think of my blessings of having a husband and her valiant example of motherhood alone after the death of her husband. The gift of a quilt is so symbolic of warmth, comfort and wrapping your self in a quilt handmade by someone who loves you feels like a big hug just when you need it

Grandma Rebecca’s quilts comforted and surrounded each of my babies. One in particular was given to Joseph for his baby blessing and lived to celebrate the name and blessing of all eight of my children. It lives today to bless Grandma Rebecca’s great grand babies

So beyond the idea of comfort, protection, and warmth. I think having a homemade quilt has historically been a way for mothers to bless their children and families. Quilting has symbols and meaning behind the patterns as well as artistic and creative outlet for the women of the past. 

Quilting bee's were our method of gathering and women's connection and advice seeking. Around the quilts of the past we discussed and learned from those older than us wisdom was passed from mother to daughter.

Summer adventures

First week of Summer 2018

Sam: The winning adventure 6/6 

Emily: I’m in the other hammock by the way so I also won! 

Sam: No only me 

Emily: And me 

Andrew: Me to mom said so  

Sam: Whaaaa you weren't even here 

Andrew: But I sent mom a picture of me making boondoggle and she said that since I took time to take a picture that means I have won bwahaha bwahah