The BIG 50 and Other Adventures!

Today you are you, That is truer than true. 

There is no one alive who is youer than you. 

~Dr. Suess 

Our friend Frances celebrated her big birthday!! 

She had so many creative ways of celebrating. 

Truly the celebration that never ends. 

Her big goal for her birthday was to get a certain amount of family history completed.

Then perform the temple work for all of those family members.

With a lot of work on her part and much help from her friends, she met her goal. 

YOU ROCK FRANCES!!

This party was a culmination of those efforts!

She is so fortunate to have so many friends to help her out 

and an amazing husband

Bill to support her through it all!! 

Not only did Bill help her at the temple, he is also a great cook!!

I Found Another Beach!!

Fisherman's Reserve is a quaint and active fishing village that is 

protected by a huge rock breakwater. 

The breakwater provides shelter from the harsh Atlantic Seas. 

The fishing vessels still need and use it's protection. 

Acadian (descendants of French settlers who came to North America from 1604 onward) fishermen 

have fished from there for many years. 

The fishermen would tend their boats in the summer and live in 

the fishing huts that line the shore. 

Lobster and herring are the main catches here. 

However, Trudy and I caught sight of migrating 

Canadian geese, coming home for the summer. 

When I think of France's goals for her birthday for her family, 

and when I think of Trudy's friendship to me.

I think this quote applies. 

They both serve well!

I Thought Missions were Supposed to Be a Sacrifice.....

REALLY?

We get to spend 21 months in the House of the Lord! 

I don't write much about the work we are doing here. 

We work in the Halifax, Nova Scotia Temple.

The work there is very sacred. 

For that reason it is not talked about much outside the temple.

 Although the temple is a beautiful building; 

the physical beauty doesn't even compare to the spiritual and eternal beauty that lies within.

Temples existed in Old Testament times. 

They existed in New Testament times.

They existed in Book of Mormon times

They exist in our times. 

And why not?

The temple is a place of learning.

I've heard it referred to as the Lord's University. 

The temple gives us a clearer understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

In fact, everything in the temple points toward Christ. 

Inside the temple we learn about the Lord's Plan of Happiness. 

Where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going after this life is over. 

To me, one of the greatest things that happens in the temple is to be married

 for time and all eternity, instead of 'til death do you part. 

The temple is where we make covenants with our Father in Heaven. 

We receive promised blessings according to our faith and obedience.  

This is the Nauvoo Temple.

In this temple grandparents on both my mother's side and my father's side were sealed together for eternity. 

Words cannot describe how grateful we are to serve in the House of the Lord. 

We are so privileged to be able to help others receive those blessings of eternity. 

Our Father in Heaven loves each one of us. 

He knows us by name and carries us in the palm of His hand.

I am so blessed to be able to see His hand in all things in my life. 

I know He lives, as does His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ gave his mortal life to pay the price for us

 to return and live eternally with Him, His Father and our families.  

Sidney

Our Last Day Exploring

Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market

The oldest Farmer's Market in North America

Sadly, this does not do the crowds justice. 

This is such a fun place to wander. 

We ate a yummy breakfast there. 

Saw all kinds of products, some we were familiar with, some we weren't. 

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

After a fun time at the Farmer's Market, Aisling and I headed to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. 

What a great museum. 

Halifax should be proud of their museums!

The Titanic sank not far from Nova Scotia, many of the casualties from the ship are buried in the Halifax area. 

Lots of interesting material about ships and such through the years. 

Bluenose was a fishing boat/racing schooner, built in 1921. 

You will find the Bluenose on the back of the Canadian dime. 

The locals are very proud of the Bluenose.

I would love to sail on the Bluenose II. 

It sails out of Lunenburg and Halifax on sight seeing tours

throughout the summer. 

Halifax has a lot of sad history. 

The Halifax Explosion has to be one of the saddest. 

Before I came here, I'd never heard of it.

For Christmas I received a book about the explosion. 

Reading that along with visiting the museum and other reading has really broadened my understanding. 

Aisling can be the Captain of the ship anytime!!

Such a fun time we had together!!

At the museum we attended a workshop to make Sailor's Valentine's. 

Sailor's Valentine's were originally thought to be the handiwork of 

sailors as they spent weeks and months at sea. 

It is now known that they were usually made in Barbados and sold to the sailors to take home to their loved ones. 

The top left one is Aisling's

The top right is Sidney's.

The bottom ones were real ones on display in the museum. 

Occasionally I get to be the captain. 

Alas, the time of her departure arrived. 
We miss her a lot, and look forward to her next visit!

May our "little girl" be kept in the hollow of His hand. 

What more can I say? 

We love our life! 

We love serving our Father in Heaven.

We love being in Nova Scotia. 

We love the people here.

We love our family at home. 

Life is good!

Pier 21 ~ Canadian Museum of Immigration

Pier 21 ~ Canadian Museum of Immigration

We took the ferry from Dartmouth to Halifax. 

I still hadn't driven in Halifax and wasn't overly eager to begin on a snowy day. 

It was a c-o-l-d, windy day! 

In front of the piers at the wharf was this great statue 

"The Emigrant"

It is a representation of those who left their homeland to begin a new life in Canada. 

Pier 21 opened in 1928 and served as a passenger terminal for trans-Atlantic ocean liners

from 1928 to 1971. 

The Pier was the primary point of entry for over one million immigrants and refugees. 

It was also a departure point for nearly 500,000 Canadian military during WWII. 

They even built a facility there during the war to move troops from the 

hospital ships to special hospital trains. 

Over 2,000 children came through there as they fled the blitz in England. 

Huge amounts of gold bouillon were secretly brought through on their way out of Europe

to safety in Canadian banks. (The gold was labeled as things such as margarine & peanuts.)

At the end of the war, it continued busy with the welcoming return of the troops, 

followed by the ever welcome War Brides.  

Empress of Ireland ~ Canada's Titanic

The museum has a year-long special exhibit of the Empress of Ireland

The Empress of Ireland was a passenger ship of high regard, sailing between Canada and Great Britain. 

In the early morning of May 29, 1914 as it went up the St. Lawrence River in very foggy conditions

it was hit broadside by a ship carrying coal. 

The ship sank in less than 15 minutes and over 1,000 lives were lost. 

This horrific accident would probably be remembered more except that less than 2 months later, 

War was declared in Europe. 

The exhibit is in Halifax until November 13, 2016 I would recommend it to one and all!

The accident happened on the eastern end of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, on this map it is on the far right. 

After our great museum visits, Aisling and I headed for lunch, actually I think it was more like an early dinner. 

We had great food at Stayner's. I had purchased coupons on Groupon, so basically everything was half price. Yay me!! 

We feel so blessed to be here!!

It seems like most of the people here are thinking of us, not themselves. 

We love our mission, we love the Lord!

Another Great Day Showing off Nova Scotia to Aisling

Is there anything more enjoyable than fun with family? 

A panorama of the Caribou Island Lighthouse.

After an enjoyable night in Truro, we headed to Pictou. 

There are so many beautiful churches throughout Nova Scotia, 

This one particularly caught my attention. 

The beauty in the snow was astounding. 

I talked Aisling and Laurence into driving to Caribou Island to see the lighthouse there. 

It's not in the best of repair, but it was surely in a beautiful spot. 

I loved watching the icebergs float by. 

It was so peaceful and serene. 

One mistake I made was to stand too long in the wrong place. 

My body heat melted the snow and ice I was standing on. 

Suddenly I started to sink down into the sand and gravel. What a crazy feeling! 

On the way home, we passed through Stewiacke.

Stewiacke's claim to fame is that of being mid-way between the equator and the North Pole. 

Their other claim to fame is that the skeleton of a mastodon was discovered there. 

As you can tell, we love this land and it's people!

We feel so blessed to be able to serve here and to learn more of the history.

I know now that my Canadian history was seriously lacking! 

I guess my dad was right..... he used to say, pay attention, you just might learn something. 

The Marvel we call Nova Scotia!

'Cause we're living in a material world

And I am a material girl

I have a friend that likes to spoil Aisling. :)

She gave her these beautiful rings and bracelet. Aren't they gorgeous?!

I particularly like the star fish. Such a great reminder of her visits here. 

When a girl gets new jewelry, she needs a manicure to show it off.

We're As Cold As Ice.....

Visiting Burncoat Head has been on my bucket list since I realized it existed. 

February isn't exactly the ideal time to visit. In fact, the park was closed. 

Twice each day the Bay of Fundy fills and empties its 160 billion tons of water creating the highest tides in the world. 

In 1975 The Guinness Book of World Records listed Burncoat Head in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia 

as the site of the greatest average tide of 47.5 feet with an extreme range of 53.6 feet. 

Aisling and I had such a fun time tromping through the snow. 

This picture is of the two of us above the bay. We were so grateful that the tide was out. 

This replica lighthouse contains interpretive displays and a small shop to purchase locally made goods. 

However, it is closed in February. 

The OCEAN FLOOR! 

How cool is this!

Being down on the ocean floor was such a humbling experience. 

You realize how small you are and yet still very important to our Father in Heaven. 

Our life has been incredibly enriched by the beauty here in Nova Scotia. 

We have enjoyed the beauty of the land, the sea and the people here. 

We love this opportunity we have to serve the Lord our God here.