Nauvoo Exodus Commemoration

 February 4, 2012 
It is rainy and cold but nothing like the pioneers went through.  The parade started at the Cultural Hall - Main Street to Parley Street and Parley Street all the way to the river.

People carried flags that represented the countries that they came from.  We were encouraged to wear costumes.

People came from all over the US to be part of the parade.
 When we got to the river, their was a flag ceremony and a prayer.  Those representing the Nauvoo Legion led the parade and did the flag raising.  Wayne and I carried the names of his great-great grandfather, David Evans and his wife, Barbara Ann Ewell, who lived in Nauvoo and had to leave.
 There were several wagons, buggys and carriages in the parade. 

I don't have any relatives who were involved in Nauvoo, but I have learned that if it weren't for these brave people, who suffered so much, there wouldn't be a church for me to belong to.  The church represents my heart and soul and I am thankful for it.

Coat Project - January 2012

We found out that the poor children in Ft. Madison, Iowa were not coming to school because they didn't have coats. The Rees', our service project coordinators, contacted Humanitarian Aid and they sent 6 bags of coats to the Salvation Army. We went to their office and sorted them by gender and size, then packed boxes to deliver to the school district. It was fun and we got it all done in about an hour. The left-over coats (not for school children) stayed with the Salvation Army so that they could distribute them as needed.

Snow in Nauvoo

How do we like winter? It is beautiful. Here is the temple and here is one of the little missionary houses.

More eagles

We have friends with better cameras and they shared these pictures with us.

Eagles

We are seeing a lot of American Bald Eagles. The Mississippi River is a migratory path for water fowl. The eagles are here during January and February and it is fun to see them. This guy was sitting pretty, waiting for me to take his picture. He's very big and was very high in a tree. I used the telephoto lens on my point-n-shoot camera and then cropped it so that you could see it.

Jenna's Baptism - Feb.4

This is the baptism dress Karen made for Jenna

. She looks so pretty.