Sunday, June 24, 2012 10:10pm

This morning I said to Walt: "Today it's been 49 years since our first child was born."
Mary Jane "Janie" Petersen Fisher was born June 24, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the same day her father, Walt Petersen began his internship.

Today she is the wife of Shawn Fisher, mother of 7, and lives in Rexburg, Idaho.  She and her family are about to move to a new home in Rexburg.

Happy Birthday, Janie. We love you, as we do each of our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren.
   Here's a fun photo Janie had taken last October with her senior, Katie.

Saturday and Sunday...

We're starting a series of speaking assignments again...
Saturday, June 23, we were asked to speak to the young single adults and leaders from the Usulutan District.  It's about a 1 1/2 hour to 2 hour drive away from San Salvador.

Some of them came over to the Temple Complex building after and we invited them to come see the temple president's apartment.  There were about 75 total who were at the meeting in our stake center by the temple.

They love to take photos on our second-floor terrace which has a great view of the temple.  This was a married couple who were in charge of the gathering.

Married 51 years...

Our 51st Wedding Anniversary...
   Last week on June 14 was our wedding anniversary.
       Since we had the afternoon/evening shift at the temple,
        we went to breakfast at our complex cafeteria.

Here we were in the back yard of the complex...

Walt is following his doctor's orders in using the walker for 2-3 months to keep him from falling.  The right leg that was giving out before his surgery is getting stronger each day.

We did a temple session the night before our anniversary. We cannot do a session when  we're "on duty" because the temple president takes care of any questions that come up.  Sometimes a patron's recommend has not been activated by the stake clerk, so the temple president calls the stake president to have the recommend authorized.
     

Here's the shoe shine box...

I forgot to put the photo in with the description of the shoe shine box...

Another view of the 58-year-old shoe shine kit...

Here's a photo of Walt in the Mercado....which is like an open-air market....but it's in a big building

Here's a photo of us last week in the Mercado

Wednesday, June 20...we've had a day with no shift.

Walt is working on getting the 20-hours of continuing medical education required each year to keep up his medical license.  He's on his 7th or 8th hour.

This is one of the few days he hasn't gone in to the temple for a few hours on the days we have no shift.

Our freezer had gone out in the night, so workers have been working on it most of the day.

Other workers have been working on our air conditioning in the ceiling of the living room.

So it's been a little like Grand Central Station in our apartment.

My Wonderful Visiting Teacher

We did have a bright spot to have my wonderful visiting teacher, Sheralie Broadbent come this morning.

Her partner, Traci McKay, is visiting family in the United States.

She was apologetic about having to bring all four of her children because school is out.

They are such darling kids, it was no problem at all!

Here's a photo of her with them out on our 2nd-floor terrace in front of the temple.

Sheralie, Jeffrey, Laird, Lucy, and James.

We are watched over by the Church and members wherever we live in the world.

Father's Day - 2012

Happy Father's Day - Walt and our 4 sons and 3 sons-in-law...

Here's what the Father's Day gift are...
   From his children--the Willow Tree Grandfather...

From his sweetheart - eternal companion: Old Spice, a lavender tie, a painting of the national bird painted on feathers, and a DVD of the life of the Prophet George Albert Smith (which we watched Sunday night--it is great).  Also treats of Sweitzer's black licorice nibs, Milk Duds, and a Mounds (can't find those three candies here).
   And for breakfast homemade biscuits.

This morning he shined his shoes....
     Steve has spoken for his shoe shine kit.  Walt bought it in Moscow, Idaho, in 1952 his first year at the University of Idaho.  He was commenting this morning that it's been a lot of places with him:
UofI, Boise Jr. College, first mission to Uruguay-Paraguay 1954 to 1957, to BYU for 1 quarter, back to University of Idaho where he changed from engineering major to pre-med, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo.; Minneapolis, MN for internship; to Talihina, Oklahoma for 2-years in the U.S. Public Health Service at an Indian Hospital there, to Burley, Idaho; to the Yucatan Peninsula-Mexico Merida Mission as a mission president 1995-1998; to the whole of Central America--7 countries, living in Guatemala City 2005-2007 on a medical mission; to Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay on another medical mission 2008 to 2010; and now to the San Salvador El Salvador Temple 2011 to 2014....and in between to Wendell, Idaho and Burley, Idaho....
     We're off to take our 4 Sr. Temple Missionary couples grocery shopping on their and our P-Day...
               Thank you to all our kids and grandkids for the wonderful "Grandfather" Willow Tree from Grampa Petersen. 
      We're so happy you were together on June 15-16.
                  

♪ ♫ Family Reunion Time ♪ ♫

WEPR = Walt & Eileen Petersen (Family) Reunion
Brian & Michelle are in charge of this year's WEPR. Today is the gathering at Lagoon.  They are sending us photos as the day progresses.

Six of our 7 families are able to be together this year.

1. Janie & Shawn and kids 

2. Gary & Kathy and kids 

3. Steve & Natalie and kids 

4. David & Julie and kids 

5. Julie & John and kids

6. Brian & Michelle and kids

..........7. Jen & Jerry are both speaking at the BYU-Idaho Education Week in July, so they will be in Idaho and Utah then with their kids.  They are expecting baby #6 in November and Jen is very sick.

     I think this is the first WEPR they have had to miss.

  F A M I L I E S

   A R E

     F O R E V E R 

P.S. Walt's asked me a couple of times today how I was doing.

I didn't cry until I saw this photo of them all together.

Julie & John's Maddie, age 5, from Saratoga Springs, Utah...from Julie

Cousins in line at Lagoon...from Julie

Cousins planning route for day at Lagoon...Michael and Jackson, from Julie

More WEPR fun....from Janie

Michael, Jackson, Carter consulting map...from Janie

We got wet.........

Ready to ride the rocket...straight up 200 feet.....

The giant corn dogs were actually gigantic...!

Our first Sabbath back...

Sunday, June 10...

We had a delicious pot-luck dinner, with the Walls furnishing the main dish of Crockpot Italian Cream Cheese Chicken over Linguini.
We were excused from bringing a dish today.

The rest of the menu included: 
Carrots - Thompsons
Apple Salad - Halls (Richard and Joanne the PEF couple)
Lobster Biscuits - Gibbons
Black Forest Cherry Cake - Kitleys

Last Monday at FHE, our Sr. Couple Temple Missionaries took this
photo below and e-mailed to us.  Front row: Elders Trent Kitley (from Twin Falls, Idaho), Lon Thompson (from Jerome, Idaho), Frank Wall (from Salem, Utah), David Gibbons (from Burey, Idaho).
Second row: Hermanas Arlene Kitley, Nancy Thompson, Diane Wall, Marilyn Gibbons.  They are sweethearts!

We were able to work our two afternoon/evening shifts Friday and Saturday. 

It was nice to see everyone in our ward today. And they seemed happy to have us back.

    And now we're going to take our Sunday afternoon nap.

We're back safe and sound...June 7, 2012

We arrived Thursday evening, June 7. Walt made the flight with no pain, as did I (after getting an injection in each knee the day before we left for newly diagnosed arthritis in each knee.)

    We did a 9-hour shift in the temple yesterday afternoon/evening, and are heading for a 9-hour shift this afternoon.

  "I feel more at peace in mind and body than I have for six weeks," Walt said in the temple yesterday.

    When we have a calling, it' hard not to be fulfilling it.

We cannot express our gratitude enough for all that our family did for us during our 6 weeks in the states.

   And we say thank you again for everyone's love, concern and prayers for Walt's speedy recovery.  The prayers have been answered in the affirmative.  

Here we are ready to head to the airport.

A special thanks to Julie and John for putting us up for the 37 post-op days.(above)

Below...Thanks to Steve for driving us to the airport, plus many other times letting us use his car.

We're now ready to finish this 3-year call.

   Have a great weekend everyone.

Walt's Post-Op Day 34 - Monday, June 4, 2012

Our last week in Utah for recuperation...
David drove down from Draper and took Grama A, Walt, and me out to dinner at Applebee's tonight.  Thanks, Julie, Josh, Anna, Sam, and William for giving up your Dad for us to be with him one more time before we leave. It was fun seeing a photo of you around the table for your Family Home Evening planning your summer goals.

Each of our children has been so kind and thoughtful of us...
We so appreciate each one of them.

Julie and John are at the Palisades Campgrounds near Manti for their Mon-Tue-Wed Ward Campout.

Julie said that John is such a great camper....you could almost camp out for a year because he is so prepared.

Jacee, Jackson, and Maddie were excited to go camping with their Mom & Dad..

David helped set up the scanner for me to scan some of Grama A's photos into her life story...

Walt is working on the computer tonight...
We fly out Thursday, June 7th, so his 5-week Utah recuperation time is about over...

Sunday, June 3, the 4 Utah families gathered for the monthly fast-breaker Dinner...

Josh was dx'd with walking pneumonia Sunday morning, so Julie B stayed home with him...
    Most of the kids were outside playing...

Saturday we drove to Rexburg to spend a day with the Fishers...

We had a walk through of their new home: "Greystone" on Saturday.  It is beautiful and we are so happy for them...

Then we helped them write names on the 220 tickets for their Idaho Ballroom Academy dancers and parents who are performing at Disneyland June 4-9 this week...

Friday, June 1 we were invited to D. Kelly and Marcia Ogden's home in Provo for dinner. They are very dear friends from our
Guatemala-Central America Mission...

Our good friends, Gilbert and Michelle Sandberg picked us up and drove us to Ogdens.  They are building a new home in Lehi east, that borders Highland.  They were the temple president and matron of the Guatemala Temple when we were there...

Thursday, May 31 was the last day of school for the Saratoga Springs, Utah, families...
    We had a fun cookout up American Fork Canyon with Steve & Natalie, Julie & John, Grama A, Kimble, Carter, their friend Gavin, Jacee, Jackson, and Maddie.

The kids were kind to roast hot dogs and S'mores for us...

Earlier that day, Thursday, May 31, Dr. Charles C. Rich, Jr., neurosurgeon and his N.A. said Walt was ready to go back after his final check with them...

Also that day, Walt called the temple department who cleared him to return to his calling in the San Salvador El Salvador Temple if he promised to keep one temple rule.  He promised.  Then Elder Larry Gibbons told him what it was: "Don't Fall!"
    So our flight is scheduled for Thursday, June 7.

We appreciate everyone's love, concern, and prayers for Walt's recovery from this back surgery.
      And we are thankful to the Savior for His healing influence in Walt's behalf.  Priesthood blessings and prayers are powerful!

We're thankful for our family and all they have done for us during this time, for their goodness, for their love for us and for all their many kindnesses.  
    We're thankful for Steve & Natalie putting us up before surgery, and Julie & John for after the surgery.  We're thankful for Gary & Kathy, McKell, Abbey, Jacob, and Isaac bringing several kinds of ice cream (including his very favorites of peppermint and dulce de leche) for a treat on Walt's Post-Op Day 3. 
     ....Families and Friends are Forever!