One Digit Midgets

    When I was on my first mission in Germany (during the 70s), the U.S. had a pretty strong military presence there, and military personnel had an 18-month European Enlistment option. Soldiers whose time in Europe was coming to a close were referred to as "short timers," and those with less than 10 days remaining briefly carried the title of "one-digit midgets." Only with us, we are counting the days until we can go over there.

    Well, it's Saturday, the 18th of February, and we fly out in eight days, right after boring people to death in Sacrament meeting. And it'll be a full weekend this coming week:

    --Friday, Open House at the Andersons, 5117 Butterwood Circle in Orangevale, from 7 to 9 p.m. Come one, come all. Let it be clear that Kirsten Henderson is IN CHARGE.

    --Saturday, Dinner Group (homemade pizza(!) by invitation only) at the Andersons again, and directly afterward we'll have the White Elephant Gift Exchange at the Main Ave. church building. That one's always a ton of laughs, plus there are desserts and snacks!

    --Sunday morning, 8:30 a.m. Our stake president, Todd Johnson, will set us both apart for our mission at the Stake Center. 10:30 a.m. Leesa and I will, as mentioned in the first paragraph, make a direct assault on the ward's collective desire to remain alert and awake by speaking for a total of about 30-40 minutes. 5 p.m. our plane takes off for Salt Lake, and the adventure begins.

    


    On Valentine's Day, son John III was married to his sweetheart, Jen Caoile. Dad wasn't able to make it due to illness, but that is okay. They were married at San Francisco City Hall, after which the pictures were taken, and a wedding lunch had a lot of family there. We love Jen so much. They are expecting our sixth grandchild, Harold Ignacio Dupree, on May 31st. 


    This week will be spent preparing the house for John, Jen, and little Hal (his aunts are already calling him Nacho Hal). They will live in our house while we're in Europe. Our next post should come from the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Utah. See y'all then!

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