Post #20 - A NEW YEAR - 2016

In the past days since our most recent Blog update, we’ve enjoyed many extra pleasant occasions, some during the Christmas/New Year’s holiday period! 

We were unable to get tickets to the annual Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, but we did go to the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast the next day where the Conference Center was decorated, and the guest starts from the concert also performed.  

From the restaurant we looked out over this scene as we enjoyed our Anniversary dinner.

Our 46^th wedding anniversary was on December 18, which we celebrated by having dinner in the Garden Room Restaurant on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, overlooking Temple Square all lit up with its Christmas lights.  

On the way home through Temple Square we couldn’t help take MORE pictures of the beautiful lights there! 

 We especially loved the reflecting pool with the nativity in the middle. 

The Christmas lights were overwhelmingly beautiful everywhere we looked.  

Because Bonnie had written and directed the entire presentation, she was glad when the Elijah Choir Christmas Devotional was over, having proceeded quite well, eliciting an abundance of compliments.  One of the missionaries on our floor, Elder Fournis (from France) showed Bonnie the picture he had drawn in his journal of the choir.  That’s Bonnie in the red jacket, and he even asked for her autograph for his journal!

Our son Peter and his wife Jessica came and stayed with us for several days over the Christmas weekend.

Peter & Jessica beside our 2015 Christmas Tree.

We had great fun with them, including helping them make gingerbread houses.  As you can see, they did a GREAT job!   

The Gingerbread Creations by Peter & Jessica were quite marvelous!

One of our favorite Christmas gifts this year was from Jessica, who made us these wooden DOLBERG blocks with pictures of us as well as pictures of our children and their families. 

It was a white Christmas this year, as seen in this picture from our dining room. 

  

In spite of the weather we were able to go together to visit our daughter Emilee’s “Ellis family.”

  

Here Peter and Jessica pose with David and Laurel Ellis, and our grandsons Brenton (left) and Nathan.

We enjoyed the two little ones.  Adam really took to Jessica. 

Don’t you just love the pretty red hair of little Allison! 

Ashley Ellis

 

After Christmas we enjoyed time with grandsons Brenton and Nathan Ellis came to visit us at the Family History Library where with our help they learned about some of their Dolberg and Baer ancestors, following a “Treasure Hunt” which we gave them as a Christmas gift.  

Grandsons Brenton & Nathan Ellis with Sister & Elder Dolberg in the Family Hist. Library

 One snowy weekend in January we decided not to brave the snow for our usual weekend home to Herriman but instead to stay in Salt Lake City.  We spent a whole afternoon visiting the newly remodeled Church History Museum, which is right beside our Family History Library. 

Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah

We took our time to see pretty much ALL of the new exhibits on the main floor, which we enjoyed so very much.  This is a stained glass window depicting the first vision of the prophet Joseph Smith where he saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ, telling him that Christ’s church here on earth needed to be restored.

This picture is a life-size model of the interior of the Liberty (Missouri) Jail where Joseph Smith and some of his friends were imprisoned for several months.

 

This is the death mask of Joseph Smith, made shortly after he was martyred at age 38.

We love the fact that we can enjoy both the beauties of Salt Lake City, as well as the comforts of home in Herriman.  Here is the sunrise taken one January morning from Glen’s home office.  

Snowy dawn in Rosecrest Village in Herriman, Utah

Below is the view of the beautiful Utah mountains taken from our Herriman church building.

 

Salt Lake Valley as seen from a few blocks from our house in January 2016 looking Northeast

Of course, life is always wonderful at the Family History Library, where we get to help guests search for their ancestors, and in the “down times” we can search for our own family members.  We love serving with such wonderful missionaries on the B-1floor, some of them seen here as we celebrate the birthday of one of our missionaries. 

Elder Syphert, Elder Yowell, Sister Krogstrup, Sister Eppich (her birthday), Sister Pederson, Sister Ballon, Sister Haak, Sister Pocock, Sister Sissell, Sonja Nishimoto, Sister Heidi Sugden, & Elder Dolberg

We are truly blessed, and thank our Lord every day for the opportunity to serve him on our mission.  We are just about to our 1 year mark, leaving us ONLY 6 months of mission remaining!