Jim & Jolene Paxman in Nauvoo

Monday, Jan. 28, 2019 Brrrr!!! It's really cold!   You would think that we would be used to it but, of course, it feels different here with the humidity.  The Mississippi River is nearly frozen over....you can see a thin stream of open water out in the middle.  The log is frozen in the ice.  It went from above 0 degrees this morning to well below within a matter of 30 minutes.  A blast (micro-burst) of cold Arctic air hit around 9 o'clock this morning and froze everything solid in a matter of minutes.  It is really treacherous to walk around outside.  I don't feel so bad when the locals are struggling, as well.  Hahaha! The water running off of the house next to us froze in mid-air forming this "killer" icicle !!  The teamsters have been offering sleigh rides during the cold (as long as it isn't too cold and icy for the horses) along with hot chocolate in the Visitor's Center after.  It has been really interesting to s...

Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019 Snow, snow and more snow!!   That is about what has happened this week.  We received  13 inches last weekend and Friday night, we received another six while today we have gotten another inch or two.   It took most of last weekend to dig out and clear the roads..but there is ALOT of ice under foot and that has caused many problems.  On Monday, there were 4 people who took spills on the ice within the FM compound....Jim being one.  He was hurting but otherwise is fine.  He made a trip to chiropractor...Dr. Dave and was helped alot.  Lon Simpson (head woodshop carpenter) fell hard on his artifical hip and was out of work for a day.  The other two were also carpenters and they were like Jim.   Elder Tom Hall fell on Sat. while he was operating snow plow equipment ....he is from Cardston and they received their call to Nauvoo the same time that we did but were able to come in December because they did no...

Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019 Well....church throughout the entire stake has been cancelled today and I will show you why ! This was taken yesterday morning (outside of our kitchen window) when we had between 6-8 inches of snow.  We attended the temple for the 11 o'clock session and this is what it looked like when we came out. It really "socked in" for the rest of the day and we have received over 12 inches of the heavy, wet, white stuff.  It is beautiful but extremely icy outside.  We are appreciating a nice, warm, snug apartment and kind neighbors and friends who support and help each other.  Everyone has a slight case of "cabin fever" so we have invited the other couples in our building to come over for a study session and visiting later this afternoon.  Right now, everyone is outside digging out !!  We have joined a study group that meet each Sunday afternoon to learn and grow within the "Come Follow Me" program and have found it to be...

Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019 2019 Wow....it took some thinking to type 2019!:-)   We have had a good week and are grateful for that!  First of all, we had a mission New Years Eve party that was alot of fun !  Of course, they adjusted the clocks so that we actually celebrated and still were home at the right time!!  Hahaha!!  As if we could have stayed awake that late anyway....Not!!  They set up a photo booth and we all took turns getting our pictures taken and then stood around in a circle and air-dropped the pictures to each other .  Above are Elder & Sis. Schmidt from Utah.  He is the amazing carpenter that makes these totally unique things.  Below:  Elder & Sis. Naef from Wyoming.  We travel to and from Quincy with these two every Sunday and have grown to love them like brothers and sisters.  They leave to go home at the end of this month and we will miss them alot!  Below:  Elder & Sis. Corder fro...