Wonderful, Special Day in Nauvoo

Thursday. What a special day for us as we were privileged to accompany Caleb to the Nauvoo Temple to receive his endowments. Since there are not too many who take out their endowments there, he was a bit of a celebrity, with some of the workers already aware of who he was and that he had just opened his call. Then to top it off, the brother who assisted him in the initiatory was Richard Evans, the son of Richard L. Evans, the late apostle who for many years was the voice of the Spoken Word at the tabernacle.

The inside of the temple is so beautifully constructed with period woodwork and design, especially the spiral staircases that

are just magnificent. We were given a little tour around and heard much and saw much that was wonderfully done so well.

My son Michael and his pretty wife Brittany (who BTW is carrying grandchild #11), were able to come along as well and they were asked to be the witness couple. All in all, it was a grand morning for us all.

Drum Roll Please!

OK, the waiting is finally over. The "white envelope" was opened and the contents revealed. If you can't read the picture, click on it to enlarge. If you still can't read it, I'll give you a clue: Nobody guessed correctly. Hmm. What to do.

Less than 48 hours to go . . .!

As you can see in the picture, we stopped in St. Louis long enough to visit the arch. It is HUGE! We then proceeded to try and get lost several times. We actually succeeded. But enough about our accomplishments.


So now here we are in Nauvoo. As we drove in, the sun had just set and it's lingering light cast beautiful colors upon the waters of the Mississippi. It was simply gorgeous. There's no mystery as to why this place is called Nauvoo (the beautiful). The "white envelope" is still unopened and safely ensconced within the bowels of the trusty red shopping bag we brought. We didn't meet up with Caleb as we have no idea where to find him. However, being the sleuth that I am, I (we) will stalk him at church in the morning. We will leave no pew unturned.

Monday night, 8:30 local, is the time for the unveiling, the grand opening, the revealing, the disclosing, the . . . . well, you get the idea. If you would like to post a guess as to where Caleb will be sent next, please do so here and I can assure you that the person who guesses correctly (or at least comes the closest), will be handsomely rewarded with your very own batch of homemade brownies OR homemade ice-cream. Your choice! If you can't post there, send me an e-mail at alan.allred@gmail.com or send me a text 480-220-4272. Good luck and may you all be correct!

What? Another Envelope?

As if things weren't already complicated with the "white envelope" episode (Which, by the way, will be concluded Monday night at 8:30 PM, Nauvoo time). Lo and behold the day we leave on our trip, we get another interesting letter in the mail from the Church Travel Office. Hmmm. Wonder what's in this interesting yellow envelope? Could it reveal travel plans for Caleb to someplace in the world? If we open it, we could possibly know where he is going before he opens his call. This scenario has happened before to unsuspecting people. If I can handle the "white envelope" without too much anxiety, I think I could handle a little yellow one, don't you think? Anyway, it shall be included with it's big brother, unopened, when Caleb reveals the future on Monday night . . . . . . . . . OK, where are the Oreo's?

Gearing Up for Nauvoo

This week is the last stretch before we arrive in Nauvoo on Saturday (with the now famous "white envelope" in hand). As you can tell from his last letter, Caleb is more than excited about his call. I don't know that über excited really describes it either (didn't read it? His letters are found at the link in the right margin that reads: Letters From Caleb"). Anyway, if anyone has something they would like us to deliver to Caleb or Ben, please call me and let's see if we can't fit it in the luggage that Southwest Airlines has so generously offered to haul for free. In case you were thinking about it, no, I can't put you in the suitcase (that means you too Jeff). We leave Wednesday night, so don't delay! Oh yeah, about the cow. Read the letter.

White Envelope!!!!!!!!!!

We just happened to be at the mall when the "White Envelope" from SLC came. We dashed home to find it still unopened and lying harmlessly on the kitchen table. I'm wondering if I could pull a "Carnac the Magnificent" and just hold it up to my forehead and discern the contents. Others have suggested that I just steam it open. That's too easy. Anybody can do that. My daughter Liesl can give x-rays. I could have her scan it. Nah, still too easy. How about I let Spencer, my 8-month-old grandson open it. He loves to put everything in his mouth. Then we could say that Spencer found it and tore it open with his two little tiny lower incisors. However, explaining how an infant who can't walk yet and can barely crawl, was able to climb up the chair and onto the table, might be a bit unbelievable.

Dum de dum dum

OK, I'm back. I had to go and hold it one more time, hoping to get a vibration; an extra sensory excitation; an occipital lobe oscillation. Not happening. All I got was a stronger desire for an Oreo. If only we had any.

I guess we could just hold on to it for 10 more days and let Caleb open it himself, but where's the joy in that? I'll tell you where it is. It's in seeing the last of my 5 sons wanting to serve his two-year mission so badly he can hardly stand it, just like his brothers before him. That's where the joy is. That's where I want to be.

. . . and so it begins.

We were a bit melancholy when Caleb left to respond to a call to be a Young Performing Missionary (YPM) in Nauvoo. After all, he's our last one to leave. Now we are faced with the prospect of actually going to bed at a decent hour. Hmm. Why didn't we think of this earlier? However, we miss his constant singing around the house and the good friends he would drag home for a bite of CTC or some homemade brownies followed by a jam session on ukuleles or piano. Just because he's not around doesn't mean that you (his many friends) should stop coming too. You all know where the CTC is kept, so come on by and fill the void we are feeling.

As I write this, we are mentally and emotionally camped around the mailbox waiting for that famous white envelope from Salt Lake to arrive. Our plan is to travel to Nauvoo on May 29th and bring Caleb the white envelope with us (unopened, of course). Arrgghh! That may be difficult.

Every week I will post his letters for all to enjoy. The first of what I hope to be many is posted below. If you have any comments or thoughts you would like to pass on, leave a comment and I'll see that Caleb can see it.