Sorry this comes so late --------

                        Dear Family & Friends,                                                              December 2015

          I’m sitting here looking out over our patio covered in a rich blanket of snow and thinking of Galway, Ireland one year ago. There was no snow there, although they do have it in higher elevations. But don’t be fooled by that, the winter weather on the west coast of Ireland can be fierce and cold with wind and torrents of rain as gales come in off the Atlantic Ocean. We always felt sorry for the Elders out riding their bikes in such conditions. We had an emergency one day as an Elder called us out on a rescue mission, his companion was drenched to the bone and suffering from hypothermia.

          When we tell people we spent 18 months in Ireland on a mission, the response is always the same. “Oh, it must be so beautiful and green there.” Yes, it is beautiful with dazzling shades of green, but the real beauty is in the Irish people themselves. We had the opportunity to meet and come to love so many. To all our Irish friends and our English friends too, we love and miss you. If you are ever this way come stay with us!

     Our mission ended the first of May, but before we headed home, we spent 10 days in Plymouth, England visiting friends we had made on our last mission. We stayed with our wonderful friends the Morgan’s.  We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them and were able to see many, many special people that we love.

     When we arrived at the airport on May 12^th, we were greeted by all of our children and grandchildren. They even made a welcome home poster for us. There were lots of hugs, kisses and tears.  Our daughter Janice was there with her year-old son, Tre, born while we were gone. What a little cutie. It was so wonderful to be back home with our children and grandchildren.

     We were immediately absorbed back into the family and all the activities that go along with being a grandparent. May and June turned out to be a whirlwind of activity. The weekend we arrived home Joseph and Tanna came for a visit from Los Vegas. We were eager to see their boys – Bryson 3 and Logan 1 who is our 26^th grandchild also born while we were in Ireland. That Sunday we spoke in church and attended our grandson, Ammon’s Eagle Scout court of honor.

          The following weekend we traveled to Borger, Texas to visit Ammon and Terie and family. We were at the airport with them when our granddaughter, Cierra, arrived home from the Omaha, Nebraska mission. What a wonderful reunion that turned out to be. A few days later we attended their son Jarric’s High School graduation.

     We were back in Utah again for our grandson, Ammon’s, graduation, Ed and Krista’s son; and a week later their youngest daughter, Rebecca, was baptized.

     The middle of June we flew out to Hartford to visit Ben, Tiziana and their 3 children. It was so wonderful to see them and enjoy their company. We wish they lived closer. While there we drove up to Maine to see our son Andrew who is going to school in Portland.

     The business seems to continue. In September Gary and I were called as ward missionaries, our favorite calling. We have great affection for our ward family!

     Gary and I love this season of the year when we celebrate the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. A special spirit seems to permeate the air.

     I love this quote by President Boyd K Packer, he says it perfectly ---

           

     "I love Christmas. There is a spirit at Christmastime. It descends upon the world—not just to members of the Church but across the world—a testimony and a witness that Jesus is the Christ. … As a servant of the Lord, as one of the Twelve, I   

know that Jesus is the Christ. …

     

      “I love the Lord. I love His work. I love The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and bear witness of Him who is our Master and our Friend.”

     We too bear witness that Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and our Redeemer. His life and His sacrifice for all mankind is the center of our lives. It is our source of strength through all tribulations.

God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.

Love to all of you – Gary & Karen Weber

     

    

    

Me thinks these English folks are a fabulous lot!

Dear Family and Friends,

We left for home April 29th by way of Plymouth, England. We've spent a week visiting many of the lovely friends we made here on our last mission. We've had a wonderful visit full of hugs and loves.

Having dinner at the George - The Morgan crew, top row - Gary, Jason, sons Daniel and Josh, and Sarah Morgan, first row - Karen, Demi (Daniel's girlfriend), Hannah (Josh's fiancé) and daughter Lauren. We had a lovely evening.

Our dear friends in the Plymouth ward. This group is so dear to our heart!

 Top Left - Hannah and Josh, Right - Sarah and Lauren, Lower left - Lauren and Jason, Right - Demi and Daniel

Top Left - Hugo and Chantelle Terre, they are such a cute little family. They are expecting #2 in 8 weeks. Top Right - Katelyn Nadin with Gary, We made many visits to this lovely family. Little Katelyn is precious. Lower left - Vivian and Rochelle Chasteauneuf, This is a special family. Vivian is Chantelle's mother. Lower Right - Ann Elliot, we love Ann she has such a fun personality.

The lovely Braganza's - Dorothy and Raj

Left Elder Jared Braganza is presently serving in India New Delhi Mission. His little big brother Sam is on the right.

Sweet Sister Wilde - The Wilde family had us over on 

Christmas Day shortly after we arrived in 

Plymouth on our first mission

This is Jennifer Wilde. We love her she is such a sweetheart.

Upper left - Kaye and Bill Taylor at the "Everything English" party; Lower left is Kourtney on left
and  Mom, Tracy Connor in the middle. Upper right - Gary with Nicole Doyle (her mom is Janet).

She was only 11 years old when we left now she is all grown up.

Dinner with the lovely Martin family at the Dartbridge Inn

Vivian and Peter Chasteauneuf
















Well we have come to the end of our adventure, we leave tomorrow morning at 3 am for Gatwick Airport in London. We will arrive in Salt Lake about 7:30 tomorrow night. Yeh! it will be so nice to be home again! See you all soon.

Love,

Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Elder and Sister Weber

Blue Skies, Sunshine, a Wedding and Travel

Dear Friends and Family,

     Here are the recent happenings from Galway, Ireland.

Presenting Gary and Michele Ramsey married on April 7th. The new couple pose for pictures in Coole Park. Michele's wedding was one of the highlights of our stay in Galway. She and her children are members of the Galway Branch.

The wedding took place in the Lady Gregory Hotel. It was a lovely affair!

The wedding and reception took place in the village of Gort, at the elegant Lady Gregory Hotel. It was a lovely, fancy affair, the first of its kind we have attended. Gary performed the ceremony; he was so nervous, but of course did fine. Between the ceremony and dinner, while the bride and groom were having a picture session, the guests visited and enjoyed an amazing chocolate fountain(upper right) with fruits, cakes and other yummy tidbits for dipping, another of Michele's brilliant ideas. She also provided a newsy little booklet of quirky information for wedding guest. 

Michele put a great deal of effort into planning her wedding making meticulous plans. One of her ideas was to have their guests sign the frame of the above picture instead of having a guest book. It turned out really cute. Michele knit and crocheted her own wedding dress, it was beautiful, also crocheted a top for each bridesmaid, the flower bouquets and boutonnieres. It’s the first time I have seen knit flowers in an arrangement. They were lovely. At 5:00 a bell rang announcing dinner. The guests were then ushered into the above dinning room. The meal was delicious with four courses. Dancing followed afterward, but we left for home; Gary was suffering from a cold and exhausted after a long day.

Friday after the wedding we decided to take in one last sight-seeing tour. We headed toward Dublin to visit New Grange, a neolithic passage grave.

The mound is 249 feet across and 39 feet high

New Grange was constructed about 3200 BC. Inside is a passage way 60 ft in length leading to a central chamber with a corbelled vault roof as seen on lower right. Off the central room are 3 small chambers. The entrance to the mound is aligned with the rising sun; above the entrance is a roof box, upper right, light floods the chamber through the roof box on Winter Solstice (December 21) each year and for a few days before and after, flooding the chamber. New Grange is considered the great national monument of Ireland. 

This is the end of our Ireland adventure, it has been an amazing adventure.

Love,

Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Elder and Sister Weber

We Love the Missionaries

Dear friends and family,

This is the terrific Galway Six in their matching ties and scarf courtesy of Elder and Mama Tarbet! 

Elder Tarbet is behind the huge grin on the right next to Elder Cavallaro from Italy. On the left is Elder Udell and Shubin

Zone Development Day - Food, Fun and Crazies - This is an opportunity for the whole zone to have some fun and build relationships. The usual activities are outdoor sports if the weather is decent and indoor games. As you can see in the upper left they are having a good ole pie eating contest. We take lots of crazy pictures and eat lots of good food prepared by, you guessed it, the senior couples. Bro Weber and I always have fun with Elder and Sister Hale at these events. We share updates on our kids and the grand weens and comfort each other when we're homesick.

This is our sweet Yaheli, she is a member here in Galway from Mexico

  

Taken at our last District meeting. Our fearless leader is Elder Scott in the middle, third from the right. He gave fantastic inspiring lessons which we loved. This was his last meeting before going home.



We are really going to miss working with the elders and sisters. It has been a grand experience.

Love Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Elder and Sister Weber

Touring Ireland

 Dear Family and Friends,

There is no place more beautiful than Ireland when the sun is shinning, and few places more miserable when a storm blows in off the Atlantic with sheets of rain and gale force winds. We’ve had a few days like that lately. Yesterday was beautiful and no wind. I took a nice long walk. 

Our dear friends Todd and Karen Wolfley and their daughter Elena came to visit us. They flew into Dublin March 16. They planned on staying there 2 nights to see some sights in Northern Ireland. When they looked into getting a room they were surprised as nothing was available unless you were willing to pay several hundred Euros. They couldn’t figure out what was going on in Dublin until they learned, it was St. Paddy’s Day! They felt a little foolish and had a good laugh. They stayed in Belfast instead, on Wednesday they took the train to Galway.

We had such a wonderful visit, reminiscing, laughing and sight-seeing. On Thursday morning we went to see the Cliffs of Moher. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day for viewing the cliffs and seeing the countryside. 

That evening we went down to shop street in Galway. It is definitely a must see with a charm all its own. There were a few musicators out entertaining passers-by but shops were beginning to close up for the night. We managed to pick up a few souvenirs. 

Friday morning we left early for Blarney Castle. It was a lovely day for a long drive. We arrived about noon, had a bite to eat then walked to the castle. We are pleased to announce that all 3 of the Wolfley’s made it up the narrow, winding stone staircases to the very top of the castle and kissed the “Blarney Stone.” Now they have the gift of eloquence, if they didn’t have it before.

You did it Elly. You kissed the Blarney Stone! Poor Todd, he's been thrown in the Blarney Castle dungeon. What did you do now Todd?

For the next couple of hours, we enjoyed a leisurely walk around the castle grounds and took some amazing pictures. It is a beautiful setting.  

This is a view of the grounds from the top of Blarney Castle. It is a beautiful place!

The unusual hanging rock is actually a passage tomb. (A passage tomb forms a narrow passage, wide at the front and narrow at the back. It is usually made with large stones and has one or more burial chambers covered with earth or stone. These tombs date from the Neolithic Age.)  Emily Pillo is underneath. The amazing tree on the upper right is a Western Red Cedar. There were several on the grounds. The castle-like structure is the Blarney Mansion. 

On Saturday, we went to the open market in city center. Dozens of vendors set up booths  on Saturday morning and sell – fish, fresh vegetables, homemade breads and pastries, soups, jewelry, clothes, candles, handbags, flowers, pictures and etc. It is an adventure to walk through. 

A Fish monger is on the left and on the right is a candle booth and behind that is a large produce area.

That afternoon we went to a baptism in Limerick. All in all we had an amazing week with Todd, Karen and Elena. We had a grand time and good ole craic!  You won’t believe this, it didn’t rain all week! But the day they left, it began raining again.  

There is one thing you can be sure of in Ireland and that is the rain!

Love,

Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, Elder and Sister Weber