The Godbold Gathering Spot

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

I am so grateful to have most of our family together this year, as we celebrate Christ's birth, life and love. I am sad that we are not able to have mom & dad, and Amanda's family with us this year, but hopefully next year we can all be together (hint hint Ben:-). I hope you all are enjoying this season that fills us with more love and gratefulness than most other times of the year. I hope that this next year will bring us a better hope and gratefulness throughout the year (& a few extra long awaited blessings -- hint, hint to the Lord;-) Merry Christmas time, and a hope for a great new year!!!

With Love,
Jen

Send this eCard !

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Christmas Time 2008: Ginger Bread House Making (w/ grahm crackers) Tradition & Family Sunday Dinner when Kerri's Family Came to Town

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Where has Jen been lately...

Well, I've been working at Hillcrest Elementary School w/ Special Education kids, 2-4th grades. I enjoy it even though it's hard work, little pay & no benefits:-) The Godbold house is now filled w/ other Godbolds, as most of you know. Dayne, Sarah & their three children have been living in the basement apartment now for about three months. Though we are packed in tight, it's nice to have more family around.

Sorry about my Blog lately, I know it needs to be updated more often, but I have had other priorities lately. Thanks to all family members now doing their own Blogs!

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas & happy holidays. I love this time of year, when more people are nicer, we have many parties, time to vegetate, eat good food, maybe acquire a few gifts and most importantly... we remember the Savior's love and the love we have for our families!!!

I love you all,
Jen

I was a posh witch w/ the rose of death; instead of having a broom. Some said I should have gone as the "black widow";-)

Sunday, June 8, 2008

The flooded Grotto - looked nice, but couldn't go in

CJ & Jen @ the Grotto in Payson Canyon 2008

Monday, February 25, 2008

Puffer Home for Sale...

Anyone want to submit pictures. I apparently am missing a few;-0

By the way, cute house & great job Ben & Amanda:-)

Detail View

Price: $239,000

Beds: 3

Baths: 2

City: Molalla

County: Clackamas

Zip: 97038

Style: RANCH,1STORY

Yr. Built: 1997

Status: ACT

SQFT: 1490


ML#: 8016454	Type: DETACHD	Area: Oregon City, Beavercreek, Canby, Molalla, Mulino
Garage: 2 / ATTACHD	Levels: 1	Acres:
Roof: COMP	Heat: FOR-AIR	Fireplaces: 1 / GAS
Elem School: MULINO	Middle: MOLALLA RIVER	High: MOLALLA
Lot Size: 5K-6,999SF	Lot Desc: CORNER / LEVEL	Lot Dim:

REMARKS:
Lovely remodeled ranch with open floor plan, vaulted ceilings, fresh designer paint and beautiful hardwoods. Great low maintenance corner lot, professionally landscaped including state of the art low water volume auto sprinklers, drip system, fruit trees and berry bushes. Don't miss this move in ready home!

FEATURES:

Kitchen: BI-MICO / DISHWAS / DISPOSL / ISLAND / PANTRY / PLB-ICE / FS-RANG

Interior: CEILFAN / GAR-OPN / HARDWOD / LAUNDRY / WW-CARP

Exterior: FENCED / PATIO / RV-PARK / SPRNKLR / TL-SHED / YARD

Accessibility: 1LEVEL

Green Certification:

List Agent: Harry Dutch Alton	Office: Dutchmark Properties
E-mail: alton@hevanet.com	Website: www.idutch.com
Agent Phone: 503-860-2555	Office Address: 2241 SE 157th Ave
	Office City/State/Zip: Portland, OR 97233
	Office Phone: 503-860-2555

Just in case you haven't read mom's (dad) last letter....

Dear Ones,

Today is our “hump day”—well, one of them. 
We are 1/3 of the way into our mission
and feeling very comfortable and a part of the
mission.  We couldn’t have asked for a more
perfect mission president and wife. 
They are the salt of the earth, so loving,
giving, thoughtful,
and spiritual giants, both of them. 
I am in awe just watching them
function.  They love the Lord,
His work, and His missionaries. 
We are so blessed to be a part of this mission.

We began the day with one of our exercise CDs. 
We got over half way through and it just quite,
so we started over again and fast forwarded to
where we left off and tried to continue, but the
CD played about 5 more minutes and quite again. 
So we just kind of did out own thing for another
7 minutes, did our cool down and them our stretching
exercises. We then went for a “quick” walk while it
was still cool enough to walk.  But what was to be
a quick walk took 45 min and the temperature
was rising along with the sun.  We were glad to get
back home finally. Now, before we are raised the status
of sainthood for doing our exercises, I must confess
we hadn’t done any for almost 4 days.  We have
been slipping, and knew that we needed to get with
the program again.

After our exercises, breakfast and showering, Robert
took off for the mission office to wash some clothes
and to take care of some business with the elders.  
I stayed home to clean.  Not that it needed it, you
understand.  BIG TIME!  I figured that I better get
busy and do some cleaning because we are always
inspecting missionary pensiones and also
 reminding them that their pensions need to be clean. 
I needed to take some of our advice and just get in and
 “do it”.  I feel so much better now that it is done.

As I had finished upstairs mopping I went to take a load
of dirty sheets to the dirty clothes basket in our
bathroom and I slipped on the wet tile floor.  Yes,
it hurt.  I went down on my back and hit my head and
my tailbone.  I just lay there for about 3 minutes
until the pain subsided, then came downstairs for some
ice to put on my tailbone.  My head feels fine, but my
tailbone area—no.  Walking or sitting doesn’t hurt, but
getting up and down does.  I figure I bruised that area
and it will take a few days to get better.  I am going
to take it easy.

Monday we began our day at the mission office picking
up about 18 sister missionaries to go on their annual
P-day.  Robert drove the big white van and Pte. Bradley
drove his SUV.  We got everyone in.  We first went to a
plush hotel for breakfast in downtown Asunción where
the pte.and office elders go every Saturday morning. 
It is a buffet-type breakfast, very reasonable, and
all-you-can-eat,  and the missionaries love to go there.  After breakfast we all piled into the vehicles and took
 off for an area outside of Paraguari called Chololó. 
It is back in the heavily wooded hills of the area. 
It is absolutely gorgeous out there. There are lots of
thickly growing trees and bushes, with palm trees
scattered here and there.  We went to a resort nestled
back in the hills were there are streams, cascading
water flowing, ponds, and walkways, walk bridges across
the streams, and it is just beautiful.  We spent
several hours just walking around and also getting wet.  Oh, did the
sisters have fun!  About 2:30 pm we went to lunch at
the hotel lobby.  The food was aweful, in my opinion. 
Usually food in this country is great, butit was as if
they didn’t know we were coming. They did! They feed us
breaded chicken and greasy French fries, and finally,
after we had eaten they brought us some water.  That
was it!  And the service was lousy.  They must have
been short handed, but they knew we were coming.  On
Thursday, February 14th, the night of Valentines,
the Bradleys and us are going there to spend the night
in one of the bungalos on the property.  The Bradleys
have to speak the next morning at 5 am at a sunrise service at a youth conference for the Paraguari District.  We are tagging
along. It should be fun. We arrived back in Asunción
about 5 pm.  All had a great time, but were ready to put on clean clothes and rest.  At
least we were ready to rest.

Yesterday morning was a zone conference here at our
Herrera Ward building.  Zone conferences usually start
at 10 am and go until about 6 pm,or at least that is
how we remembered it. Well, that was the one morning
we didn’t get up early and were just puttering around
when we did get up.  About 9 am, the APs called and
asked if we were coming.  It was then we learned that
this zone conference was starting at 9 am.  We threw
on our clothes and off we went and made it there for
the middle of the opening song.  Robert and I had to
do a presentation on “keeping the pensiones clean” so
we needed to be there.  I was suppose to play the
prelude and opening song, but of course missed that
so one of the elders took over for me.  The elders
really should be doing it anyway. Elder Acevedo played.
 No one knew until the conference that he played
and he did a great job.  His secret is out.  He plays
a good guitar also.

We finished our Villa Elisa class two weeks ago,
and our Itá class last Wednesday.  On Saturday we
started a class in Paraguari and yesterday one in
Villeta.  The Saturday class is interesting—1 woman,
and 2 girls and 6 older young men.  They are going to
be a great class.  The class in Villeta was to have 7
students but only 5 showed, but they will be good too. 
The church is in good hands with the youth of the church
here.  They are intelligent, going forward in their education,
strong in their testimonies, and activity in the church.  The next generation
will be even stronger.

I had attended Sister Mary James class in the north
mission where she gave her first lesson, using her books,
to a beginning class a week ago. Wow!  I was so
impressed.  I love how she did it. It is so much simpler
than what I was doing.  I am a watch, listen, and do
person.  I had read “how she did it”, but when I watched
her then I could see how to do it myself.  I love it! 
My Paraguari and Villeta classes started out great. 
It seems like I just keep learning new things to help
me be a more effective piano teacher.

After our class in Paraguari on Saturday morning we
stayed to help the youth choir (our piano class)
practice to sing in the district conference the next day. 
I played and Delma Kuhn, one of our students from
Itá class and a school teacher and a “do everything in
her branch person” in Guarambare, was asked to conduct.
With a little help and a lot of practice the kids did
pretty well the next day.  Of course 2 sets of missionaries
joined in on Sunday which made a big positive
difference.

Sunday we arose very early to drive to Paraguari, about 1 ½ hours
away, to attend the district conference at 9 am.  We stopped in
Guarambare to pick up Delma on our way to the conference. 
It was a great conference.  Pte. and Sister Grou, of the mission
presidency and Pte. and Sister Bradley spoke, along with
the district pte., a counselor in the district presidency,
the district primary president, and a recently returned
missionary.  What amused us most was that most of the speakers
would switch from Spanish to Guarani in the middle of their sentences
without even blinking an eye.  The people in Paraguay speak both
Guarani and Spanish well.  I love the sound of Guarani, but
we can only say a very few things—Robert says more than I can. 
If we go out to Pilar for the last part of our mission we are
going to have to pick up quite a bit more.

Brazos y besos--Los Godbolds,
Mom & Dad, Jenean & Robert,

2/6/08