August 1st through 6th

This visit has been planned for several months now and was everything that I expected it would be, with some pleasant extras. We planned the visit when learning of the baptism of my brother's oldest daughter, the wedding of my sister Colleen to DJ. It worked out to have my brother's new born daughter blessed in church on the same weekend. Despite all of the things that could have gone wrong, there wasn't anything that went awry with the entire sequence of planned events. Of course there were opprotunities for things to fall apart, but there was always a way to make it work.

Nora had a lot of fun with her cousins and fit right in with the family kids. It was amazing to watch her interact with the other children. She has learned to share well and take her turn. Her mother and other care givers deserve a lot of credit for her good manners.

The first part of the visit was to get the truck engine put back together in time to pick up Nora in Kalama Washington. What an effort this was at the expense of sleep and vacation time from work. Tuesday at 2:00 PM was when reassembly commenced. By noon the next day, after three hours of sleep, it was running. Two more hours got it running right and by 4:00 PM, I was on the road to pick up Nora. Here was an opprotunity for things to fall apart, but all went well and the truck ran great.

Another opprotunity for things to go awry was the lack of sleep and working against myself to get things together. I left my Temple recommend in my brief case. Without it, I wouldn't be admitted into the wedding of my sister. I called Andy, my roommate who went into my work materials and overnighted the recommend to Utah. Perfect. Before reaching him, my plan was to drive back to Harrisburg then drive to the airport the next morning to catch the 1:00 flight. It would have worked OK. Since there was no need to drive back to Harrisburg, Nora and I searched for a motel room to rent. Our preference was to get a room at a motel with a pool. The first one we came upon didn't have a pool. Rats. But they did have a jacuzzi room that they offered to us for the normal double room rate. Furthermore, they said that they would watch our truck while we were away if we parked it in front before we left. This was a great deal because long term parking at the airport is $8 per day. We took the deal and had a great time that evening swimming in the jacuzzi room. The next morning we casually got up, ate some breakfast, and caught the bus. I figured it didn't matter which bus we got onto because they all went to either the main or secondary transfer station where we could figure out which bus went to the airport.

What a pleasant surprise to learn that the very bus we got on was going directly to the airport! It was a long ride and I had not realized how far we were from the airport, but it didn't matter because we left early enough and had time to spare. We packed light so that I could carry everything on me while on the bus, including Nora. Her suitcase is equipped with shoulder straps so I fastened the car seat for the plane onto the outside of it. It fit perfectly in the upside down position right on the back of the backpack. My small day suitcase has a single shoulder strap that I was able to throw over one shoulder. That left my arms free to carry Nora. It was really perfect! Once at the airport, there were some workers who noticed the backpack and carseat and were pointing it out to the other airport workers. Other parents with children and car seats were admiring my enginuity. It was really hard to not let my head get puffed up.

Nora was great on the flight. She hardly made a sound except to ask a question about being in the air or going fast. When we arrived in Salt Lake City, I expected to see my mother. She had arranged and purchased the tickets so that she would have a car rented and meet us at our gate. Her flight from Albuquerque left 45 minutes too late, so she was late getting to us. We simply waited near the gate, paged her a couple of times, called Robs house, and eventually she came running to see Nora and me. The rest of Thursday was spent at my brother's house with his 5 children. Nora got to hold Maren, the 8 week old baby. She was at first not knowing what to do but quickly caught on that holding a baby is nothing more than sitting and holding and looking. Playing with the kids was more fun, so Nora pretty much ignored Maren for the rest of the visit.

Friday was an all day kids, swimming pool, swing set, play house day. I took Nora with me to the Groom's family dinner where she met Leanne and Ray, her Aunt and Uncle from Florida. Nora also saw Colleen and Rachel again, Carlos, Rachel's husband whom she remembered from last Thanksgiving, Nancy, my step sister and Chris, my step brother. I asked Nora if it was alright for her to stay with Leanne tomorrow at the Temple while I went to the sealing room and she said "Yes".

Saturday was the day for the baptism and sealing in the Temple. After breakfast we put on our Sunday clothes and went to the church for Amanda's baptism. The baptismal program and service went well while two families were participating as their 8 year olds were being baptized into the Church. Nora would not stop talking about it being her turn to be baptized. She would say "Amanda's Daddy baptized her, my Daddy will baptize me." She would not be quiet about it and couldn't or wouldn't understand that she had to wait until she was 8 years old or Amanda's same age. She was finally satisfied when I told her that we had to wait until Jesus says it's time for her to be baptized. Although distracting to the service, it was really cute to listen to her want to be baptized so badly. She even pointed out the picture on the wall of Jesus being baptized saying "Jesus was baptized". It's great to know that teachers in Nursery at Church really make a difference.

After the baptism we went back to Robs house and had lunch. We were due at the Mt. Tempenogus Temple in a few hours, so we stayed in our Sunday clothes and kept the kids as clean as possible while eating and playing on the swing outside. Upon arriving at the Temple we waited for other family members to arrive while noticing the beauty of this building. Nora began to talk about going into Heavenly Father's house and I said that we will go in soon. I reminded her about staying with Aunt Leanne for a short time and she said "No, I want to go with you, Dad". She was pretty clingy and I could tell that it was going to be difficult to leave her with someone else. Instead of going directly into the Temple with others who would attend the sealing, Nora and I went into the foyer to wait with the other children and family members on both sides of the family who would not be attending the sealing. I informed my mother to send a temple worker to get me when the sealing was to take place. I changed my mind after Nora became more insistent upon going with me and not staying with Aunt Leanne, so I informed Rob to cancel the arrangement and that I would stay in the foyer with Nora, the other children, and family members.

I soon found purpose in keeping Rob and Faline's children quiet and reverent. My voice is similar to Rob's and when the children hear it, they immediately obey. I felt satisfied that this was what I would do instead of witnessing the sealing of Colleen to D.J. Shortly after the time the sealing was to begin, a temple worker came into the foyer and asked if Paul Coffelt was present. I said "Here". She said "You are needed upstairs". I responded that Nora would not stay with another adult and I would therefore wait in the foyer with her and the other children. She asked me to follow her with Nora, so I did. We went into a room in the temple that I had not known of. They had a full day care facility with play kitchens and doll houses! There were two sisters in white dresses there to watch Nora while I went to the sealing room. Nora went right to the play kitchen and I knew she would be OK. The escort took me upstairs so quickly that I didn't have time to tell Nora that I'd be right back.

The sealing room was beautiful. Colleen looked enchanting and gorgeous. D.J. appeared noble and honorable. Many friends and family members were there in the sealing room awaiting the arrival of the last person, which was yours truly. The temple sealer spoke of the ordinance of eternal marriage and the covenants that are associated with this bond. He was bright and cheerful and even humorous. As words were being spoken by the temple sealer, tears came to my eyes and the truth of this ordinance was personally manifest once again. I was thankful to have been there. After the couple exchanged rings I lined up with others to greet and congratulate them and then went down to get Nora.

Nora was playing with one of the elaborate doll houses while being watched over by one of the temple sisters. As I was kneeling down to pick her up, the first temple sister that came to find us in the foyer said "The temple secretary wanted me to tell you that this was an unusual circumstance and we felt impressed to follow the promptings of the Spirit to have you attend the sealing." She continued saying, "We were ready to let you take your daughter into the sealing room with you if needed". I thanked her and thanked the sisters that watched Nora and was so striken with those words, forgot to help clean up the dolls and doll clothes that Nora had out.

The reception immediately followed picture taking outside in front of the Temple. It was a nice reception held at a chapel in Orem. What was remarkable was that Leonard, my step father, had three of his four wives there! His first wife Patty who is the mother of Chris his oldest son. His third wife Diane who is Leanne, Colleen, and Rachel's mother. And my mother. This gathering was an event with the most of Leonard's children in one place than ever before. All but one of his children, including step children, were there.

The next day was Sunday and we attended Rob and Faline's ward for the blessing of Maren and confirmation of Amanda. It was fast and testimony Sunday and Leonard stood up to bear his testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and express thanks for blessings. Through tears he pointed out that no single event had before brought more of his children together. He also expressed his thoughts about having two ex-wives present saying that enough time has passed that there are no ill feelings and friendships have been maintained. His father, Pappy, stood before the congregation and talked about step children and step parents feeling as if there was no such thing and that our unusual family has a bond that transcends the designation of step, half, and adopted parents and children.

Amanda's birthday party followed church and lunch. It was fun for the kids to have a party with cake, ice cream, and presents.

Mother, Nora, and I left early Monday morning after saying goodbye to the Coffelts. Nora was again great on the plane. We arrived in Portland and got on the city bus that took us back to our truck. We had enough time to go to the zoo, so that's where we went. I am unsure if the pictures will turn out because the flash will be reflected off the glass between Nora and the animals. The Polar Bear was nose to nose with her, the Sea Lion was swimming up belly to belly as Nora held her hands up in the air, and the Leopard laid down right in front of her! It was a great day at the zoo!

Ending the visit was harder than ever. Nora and I have developed a relationship that is amazing considering that since one year old, or two thirds of her life, we see eachother only every two to three weeks. Keeping this web page helps me to cope with the times between visits. At other moments I rely heavily upon the feelings I have inside that she knows who I am and she loves me. I truly enjoy each stage of her development and learning and love to notice when she seems to have more abilities. I miss the earlier stages when she was smaller and look forward to the time to come when she will no longer be a toddler, when she will be a grade school girl, a young woman, a teenager, and a college student. (I'm not ready though to imagine her as a mother.) When we are together it seems so entirely natural and right. I love being a Daddy. I love being Nora's Daddy. I love Nora.

August 9, 2001