{"id":18647,"date":"2026-04-17T01:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T01:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/?p=18647"},"modified":"2026-04-17T01:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T01:16:09","slug":"chapter-154-adam-ondi-ahman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/?p=18647","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 154 Adam-Ondi-Ahman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sunday, July 5, 2015<\/strong>

At church, they announced that the Elders who are serving in our area needed a place to live.

When we got home, Richard asked me if I would mind that the Elders lived in our basement for free. He said it was the Christ-like thing to do since we had the space. I was a little nervous about it, since we would be sharing my kitchen. But I figured we could give it a try.

Saturday, July 11, 2015<\/strong>

Three Elders moved into our basement today. They seem nervous around me when I go into the kitchen. I assured them that I was harmless.

Saturday, July 25, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I came home from the store, I asked Richard what was going on?! He said he knew how much I loved the brick walkways in Denmark, so he thought he would make the walkway and the stairs look like the ones he had seen.

I was horrified! I told him all I wanted was a railing, since my balance wasn’t the same anymore because of the blood clot. He said he was doing this because he loved me so much, and I would love it!

Yes, it was true that I loved the bricks in Denmark, but not enough to remove a perfectly good walkway or the front stairs to the house. He always starts something but never finishes it. It will be interesting to see how long it will take to get done.

Friday, July 31, 2015<\/strong>

I love being in the backyard. I feel peace when no one is around. It’s where I can escape from the world and feel solace.

I spend a lot of my time there, trying to relandscape Richard’s “creativity.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So much is happening that I don’t understand. I ask Richard if he has seen something that has gone missing. He tells me he has noticed I am not myself and is worried about me. He is so sweet about it and reminds me that he will always be there for me and help me with whatever I am going through. He always says, as long as I don’t forget who he is or burn the house down, we will be fine.

I am worried about why this is happening to me. I don’t understand what is going on. It has shaken me to the core! I wonder if I am going crazy. At least I know Richard will always be there for me.

Saturday, August 1, 2015<\/strong>

A few years ago, when I started wearing glasses, Richard told me I had to get the cheapest ones. He said it was because I wasn’t responsible, and he was sure I would break them.

I did as he asked and bought the cheap kind. I hated those glasses! I get grocery money every month, so I started to save up for the ones I really wanted. I was finally able to buy them. I have had them for almost a year now.

While I was working outside this morning, I thought I’d better take them off so nothing would happen to them. I was all muddy, so I put them on the top shelf in the garage to keep them safe.

When I was done for the day, I went to get them. They were nowhere to be found. I asked Richard if he had taken them. He asked me, “Why would I do that?!” Then he sympathetically looked at me and said, “I know how much they mean to you, I am sure you just miss pleased them and that they will turn up.”

I looked everywhere! I am so sad about losing them. At least Richard is understanding and keeps reassuring me that they will turn up.

Friday, August 21, 2015<\/strong>

Richard works a lot of overtime, but he still makes sure we go out for Date Night on Friday evenings. While we were out this evening, he told me that he was worried about me. He reminded me that he will always be there, no matter what it is I am going through.

I responded, “I am glad we can be open and talk about things because I had a dream the other night. It was a warning about you. You were doing things that weren’t good. But what I don’t get is why I had the dream and not you.” Richard looked shocked.

I asked him, “Are you doing something you are not supposed to be doing? If you are, I guess maybe that’s why I had the dream, so that I can warn you to stop.”

At first, he was speechless. Then he got angry and said, “Of course I am not! You haven’t been yourself for a while. It’s probably because you are going crazy that you had that dream!”

I felt uneasy because something was terribly wrong, and I didn’t understand what was going on.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

<\/strong>My stepdad, Ed Law, and his wife had moved to Kansas a few years ago. I saw on Facebook that his wife, Grace, had passed away yesterday. I was sad that he had not called to tell me personally.

Saturday, August 29, 2015<\/strong>

I was still expecting Ed to call and tell me that Grace had passed away. I figured if he hadn’t called me by now, he wasn’t going to. I went to the backyard and started working.

All of a sudden, I could feel Grace’s presence. I turned to see if I could see her. I couldn’t, but I could tell she was aware that I knew she was there.

The next thing that happened is hard to explain. We had a conversation. Not out loud, but in our minds. It was as if we could transfer thoughts back and forth. Just like a normal conversation.

I told her I was sorry I couldn’t be at her funeral. She told me it had not taken place yet. She said, “Ed is expecting you to call him so you can make arrangements.” I said, “But he hasn’t even called to tell me that you have passed away.” She responded, “With everything going on after I passed, he thinks he has called you.” I told her, “I only get a limited amount of money for groceries, and if I were to ask Richard to buy a plane ticket, he would tell me that we don’t have the money for it.” She said, “Don’t worry about it, it’s already been taken care of.” I was confused. Then she said, “Richard is going to come into the backyard any minute. Let him start the conversation, and you will know how to proceed. Make sure he calls Ed with you so you can get your plane ticket tonight.

Just then, Richard came through the back gate. He told me that his band teacher in California had passed away, and he was going to fly there this weekend for the funeral. I asked, “Do you have money for that?” He assured me that he had just enough money for it. I said, “You have never talked about this band teacher before. Don’t you think it’s better I go to Grace’s funeral?” Richard looked surprised and said, “But Ed has not even told you about it, why would you want to go to her funeral? I told him to go inside with me so that we could call him. As we were walking in, I could still feel Grace’s presence.

We then went inside and called. Ed picked up the phone right away. He said he had been expecting my call. He had gotten a room already for me, and he wanted me to sit up front with him at the funeral tomorrow. Then he asked me what time he should pick me up at the airport in the morning.

I handed Richard the phone and told him to make arrangements with Ed about the plane ticket.

When Richard got off the phone,<\/strong> he told me he had bought me a plane ticket to Kansas, and I would be flying there first thing in the morning.

Richard seemed bothered that he wasn’t going to California for his band teacher’s funeral. I reminded him that he had never talked about him and had not seen him in almost 40 years. Then he asked me how I knew that Ed was expecting me to call him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I figured Richard would make fun of me if I told him. He would probably even think I had gone crazy for sure. So I didn’t tell him. Instead, I quickly started talking about my plans for Kansas. I told him he had just enough time to drop me off at the airport in the morning before he went to work. Then I went and packed my things.

Monday, August 31, 2015<\/strong>

As I flew to Kansas, I thought about how much Ed had meant to me in my life. It was because of him that we had moved to California. When I had been ripped apart by Dave’s family, saying that I was just a cleaning lady, he was there for me and helped me feel better. It was because of his wife, Grace, that we discovered the source of the contaminated water when we lived in the trailer. It literally saved Jared’s and my life! So many memories came back to me. I felt Ed had been deliberately placed in my life for so many reasons.

When I arrived at the airport, Ed was there to meet me. From there, we went straight to the funeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After the funeral, I met with Ed’s family. Most of them I had never met before.

When we got to Ed’s place, I unpacked my suitcase. I thought it would be fun to see Adam-Ondi-Ahman now that I was in Kansas. I went online to see how far it was from where Ed lived. It wasn’t too far! But then I figured Ed wouldn’t have time to drive me anywhere since he had family in town.

When I was done unpacking, Ed asked me if there was something I would like to see now that I was in Kansas. I told him I was fine staying and visiting with him at his house since he had family in town. Ed said, “No, I want to get away. Make some plans, and we will go there first thing in the morning!”

Tuesday, September 1, 2015<\/strong>

Ed’s brother Tom came with us. The first place we went to see was Adam-Ondi-Ahman! As we were walking around, I realized I had forgotten my phone in the car. Ed and Tom said they would wait for me while I went to get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I was walking towards the car, I had the most amazing experience! A dear came out of nowhere and looked peacefully at me. Then a ribbit came and sat close to me. Just then, a bird started singing. I wished I had my camera! I stood for a moment and took it in. It was as if Heavenly Father was letting me know that he was aware of me. It’s a moment I will cherish forever!

After I had gotten a hold of my phone and gone back to where I had just been, the dear, rabbit, and bird were gone.

When I found Ed Tom, I wanted to tell them what I had seen, but I didn’t know how to put it into words, so I said nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wednesday, September 2, 2015<\/strong>

Ed told me he had noticed I was sad. He asked if everything was okay. I told him I was worried that I was losing my mind. He asked me why I thought that. I told him that when I put something somewhere, it’s never where I put it. He laughed and said, “That’s just part of getting old!” I told him I had always been close to Jared, his wife, and that my grandkids were my life. But I hardly ever saw them anymore. Richard had told me they, too, were worried about what was going on with me.

Ed asked if I had talked to Jared about it. I said I tried, but it ended up with Jared and me yelling at each other. I didn’t know how to solve it or what was happening to me.

Ed said, “If it’s any comfort, you have been your old self while you have been here, and I don’t see that you are losing your mind! Just be the best grandma you can be, and I’m sure Jared and his wife will come around.”

At the time, Jared and I didn’t know Richard was behind all the misunderstandings we were having. <\/em>

Saturday, September 5, 2015<\/strong>

I was glad to have this time with Ed. While I had been at his house, I didn’t lose anything; I felt normal again.

Richard picked me up from the Airport this morning. Part of me wished I could have stayed in Kansas. Hopefully, the trip did me good, and I will be able to think more clearly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s the beginning of September, and we still don’t have any permanent front steps.
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The temporary steps Richard put in are too wobbly for me to use, so I have to go around the back of the house. Richard promised me it will be done before October when Johny gets home from his mission.

Saturday, September 12, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While the missionaries have been living here, they have discovered that I startle easily.

I have asked them not to. But they think it’s funny, so they do what they can to scare me.

I have tried to scare them back so they can see how awful it is. But it doesn’t seem to affect them the same way it does me.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I have talked to Richard about asking the missionaries to stop scaring me. He said he has, but it doesn’t seem to have helped any.

Saturday, October 3, 2015<\/strong>

There’s one week till we can pick up Johny from the Airport. I am so excited to see him again!

In the two years he’s been in Denmark, he’s been able to visit with friends and family. I’m so grateful that he has had this experience!

Saturday, October 10, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was finally time to pick up Johny at the airport! <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The stairs still aren’t done. I am worried people will trip, so I made some signs to let people know to come to the back of the house. But at least Johny is home safe and sound!

It’s so good to have him home again!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday, July 5, 2015 At church, they announced that the Elders who are serving in our area needed a place to live. When we got home, Richard asked me if I would mind that the Elders lived in our basement for free. He said it was the Christ-like thing to do since we had the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18647"}],"version-history":[{"count":161,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18817,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18647\/revisions\/18817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.annemettehowland.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}