Thursday, December 29, 2016

The Mesa temple at Christmas time.

Moroni 9:1-19

GC: God Shall Wipe Away All Tears by Elder Evan A. Schmutz

"God invites us to respond with faith to our own unique afflictions in order that we may reap blessings and gain knowledge that can be learned in no other way.  We are instructed to keep the commandments in every condition and circumstance, for 'he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.'  And as we read in scripture, 'If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication, that your souls may be joyful.'" (D&C 136:29)

My morning went something like this: Get up, study for awhile.  Eat something and take some Tramadol and lay down to take a short nap.  Get up, read to James from "Babylon" and then go to work cleaning house and washing sheets.

I cleaned and polished the wood floors even though I am going to have company and will need to do it again when they are gone.  I like my floors to look nice when people come.  

Monument Valley

James helped me clean the kitchen.  We finished just before Sheri, Ian, Ben, Max, Evan, and Rowan arrived at 4 pm.  

As soon as Sheri had her car unloaded she began fixing chicken tacos for dinner.  She also brought a huge bag of molasses, gingerbread cookies.  They were delicious and so were her chicken tacos.

While we were in the kitchen the boys were out on the patio.  I heard a thump and figured a bird had hit the window.  Sure enough. He was knocked out and the boys came in to ask grandpa what kind of bird he was.  

A beautiful woodpecker

The bird got up so the boys and grandpa buried him.  How sad that this happens.  My windows are not even that clean.

While Sheri and I and James watched a Rooftop Christmas in the bedroom the boys played Headbandz.

Yes Rowan, you are a toothbrush.

I fixed Ben and Rowan some hot chocolate.  They were the only ones who wanted it.  I think it helped Rowan to sleep soundly.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

G

This was my view this morning.

Mormon 9:1-21

What experiences have you had that confirm that God is still a God of miracles?

* One of the greatest miracles I have seen is the transformation of peoples lives as they accept and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I was privileged to be a ward missionary when both Laura and Cathi accepted the gospel.  There is no greater joy in this life than to see someone accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and to align their lives in accordance with His teachings.  It is truly a miracle.  One of the reasons I love the Book of Mormon is because it teaches so clearly the steps we must take to return to the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  Jesus Christ and His Atonement is our greatest miracle.  I am thankful for my mom and grandma (Nannie), who accepted the gospel.  I am thankful for Laura, Cathi, Brian and Ian in our family today for accepting the gospel.  The Plan of Salvation is a miracle which bring families together for eternity.

GC:     God Shall Wipe Away All Tears by Elder Evan A. Schmutz

" When we view the difficult experiences of life through the lens of faith in Christ, we are able to see that there can be godly purpose in our suffering.  The faithful can experience the truth of Peter's seemingly contradictory counsel.

He wrote, 'If ye suffer for righteousness sake, 

happy are ye.'" - Peter 3:14

GC: No Greater Joy Than To Know That They Know by Elder

K. Brett Nattress

"If all that your children knew of the gospel came from you -

as their only source - how much would they know?

If there any greater gift we can give to our children than a memory

burned deep into their hearts that we know that our 

Redeemer lives?  Do they know that we know?

And more important, have they come to now for themselves

that He lives?"

At seven o'clock this morning it was 18 degrees. The high for the day was around 30.  James said there was raccoon tracks on our porch and now the raccoon is hiding in the woodpile.  I love it when the sun shines on the snow because it makes it sparkle!

Snow makes everything more beautiful.

Neuschwanstein Castle.

Kaeli, Natalie and baby Guy and I visited Jean today.  We got stuck in the snow going up one of the hills going to their house which is in a thickly wooded area.  I called James but he is almost 30 minutes a way.  In the meantime an older guy with a hat and a long beard comes by in a truck and stops and asks if I need help.  "Yes, I do."  He asks me to get into the back seat and he gets into the driver's seat.  We back up probably almost a half mile and then he guns it and makes it up the hill.  "Thank you, Wyatt.  You are my guardian angel."

This is Ruby with a styrofoam tube which she

calls her elk call.  This is something she

learned from James.

Some good news for Kacey and Jared.  Kacey got the job in San Antonio.  She starts on January 2nd which is just a little over a month away!  Congratulations!

This evening we went into town to get our hot and sour soup and we decided to stay for dinner.  It was a mistake.  Much of the food had been out since lunch under the heat lamps and it was not good.  That will be the last time we will eat there for a long time.  From now on it is just the hot and sour soup. The one good thing that came from this trip besides the soup, was the huge, I mean probably a 100, elk in the field across from the post office.  We noticed them after we turned on to highway 60.  We hurried back to get my camera but we were not able to get a good picture.  It was amazing.  I have never seen that many elk together before!

Multnomah Falls in Oregon.

When we got home we read from "United We Stand" by the fire and then watched a new Christmas movie, "Journey Back to Christmas" starring Candace Cameron Bure.

Family Fotos:

Adam and James fell in love with the Hangar Cafe at

the Chandler Airport when they were working on 

the Hatch job in 2014.

Emmy and Molly recovering in the ER 

after their roll over accident on 

Thanksgiving 2014.

A few years back Alex helping Rowan

learning to fish at Power Ranch.