Monday, March 18th, 2019

San Antonio, Texas

120th operating temple

Dedicated: 22 May 2005

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

DC 36:8

I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God; wherefore, gird up your loins and I will suddenly come to my temple. Even so. Amen.

Book of Mormon

Jacob 2:17-35

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

Matthew 131-23; Luke 8:1-15

"Parable of the Sower" by Dallin H. Oaks, April 2015

General Conference

"The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead"

President M. Russell Ballard

"On this special 100th anniversary, I invite you to thoroughly and thoughtfully read this revelation. As you do so, may the Lord bless you to more fully understand and appreciate God's love and His plan of salvation and happiness for His children."

 James left for the valley around 4:30 a.m. The Chacon job is finally starting! He has been waiting on the City of Mesa to approve all of the permits since December. It is almost too much to believe this job is actually going to happen. 

One of the first things I did this morning was to write an email to Ben. I also got an email back from him. 

 who we are. I love you! - Elder Trezise

I guess I am being punished for walking so much yesterday because today I have a bum right knee. It was a slow day for me but in spite of my bad knee I still got over 12,000 steps hobbling around the house.

James had problems on the job but he talked the inspector out of shutting down the job with his great reasoning skills. 

I'm reading Peter Valley's online Book Arbitrage book and I'm learning a little. 

I miss James.

 I miss this show too.

 Poor baby is still sick

Wednesday, February 28th, 2018I

Madrid, Spain

56th operating temple

Dedicated: 19-21 Mar 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ Authority of

Hebrew 5:10

Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

Book of Mormon

*What could an ensign symbolize for us?

-The temple is an ensign and it symbolizes eternal life.

Old Testament

Numbers 4-5

4 When the camps of Israel move, Aaron and his sons cover the holy things in the tabernacle - The Levites of the families of Kohath, Gershon, and Merari carry the burden of the tabernacle.

5 Lepers are put out of the camp - Sinners must confess and make restitution to gain forgiveness - Women believed to be immoral undergo a trial of jealousy before the priests.

General Conference

The Voice of the Lord

Elder Neil L. Andersen

" We should not be alarmed when the words of the Lord's servants run counter to the thinking of the world and at times, our own thinking. It has always been this way. I am on my knees in the temple with my Brethren. I attest to the goodness of their souls. Their greatest desire is to please the Lord and help God's children return to His presence."

I watched the first episode of season one of "Victoria" on my phone this morning via Amazon Prime. I was going to cancel my Prime membership but now I have changed my mind. Here are some of my favorite lines from this episode:

Lady Flora: "Does the queen deem me capable of betraying all that I hold dear?" (The queen suspected her of having an affair)

The queen demands an examination of Flora to see if she is "with child." When she finds out she is not, but has a tumor and is going to die, she goes in to apologize to Lady Flora. This is what Lady Flora says to her: "To be queen you must be more than a little girl with a crown. You have a responsibility to your subjects, you cannot play with them like dolls." Queen Victoria goes to her room and takes the doll out that she brought with her. She locks her up in a chest in the bottom of her dresser. The name of this episode: "The Doll."

Victoria and Albert

Albert: "A love like ours can burn down a city."

We have over 1 inch of snow on the ground this morning. This seems to always happen on a day we are leaving for the valley. 

I got some more good quotes in my reading this morning. This one is by Michael Crichton who is at the Rootstech Conference:

"If you don't know history you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know its' part of a tree,"

President Uchtdorf from the February Ensign, p, 80: " The pursuit, discovery, and application of truth are what we are on this earth to discover."

We left around 10 this morning. It really was hard to leave the snow. We saw snow and frosted trees for over 50 minutes on our drive towards Salt River Canyon. We stopped at Burger House for refreshment. 

Only Darrel and Lola were home when we arrived in East Mesa. James unloads me and our stuff and heads for his doctor's appointment in Glendale. Dr. Moffat requested he see an infectious disease doctor because of his re-occurring sinus infections. Long story short, he couldn't find the doctor's office and the battery went dead on his phone. He came home and made another appointment on the 14th of March. 

I spent the afternoon working on my blog at Darrel and Trina's kitchen table. Addy is not feeling well. She is having her next choir concert next week on March 8th. I hope I can come. 

Rowan has a school assignment to invent and display a planet. I forgot to take a picture of his display but it is orange with a yellow rings around it. James thought it was Saturn. Rowan says it is made of cheese and potatoes and its' name is "Munster." In describing parts of it he said that the Swiss hills are filled with caves. (The boy is clever!)

Ruby is playing with her friend. She came home for a minute and grabbed her tablet and asked Addy if she could borrow her old backpack. Of course Addy says yes. Pretty soon Ruby's friends mother calls Darrel to ask if the girls are at his house. He says no and goes out looking for them. He finds them at the park on their bikes. 

Ruby recently did a report on Abraham Lincoln. While we were out walking this evening she said: "Did you know Abraham Lincoln laughed at farts?" No Ruby, I didn't know that and I'm not sure why you do.

Lola loves to play and use her imagination. She talks to herself and plays and watches TV. She is a very happy little girl.

I know this photo is blurry but it shows Lola

watching TV and using her pillow as a horsey.

Trina got home early from work so she could go to New Beginnings with Addy but Addy does not feel like going. 

She stayed home while the rest of us went for a walk around the block a few times. I got 15,000 steps today.

Oops! 15,070 steps!

Happy Birthday Trenda! 

I think you are 20. Am I right?

I want one of these

Friday, January 12th, 2018

Bern, Switzerland

9th operating temple

Dedicated: 11-15 Sept 1955

By: David O. McKay

Jesus Christ Atonement through

DC 74:7

But little children are holy, being sanctified through the atonement of Jesus Christ; and this is what the scriptures mean.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 10:11-11:11

*What do I think it means to "diligently seek?"

*How has the gift of the Holy Ghost blessed my life?

Old Testament

Genesis 26-28

26 The Lord promises Isaac posterity as the stars of heaven in number - In his seed, all nations will be blessed - The Lord prospers Isaac, temporally and spiritually, for Abraham's sake - Isaac offers sacrifices - Esau marries Hittite wives to the sorrow of his parents.

27 Rebekah guides Jacob in seeking blessings - Jacob is blessed to have dominion and rule over peoples and nations - Esau hates Jacob and plans to say him - Rebekah fears that Jacob may marry one of the daughters of Heth.

28 Isaac forbids Jacob to marry a Canaanite - He blesses Jacob and his seed with the blessings of Abraham - Esau marries a daughter of Ishmael - Jacob sees in vision a ladder reaching up into heaven - The Lord promises him seed as the dust of the earth in number - The Lord also promises Jacob that in him and in his seed all the families of the earth will be blessed - Jacob covenants to pay tithes.

Old Testament Scripture Mastery

Exodus 20:17

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

General Conference

By Divine Design

Elder Ronald A. Rasband

"What should you be looking for in your own life? What are God's miracles that remind you that He is close, saying, "I am right here"? Think of those times, some daily, when the Lord has acted in your life - and then acted again. Treasure them as moments the Lord has shown confidence in you and in your choices. But allow Him to make more of you than you can make of yourself on your own. Treasure His involvement. Sometimes we consider changes in our plans as missteps on our journey. Think of them more as first steps to being "on the Lord's errand."

Another quote from Elder Rasband:

"The Lord does not do things by coincidence but by divine design."

I can't bend my knee this morning and it hurts. Nevertheless I helped James and Chuck clean the church. We have to do it today because tomorrow we work in the temple. On the way home we checked the mail...nothing...Diane Rico said she would send us a check for December's payment, but we haven't seen it.

For lunch James grilled steaks and I made lemon pepper asparagus in the oven. Everything tasted so good and we must have been hungry because we ate it all. 

I watched President Monson's funeral this afternoon. I wonder if his favorite color was purple. The tabernacle choir had purple robes and ties, and so did some of the speakers. I really enjoyed his daughter's, Ann Dibb's, talk.

I spent most of the day looking for photos of James in the photo albums in the family room. James scanned some of them into the computer and sent them to Stacy, two at a time. There were 70 of them so it took awhile. Stacy is making a power point for James's birthday party. 

Here are some of the photos I found in an album Dawn gave me for Christmas a few years ago. 

I think he looks like James Hayden

in this picture.

David is the tall one.

In spite of my knee I pushed myself and walked over 11,000 steps today. 

This evening our episode of Heartland was called, "The Road Ahead."

More old photos:

Jared and James

Family Letter 1978 or 1979

James and Rocky

Joel Heaton, Jared, James

San Antonio temple

Tanner and James

The shootout last summer

Tanner won.

Thursday, November 16th, 2017

Campinas, Brazil

111th operating temple

Dedicated: 17 May 2002

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ's Atonement

Mosiah 14:6

All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.

Book of Mormon

4 Nephi 1:1-22

What is the key to avoiding contention?

President Russell M. Nelson described the source of the great peace that was described in 4 Nephi: "Personal peace is reached when one, in humble submissiveness, truly loves God. Heed carefully this scripture: "There was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people" (4 Ne.1:15). Love of God should be our aim. It is the first commandment - the foundation of faith. As we develop love of God and Christ, love of family and neighbor will naturally follow. Then will we eagerly emulate Jesus. He healed. He comforted. He taught, 'Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God' (Matt. 5:9; 3 Ne. 12:9). Shun contention. Seek godliness. Be enlightened by eternal truth. Be like-minded with the Lord in love and united with Him in faith. Then shall 'the peace of God, which passeth all understanding' (Phillipians 4:7), be your, to bless you and your posterity through generations yet to come." 

Doctrine Covenants Favorite Scriptures

DC 6:37

Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

General Conference

Earning the Trust of the Lord and Your Family

Elder Richard J. Maynes

"Being a person of integrity simply means your intentions, as well as your actions, are pure and righteous in all aspects of your life, both in public and in private. With each decision we make, we either merit more of God's trust or diminish His trust. The principle is perhaps most clearly manifest in our divinely appointed responsibilities as parents." 

There were six bunnies outside on the grass this morning with their thick winter fur. The high today is going to be 68. 

James caught two more mice this morning. He is keeping track and says the is close to 100 for the year. 

I had 5,000 steps by 8:30 this morning. I have set a goal to break my record and get at least 17,000 steps for the day. I would have had this record by 8 a.m. but instead I read a chapter from "Once an Heiress" to James. 

James decides he needs to go to town and wants me to go too. I drop everything and go. He goes to Home Depot while I am at Walmart. My main focus was to get James some more shakes and some Christmas tags for my blanket packages. Jared called me while I was shopping in Walmart and we had a nice visit.

On the way home we stopped at Taco Bell. I got a taco salad which was quite tasty. I did not eat the shell which is where most of the calories are.

James put up the Christmas tree this evening as he promised he would. Three strings of lights are not working so we have that to deal with before we can decorate it. 

We sat down to watch our new season 3 of Heartland only to find out that all but four episodes were ones we had seen in season 2. What's going on?

I am so excited! I got 20,000 steps today the most ever!

Woohoo!

Love the Vernon skies!

Hard at work.

Congratulations to Jillie and her husband

Eloise Phoebe. They call her Ellie.

Grandma Cici with Cora and Graham.

Speaking of grandkids here are a couple 

of my cuties: Lola

Ruby

Ro, Evan, Josh 3 years ago

Gotta love those Russian architects

Cute kitty