Monday, March 11th, 2019

Nauvoo, Illinois

113th operating temple

Dedicated: 27-30 June 2002

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship - 2 Nephi 25:19 - "For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God."

2 Nephi 29:1-14; Matthew 10:1-20; BD, Apostle, "These 12 Jesus Sent Forth"; "The Power to Make a Difference," Richard G. Scott, 10/83

All Must Take Upon Them the Name of the Father

Elder Paul B. Pieper

"It is important to remember that taking the Savior's name upon us is a covenant commitment-beginning with the covenant we make at baptism. President Nelson has taught, 'Our commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and then keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual blessing and privilege available.' One of the supernal privileges of taking the Savior's name upon us by baptism is the access it provides to the next ordinance on the covenant path, our confirmation. When I asked one of my eight-year-old friends what taking the name of Christ meant to her, she replied simply, 'It means I can have the Holy Ghost.' She was right."

Believe, Love, Do

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Come, help us build and strengthen a culture of healing, kindness, and mercy toward all of God's children. For we are all striving to become new creatures where 'old things are passed away' and 'all things...become new.' The Savior shows us the direction to move-forward and upward. He says, 'If ye love me, keep my commandments.' Let us all work together to become the people God intended for us to become."

I made muffins for breakfast, blueberry and banana nut. Rowan and James prefer the banana nut but I must say the blueberry ones disappeared first.

Here is Ben's email for this week:

We left around 12:30 for Lakeside to see Woodland Lake. I have been wanting to go for awhile now and to my surprise the boys wanted to go too.  Recently before the moisture we have received, the lake was dried up. Now it is as full as it has ever been. I was sad to see that the little covered bridge where my mom, Harold, Dennis and I had our picture taken is in disrepair. There is another bridge across the lake on the other side and it looks as if this bridge is no longer used. 

Rowan was upset when we got there and he kept running away from the other boys. At one point he climbed up a tree to get away from them. 

After leaving the lake we stopped at Safeway in Pinetop so that I could look for flowers and a small cake for my friend Catherine as today is her birthday. Rowan stayed in the van. I spoke with him about how he stood up for himself when playing the game with Max. If Max thought you gave a wrong answer he would say, "you're out," This is what upset Rowan because he thought he had given the right answer and Max called him out.

The other boys put snacks in my cart while I was shopping.  I told them Rowan was sad and it would be nice if they would get a snack for him. They picked out a bag of sour patch kids and when Max gave it to him his face lit up and he told Max, "Thank you, that was nice of you to think of me." He really is such a sweet kid.

I did not find a cake and flowers at Safeway for Catherine so we stopped at Walmart where I got a small chocolate cake and a flowering plant. I took James and the boys home and I went back to Catherine's to deliver her gifts: A card with quotes inside, a candle, the flowering plant and cake. Kerri was home too so I got to visit with them both. Catherine is 85 years old today.

James fixed pizza rolls and chicken for lunch. I brought back some apples from the Halcomb's. Today was Food Bank delivery day and someone who got food from the Bank gave them an entire box of apples. James has been wanting some baked apples so I took about a dozen.

James has really cut down on his walking. He says his foot hurts but he also says he was wasting too much time. Today he got just over 10,000 steps. 

I inventoried 10 books for our Amazon business but the box is still not full so it's not ready to be shipped yet. 

Joshua gave the family prayer this evening. It was very sweet. Rowan and I had a nice conversation about Jacob's vineyard from Jacob 5. I showed him a visual and pointed out that we are in the gathering phase of Israel's history right now in preparation for the Savior's Second Coming.

 Kathy is my mentor in our book business

 Two cuties have lunch together.

 Exhausted after her trip to Arkansas

for Tanner's birthday.

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018

Nauvoo, Illinois

113th operating temple

Dedicated: 27-30 June 2002

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Crucifixion

1 Corinithians 2:2

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

Book of Mormon

Helaman 13:21-39

*How can we be more like Samuel, the Lamanite?

- Remember the Primary song, "Follow the Prophet," he knows the way. President M. Russell Ballard said that if we bring the teachings of the prophets and apostles into our homes our relationships with family members will increase and so will our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. As we draw close to the Lord we will be able to feel the Spirit and He will teach us and prompt us to know what to do to follow the counsel given that our testimonies might be strengthened and that we might have peace and joy.

Old Testament

Isaiah 48-50

General Conference

Deep and Lasting Conversion to Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Elder Quentin L. Cook

"Our purpose is to balance the Church and the home experiences in a way that will greatly increase faith and spirituality and deepen conversion."

The boys were up early this morning roaming around before breakfast. Breakfast, although there were many choices, was donuts.

James got up earlier and went for a walk. He called some elk and although he didn't see any, he had some answer him.

It was a relaxing morning for me. James went to work and the boys entertained themselves playing games and going outside. I was able to do two blog posts. Afterwards I made spaghetti and garlic bread for lunch. With the salad left over from last night we had a complete Italian meal. Joshua says spaghetti is one of his favorites.

At one point I looked up and he was walking around outside barefoot eating spaghetti.

It was overcast here but there was a cloud over Show Low most of the afternoon and that cloud was full of rain. We took the boys in to do the Show Low Bluff Trail hike. At first it was raining. James let me off at Sweet Potato to do some shopping and he took the boys to McDonald's to get ice cream. By the time they got back to pick me up the rain had let up so we all did the hike. Before we got back to the car it had started to rain again and we all got wet. 

The first thing the boys wanted to do when we got home was take showers. I told them not to all shower at once or there would't be enough water pressure, so they took turns. 

For dinner we had New York strip steak, baked potatoes, corn, beans, and salad. Max said the steak was delicious. It was his choice so I am glad that he liked it. He likes lots of salt just like James on most of his food. 

Evan wanted to do a load of laundry, his second since being here, so I showed him how to use the washer and dryer. He says he does the laundry and fold the clothes for his mom at home. 

Max has an online social studies class that he worked on while the other boys went outside to play. As soon as he was finished he joined them. 

James and I worked on a book trader business until we reached a glitch. I had to email and ask for help. Hopefully we will get our answer by tomorrow.

 My friend saw this ghostbusters car in

Phoenix yesterday, October 1st.

 Looking forward to Scarlett's 1st birthday party!

Dot Journal tracking

 Love the arms up in the air!

Good walking companion