Thursday, January 23rd, 2020

Porto Alegre, Brazil

102nd operating temple

Dedicated: 17 Dec 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Jehovah

1 Timothy 3:16

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

1 Nephi 13:20-42; Sunday School journal

"The Savior's Touch"

Elder Walter F. Gonzalez

"Whatever our circumstances might be, we can exercise our faith to come unto Christ and find a God we can trust. As one of my children, Gabriel, once wrote:

According to the prophet, God's face is brighter than the sun

and His hair is whiter than snow

and His voice roars like the rushing of a river,

and next to Him man is nothing. ...

I am crushed as I realize that even I am nothing.

And only then do I fumble my way to a god I can trust.

And only then do I discover the God I can trust.

A God we can trust emboldens our hope. We can trust Him because He loves us and wants what is best for us in every circumstance."

Happy 72nd Birthday James!

"Yoda" one for me!

I was up at 3:50 to get everything ready for James's birthday. The first thing I did was write him a message in his birthday card. 

When I went in the bedroom to wish him a Happy Birthday, James said: "I think I got old at midnight." When I told him there was a herd of deer in the yard, he was up and out of bed. Later when people would call to wish him a happy birthday he would say:

I'm just looking out the window at a herd of deer waiting for my Eagle Brand pie to cool. What more could I ask for?

Here are some of the gifts he received besides the ones I mentioned I got for him in yesterday's post. A sweet card from the Trezise's with a message from everyone except Ben who emailed and wished him a Happy Birthday earlier in the week, and a $50 gift card to Brass Pro Shop. Jammies and a fishing bag and a $50 Amazon gift card from his mom and Dawn. He got several phone calls, a FaceTime from Jared and Kacey, and lots of well wishes on Facebook. Here is one of the best happy birthday's he got:

We love this girl!

After our lunch of soup and salad I put candles in the cooled pie and sang "Happy Birthday" to my sweetheart. 

It was a low-key day spent at home, the kind we love. James did go outside and began to remove the bumper from his truck. 

For dinner we had hotdogs and sauerkraut, one of our favorites. Afterwards we watched "A Beautiful Place to Die; A Martha's Vineyard Mystery" starring Jesse Metcalf. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

 Wishing James a Happy Birthday

Cozy jammies from his mom

Lunch

 Eagle Brand pie with meringue

 He got them all. 7 for the decades and 2

for the years.

In his natural habitat

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2018

Billings, Montana

66th operating temple

Dedicated: 20 Nov 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

JS-H 1:17

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 16:17-39

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

John 1:11-18; JST John 1:11-19

General Conference

The Correct Name of The Church

President Russell M. Nelson

"Taking the Savior's name upon us includes declaring and witnessing to others - through our actions and our words - that Jesus is the Christ. Have we been so afraid to offend someone who called us "Mormons" that we have failed to defend the Savior Himself, to stand up for Him even in the name by which His Church is called"?

I keep telling myself this.

Happy Birthday, sweet James!

Nothing like a baby to help you feel young!

Slept in and didn't get up until 8 am. After some gospel study and prayers I attacked the wood floor with the last bit of my Trewax finishing polish. I must admit it does look better. I was going to strip the old polish off first but that is a bit of a process and I would be doing it forever, so I just did a quickie job with the polish.

Kacey, Jared, and Charlie left Mesa this morning and they are on their way up to see us. We texted and made plans to meet at LaCasita for lunch. We were a little late and when we got there they already had a table. 

One of the first things that happened was James dropped the bottle of hot sauce on the table and it squirted Charlie right in the eye. Of course she cried. While Jared and Kacey were trying to clean her eye out the owner peeked his head around the corner and told Kacey to use her hair to wipe the baby's eye out. He said you would be surprised how often this happens. Kacey did it and it worked. Soon Charlie was restored to her usual "happy baby" status.

We all ate every bite of the food we ordered including their delicious refried beans. Jared and Kacey bought our lunch for James's birthday. How nice of them.

After lunch we all went to Walmart to do a little shopping. 

Back at home I turned on the latest Winterfest Hallmark movie, "Winter Love Story" starring Jen Lilley. I know the acting isn't that great and the stories are corny but I love the Hallmark movies because I know the message is going to be positive and there will be nothing inappropriate. They have an innocence about them and for me this is what life should be like. 

Hallmark movies and mysteries are a little different. They involve a murder, but it isn't graphic. Still corny, still not the best acting, but I guess that's what I like, life with a happy ending.

We watched the newest Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, Ruby Herring, starring Taylor Cole with long red hair. It looked so fake.

This evening we watched the two first episodes of this years' "Victoria." I think Jared liked it. 

I made James an Eagle Brand pie. It was really too warm to eat but we all tried it. I think he was the only one who really loved it.

 He had 70 candles last year. This year he has

1 for 71.

Getting the wax from the candle off the pie.

A sad thing happened today on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade when abortion became legal. In the state of New York abortion up until the time of birth was declared legal. It is so sad. What is happening to the people in this country?

 I love this picture!

 This is in Kacey and Jared's backyard. Scarlett and Autumn are

staying with Summer while they are gone.

This little girl is so cute!

 James was in the middle of Dave and Terry,

so kind of a middle child, at least for awhile.

 I have been passed this castle so many times in my life

and always wondered what it was called. Someone once

told me it was Governor Hunt's mansion.

 This girl knows how to focus. Here she is

looking at the fire.