Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Saturday, May 18th, 2019

Tokyo, Japan
18th operating temple
Dedicated: 27-29 Oct 1980
By: Spencer W. Kimball

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship
1 John 5:11
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Book of Mormon
Alma 2:1-18
New Testament "Come Follow Me"
Matt 20:30-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18::35-43


General Conference
We Can Do Better and Be Better
President Russell M. Nelson
"Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

President Nelson and his wife Wendy and Elder Gong and his wife left for what they are calling the Pacific Ministry Tour. Their first stop was in Kona, Hawaii. James and I visited Kone in 1998 before there was a temple on the island. After Kona they are going to Samoa and then on to Sydney, Australia. Where do they get their energy. President Nelson is 94 years old!



The Samoan saints came out in the rain

Another Rock Star in my life, or maybe I should say "Walk" Star is my friend Paula. Today she walked in the Sue's Crew 30 mile walk for cancer. Last year she did 12 miles in spite of wind and cold weather. This year she did 15 miles.

Take a break Paula

I watched two Hallmark Christmas movies while doing my own walking today, "A Bramble House Christmas," and "A Very Merry Mixup." 

It was a relaxing day for me. James and I had breakfast and we both worked on our computers most of the morning. He grilled us some steak for dinner and I made a veggie and some potatoes. After lunch he went to the church. The youth are having a carwash to raise money for camp and our car is very dirty. I gave him a twenty dollar bill and told him not to ask for change. He was gone a little over an hour.

Jared and Kacey are asking our family to fast for them. They have a phone appointment with attorney's Cordell and Cordell who specialize in divorce representation for men. They are trying to find someone to work with them who will help Jared get out from under the alimony payments to Tricia. It is ruining them financially.

I did a little work on the book business today. We are doing 79% better than we did last month at this time. Our sales have hit over $1,000. Just a couple of mistakes I think Amazon made today. First, they gated us from selling a book that we had already sold and they had to issue a refund to the buyer. Second, they sold a second copy of a book that we thought we only had one copy to. It is impossible to speak to a real person in seller support so I don't quite know how to handle the situation. 

This evening we watched the new Hallmark movie, "Sailing into Love."

We enjoyed the movie, and made fun of
the cheesiest parts.

 She looks so tiny

So grown up. Since we've seen her she can sit 
up and crawl. 



 My kind of salad except for the feta cheese



 This was in the 4th grade.
Where has the time gone?



On our way!

 More Rock Stars!










Monday, February 18, 2019

Thursday, February 14th, 2019

Fukuoka, Japan
88th operating temple
Dedicated: 11 June 2000
By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship
Matthew 16:16
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Book of Mormon
2 Nephi 6:8-7:11
*How do the people of the Lord wait for Him?
- We wait for the Lord patiently. We quietly and obediently do what is asked of us by becoming strong in our testimonies of Jesus Christ. We listen to His teachings and develop an individual plan that will carry us through life. The plan will see us through trials, tribulations and also the best of times.
New Testament "Come Follow Me"
John 2:1-11 The power of Jesus Christ can change me
"Spiritual Eclipse" by Elder Gary E. Stevens, October 2017
General Conference
"For Him"
Sister Joy D. Jones
" The first of the Ten Commandments reiterates this divine wisdom: 'I am the Lord thy God. ...Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' The placement of this commandment helps us understand that if we place Him as our main priority, everything else will ultimately fall into place - even our service to others. When He takes the preeminent position in our lives by our deliberate choice, the He is able to bless our actions to our good and to the good of others."


Things Newlyweds Can Teach Oldie Weds
" Surprises show you are thinking of each other even when you aren't together and keep the sparks flying even when you're on a tight budget or have a busy schedule."
"Spontaneity and surprises seek to communicate about and fill each others needs, express gratitude and love daily, establish habits that connect. Gospel habits are vital but so are other traditions that create a couple culture. We go on a date once a week, time together away from other responsibilities. Each night we list 3-5 things together we are grateful for from the day. We also have a 3 year journal with a question for everyday and a spot for each of us to answer. After we turn the lights out, we talk about our highs and lows from the day. Accept imperfection."
- by Michaela Proctor Hutchins

Happy Valentine's Day, Honey

 Behind this card there is a bag of almond M&M's,
a jar of Trail mix with cranberries, almonds, and pecan,
and Hershey dark chocolate with almonds.


James ordered me a necklace and wrote me a letter.
The necklace had to be engraved and did not
come yet. Here is a photo.




James made me breakfast and do sweet things for me throughout the day. He also drove with me when I delivered my Valentine's to the Halcomb's and the Grapp's. We also brought birthday gifts to Benson, today is his birthday, and Tildy, who had a birthday in January. I got James a Rubik's cube and gave Tildy one of my collectible dolls, "Little Miss Muffet", along with her tuffet and a bowl of curds and whey.

Here are the Valentine's I made for the kids along with sugar cookies and suckers.

Pretty basic but fun for me to make

Boxes of cookies and birthday presents

This evening we delivered these cookies
to the Wilhelm's. They were at the temple
with their kids so we took them to 
Mel and Ruth's.

This evening after delivering the cookies to the Wilhelm's we watched the newest Hallmark Movies & Mysteries movie, "Emma Fielding: More Bitter Than Death." I guess who the killer and bad guy was about half way through the movie. I still liked this movie though and so did James. We prefer the romantic movies but this one was pretty good.

 Happy 107th birthday Arizona


 Palmer & Autumn

Sweet Scarlett



 The best Valentine ever!

 Kacey's cute dates






Monday, November 12, 2018

Friday, November 9th, 2018

Sapporo, Japan
151st operating temple
Dedicated: 21 Aug 2016
By: Russell M. Nelson

Jesus Christ, Davidic Descent of
John 7:42
Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
Book of Mormon #1
3 Nephi 24:1-25:6
* What blessings are promised to those who pay their tithing?
- Those who live the law of tithing show their faith in God. Obedience to this law brings the blessings stated in 3 Nephi 24:10-12. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland shared five reasons why every member of the Church, in any kind of circumstance, should obey the law of tithing: "I suggest five reasons why all of us, rich or poor, longtime meber or newest convert, should faithfully pay our tithes and offerings. First, do so for the sake of your children. Teach your children that many of the blessings of the Church are available to them because you and they give tithes and offerings to the Church. Second, pay your tithing to rightfully claim the blessings promised those who do so. Third, pay your tithing as a declaration that possession of material goods and the accumulation of worldly wealth are not the uppermost goals of your existence. Fourth, pay your tithes and offerings out of honesty and integrity because they are God's rightful due. This leads to a fifth reason to pay our tithing and offerings. We should pay them as a personal expression of love to a generous and merciful Father in Heaven. Through His grace, God has dealt bread to the hungry and clothing to the poor. At various times in our lives, that will include all of us, either temporally or spiritually." (Ensign, Nov. 2001, 33-35).
Book of Mormon #2
Alma 9-10
Old Testament
Ezekiel 32-34
General Conference
One in Christ
Elder Ulisses Soares
"My beloved companions in the work of the Lord, I believe we can do much better and should do better in welcoming new friends into the Church."



I woke up around 4 this morning worrying about my tooth. I finally went back to sleep and slept until after 7. I very rarely do this at home. 
Trina, Darrel and the kids all leave so James and I are home alone. James is working on the computer. He takes a break and we walk around the block a few times. 

At 9:50 I left for my infusion appointment at AARA. James stayed to work on getting ready for his meeting this afternoon about the Quintevero residence. 

I got a text from Kacey while I was on the freeway. President Nelson and Elder Bednar are coming to San Antonio on November 18th and Summer gets to go! How exciting! I remember the first time I saw a prophet when I went to MIA conference in Salt Lake when I was about 16. I remember how I felt when President McKay walked into the tabernacle. We had been told that he was too ill to come, but he came and it became so quiet you could hear a pen drop. I remember waiting outside with my friend Clara Lynn for him to leave. When he came outside we all sang "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet," while he walked to his car. He started to come over to shake hands with the crowd but his bodyguard stopped him. It is a memory I will never forget. 
I also remember meeting President Kimball after the Mesa temple was re-dedicated in 1975. Everyone waited for him to come out of the temple for awhile and then people began to leave. I told James we should go around in the back to the underground drive where the black limo was parked. We did and we shook hands with President Kimball. It was us and one other person. We had him all to ourselves. I remember he said, "Thank you."
I am very excited for Summer and wish Jared's kids would go but because of their situation right now it is highly doubtful.

Frances set up my IV. Angie was the other nurse. I guess Frances is becoming a nurse and wants to get lots of practice. My infusion lasted an hour and afterwards James asked me to go to the Jiminez's to pick up the $200 Sal owes us. I did, and then headed back to Darrel and Trina's. 

James talked about going to lunch and then changed his mind because he said he had been snacking so much so I heated up my Olive Garden leftovers and then I had one of Trina's delicious cookies before my nap. 

When I got up from my nap James was on the phone. It was about 3 o'clock and I knew James had a meeting at 4:30 so I grabbed the keys and told him I would be back by 4. I drove to Walmart to get some card games for Ruby and Lola and I to play. 

I ended up buying more than I planned. I bought a couple of pair of cheap canvas shoes and a pair of pants for myself. I bought three card games, War, Crazy Eight's, and Old Maid. I also got some notebooks and pens for James and I. One of my notebooks was a bullet journal. It's red so I am using it for Christmas. I made it back just before James had to leave for his meeting. I planned on working on my blog while I was home alone. The first thing I noticed was my mouse and mouse pad were missing. James took them with him! My computer does not work good without a mouse, especially when I try to download photos, so I went for a walk instead of working on my blog. I walked around the block about 3 times before Trina and the girls got home. Rowan is at Sheri's for Evan's party. 

Ruby and I played Old Maid, Crazy 8's, and War. Lola played Old Maid with Trina and Darrel when Darrel got home. That called the Old Maid granny. Lola was happy that her dad got stuck with the granny. When James got home we all loaded up in big Bertha and went to one of Trina's favorite places to eat, "Backyard Taco." 
I got the carne asada stuffed quesadilla which was very good but did not have any cheese on it which I thought was weird for a quesadilla. The weather was so nice we all sat outside on the patio. 

James was supposed to give Max a blessing and he asked Darrel if he would assist. We all drove over to Sheri's just as they were getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to Evan. He had his favorite cake, the chocolate cake from Costco. 





Happy 12th Birthday, Evan!

Alex and Shayna were at Sheri's. Sheri was stressed and had been crying because she doesn't know how much insulin to give Max before going to bed. If she gives him too much she is afraid he will get too low before morning. They really didn't tell her much at the doctor's. They are going back on Tuesday. Eventually Max will be on the pump but they want him to give himself shots for a month. He will have a pump connected to Sheri's phone so she w
ill know if he gets low in the middle of the night. Adam needs one of those!
James asked Max if he wanted a blessing tonight or if he wanted us to come back in the morning. Max said morning so we said our goodbyes and left. I gave Sheri a big hug and told her I loved her.
Rowan stayed until later. Darrel will come back and get him because Darrel and Trina don't like sleepovers for their kids unless they are at grandma's house.

On the way home Darrel told us that Jodi Aries used to live in their neighborhood. He also said that one of their neighbors had disappeared and the police came by the other day and asked Trina if she had seen the neighbor. No she hadn't. Freaky. In spite of all of this news James and I stilled braved it and went outside for a walk before going to bed.

I should have posted this yesterday when Lois gave it to me.
She said, "I heard you like Noah's Ark. I made this wall hanging for you." Not only is she talented but she is generous and thoughtful too.


 I sure do love this giggleee girl!



Two fires in California





 Interesting cards


Here she is again!

 Laughing her head off!

 Love this photo of both of them!


Little Miss Scarlett

 Sleeping Beauty