Thursday, September 22, 2016

Happy Fall Y'all

My decorations are up!

This is a good as it gets around here.

The wind howled all night long.  I thought for sure it would blow up some rain clouds.  It looked like it was going to rain, but it never did.  I know it rained in the valley and around Flagstaff.

The sky in Vernon

The sky in the Valley

Helaman 7:13-8:10
When have you raised your voice in support of the living prophet?  How did this effect you and others around you?
By listening to their counsel in General Conference and following it.  Bearing testimony to others of them, and remembering them in my prayers.  By raising my hand to sustain them and speaking out against those who are critical against them.  Defend the anointed.

GC: 'See Yourself in the Temple' by Elder Quentin L. Cook

"The temple is a place of refuge, thansgiving, instruction, and understanding, 'that we may be perfected  . . in all things pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth.'  Throughout my life it has been a place of tranquility and peace in a world that is literally in commotion."

The first temple in Wyoming

I read a talk by Elder Brent H. Nielson entitled "Can We Live 'after the manner of Happiness'"? in this month's Ensign.  It really had a lot of meaning for me.  Here are just a few notes I took.

*Let the Savior's Redeeming Power Cleanse You

- Let the Savior, through His redeeming power, take your sins.

- We profess a belief in the Savior and in His Atonement, but we may have doubts that the Atonement will actually work for us.  So we carry our own sins.  We worry, we doubt, and sometimes we despair.  That is not God's plan for us.

-Only Satan wants you to think you can't be forgiven and that you have to pay for your own sins.  Let the go, and do it today.

*Embrace Your Trials

-Facing trials is not only a part of our earthly existence but also essential to our progression.  It is how we grow and become.  Years ago a General Authority told me if I didn't have trials in my life, the plan wasn't working for me.

- Embrace your trials and move forward with faith.

*Access the Savior's Enabling Power

-As we make our way through life, the enabling power of the Savior's Atonement can make our burdens light and allow us to live "after the manner of happiness."

- When you face burdens in life, the key to access the Savior's enabling power is to submit cheerfully and with patience to the will of the Lord. 

This should be our family motto.

James's new home improvement project is making doors for the pump house.  He is always busy doing something but I am afraid he pays for it with aches and pains.  I don't know how to stop him.  

James and I headed out to visit Hailey Chaffin this morning with a candle and a quote from this month's visiting teaching message.  We found her across the road from the Stanford Store waiting for a truck who was delivering a tank to their ranch.  I went over and stood in the wind and talked to her about the lesson, about the books I gave Braylin to read, and her mother's family reunion in Van Horn, Texas the weekend of General Conference.  I would say we had a good visit considering the circumstances.  When I was finished James and I headed to town to pick up the Garden Fresh Veggie thin crust pizza we ordered from Pappa John's.  We devoured it!

After eating pizza James went to Home Depot while I waited in the car.  He got some lumber for his doors, an edger and a lawnmower. We are low on funds but we really need these last two items.  

Points to Ponder:

*The bishop wants to meet with us on Sunday at l p.m.  I wonder why.  

* Where did the gift bag go that I had to give to Kaeli Nicoll.  There was a $25 gift card in there!  James tried to go down to the church to see if I left it in my Primary room, but it was locked up.  He thought he could see something pink through the window of my room.  I sure hope so.

 Three of my favorite Vernon girls.

This picture was taken about five years ago.

Trenda, Alice, and Ruthie.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

It is 5:41 am.  I am sitting at the dining room table with the windows open and it starts to rain.  I love to hear the sound of a light rain as it hits the ground.

Spencer W. Kimball once said: "Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity."  I feel extremely blessed right now.

I walk into the bedroom and feel the cool air because the widows are open and I can hear the rain.  I am so grateful for this beautiful place I love and the gorgeous weather. 

I had a bogus charge on my debit card when I checked my account this morning.  I got gas at the Splash and Dash carwash on Saturday.  I filled up my car and then I filled the gas can for the Razr but instead of two charges there were three.  The bogus one was for $50.32.  I called the bank and they said they would have it removed immediately.  That was easy!  I won't be buying gas there anymore.

This afternoon we get ready to go to the valley because James has a meeting with Zaki in Chandler early in the morning.  I order a Pappa John's Pizza for us to eat on the way.  It was yummy although it was James's favorite, the vegetarian, and not my favorite, the bbq chicke.  We stop in Payson and get ice cream cones at the McDonald's.  When we arrive in Chandler we stop at the house just long enough to drop some things off to Paul that were left at the cabin last week.  Joshua is excited because there is a toad in the pool.

We arrive at Sheri's at 9pm.  Alex had cooked some pork chops for dinner and he said I could have the one that was left.  It was delicious!  I give Max another $10 because I felt like I shorted him on his birthday money.  We watch SYTYCD with Sheri.  When it's time to go to bed we sleep in Ben's bed which is in Max and Evan's room.

The only picture I have for today is one of our friends, Ralph and Jean Lamoreaux on their wedding day about 50 years ago.