Saturday, September 15th, 2018

Caracas, Venezuela

96th operating temple

Dedicated: 20 Aug 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Crucifixion

John 19:6, 15

6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him, Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

Book of Mormon

Helaman 4:18-5:4

*How does being slow to harken to the voice of the prophets effect the Nephites' lives?

- The Church began to dwindle, they had become weak, they no longer had the Spirit with them, the judgment seat was turned over to evil, they became stiff-necked and couldn't be governed by law or justice. Nephi gave up the judgment seat to preach to them because he was 'wearied by their iniquity."

Old Testament 

No reading today, start Isaiah tomorrow.

General Conference

The Powers of the Priesthood

President Dallin H. Oaks

"If fathers would magnify their priesthood in their own family, it would further the mission of the Church as much as anything else they might do. Fathers who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood should keep the commandments so they will have the power of the priesthood to give blessings to their family members. Fathers should also cultivate loving family relationships so that family members will want to ask their fathers for blessings. And parents should encourage more priesthood blessings in the family."

Happy 18th Birthday James Hayden

This picture was taken at least four years ago,

but it is one of my favorites of James!

While James and Rowan were gone elk calling I made some muffins. My banana nut muffins burned on the bottom so I cut off the tops and the middles and put them on a plate. They all disappeared. The chocolate chunk muffins were baked perfectly and they disappeared too. Darrel and Addy said they would have liked to gone calling for elk too and wished dad had told them. 

Ruby, Lola and I played a game of Life. It was pretty hilarious. Since I didn't know the rules, Ruby was in charge. If you didn't have money she just said well it costs whatever you have. All Lola cared about was filling her car with babies. Trina finished the game for me and I think Ruby ended up winning.  

The kids and I and Kim made Halloween cards. Kim brought all of her Halloween paper and decorations for making cards and combined with mine we had lots of things to choose from.

Addy's card inside

Outside back. The front is the one with the

Haunted House.

The game of Life. Lola is excited

because she just had twins!

This afternoon while Brian and Kim stayed home and went on a Razr ride we took Darrel's family to Sheep's Crossing to do some hiking.

These guys hiked while James and I 

stayed behind with Ruby and Lola

at the creek where we had lunch.

 Looking at the creek

I'm not sure why Lola looks so sad.

We spent some time looking for a bathroom for Lola. She told James if we didn't find one soon she was going to go in her pants. When we actually found a bathroom she said it was too gross and she wasn't going to go. I think she made it home before she actually went.

I got a call from the Elders in our ward just as we were driving into the garage at 4:20. They said all their appointments were gone to the Hunsaker reception and could they come over for dinner. I said that would be fine if they could wait until 5:30. Trina and I worked in the kitchen while Darrel grilled chicken outside. James helped by making the salad. Trina made some delicious cornbread and grilled asparagus. I made some blueberry muffins. We also had chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies but they got burned. We didn't know that the oven was set for convection, which cooks much faster than the regular setting.

Lola and Ruby playing the Book of Mormon

Guess Who game while Trina and I were

fixing dinner.

We enjoyed the missionaries and they left a message about the Book of Mormon before leaving. We got a picture of Darrel and Trina's family with them because Elder Bernecker's dad and Trina's dad are good friends from high school. Just as a side note Elder Bernecker's former dance partner, Charity Anderson, is a dancer on the show "World of Dance."

Trina's mom asked for a photo to send Elder Bernecker's

dad. He's the one by Trina.

James took the 3 older kids on a Razr ride to call elk. I was so tired, I went to bed. So much for our family history FHE. I did talk to Brian about getting his four generations on Family Search and he said he would. Stressing over the missionaries coming wore me out. I'm not sure why. They are really nice and not at all intimidating.

Charlie:

 Happy

Serious 

Tyler's wedding:

Cute couple.

Wednesday, November 1st, 2017

Caracas, Venezuela

96th operating temple

Dedicated: 20 Aug 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ ascension of

John 3:13

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 18:1-14

How can we better focus on Christ while partaking of the sacrament each Sunday?

The Savior taught that the principal purpose for taking the sacrament is to remember Him. We have an opportunity to concentrate on the Son of God during the sacrament ordinance; we should not allow our thoughts to wander or be distracted. 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland described several appropriate ways to remember the Lord while renewing our covenants through the sacrament: "We could remember the Savior's premortal life and all that we know Him to have done, the simple grandeur of His mortal birth to just a young woman, His miracles and His teachings, His healings and His help - We could remember that Jesus found special joy and happiness in children and said all of us should be more like them. We could remember that Christ called His disciples His friends. We could, and should, remember the wonderful things that have come to us in our lives and that all things which are good come of Christ.' (Moroni 7:24). On some days we will have cause to remember the unkind treatment He received, the rejection He experienced, and the injustice He endured. We can remember that Jesus had to descend below all things before He could ascend above them, and that He suffered pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind that He might be filled with mercy and know how to succor His people in their infirmities." 

Doctrine Covenants Favorite Scriptures

DC 1:19-20

19 The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh -

20 But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world;

General Conference

Value Beyond Measure

Joy D. Jones

"Let me point out the need to differentiate between two critical words: worth and worthiness. They are not the same. Spiritual worth means to value ourselves the way Heavenly Father values us, not as the world values us. Our worth was determined before we ever came to this earth. On the other hand, worthiness is achieved through obedience. If we sin, we are less worthy, but we are never worth less!"

James and I took Lola and left Darrel and Trina's around 8 a.m. Darrel was at the doctor's, Ruby and Trina were getting ready to go on a fieldtrip to the planetarium, Rowan was getting ready for school and Addy had already left. We had family prayer before we left. 

On the way to Stacy's we stopped at the Fry's Marketplace on Ocotillo and Gilbert Rd. I did most of the shopping while James kept Lola entertained. He bought himself some cranberry celebration and Lola her favorite Lunchable. 

When we arrived at Stacy's the first thing I did was put the roasts in the crockpot and started the rolls. James left to do some errands. Lola loved the doggies and even wanted them to lick her in the face. Stacy took Vader upstairs with her and left Shipley with us. Shipley seemed nervous around Lola. She snapped at her and made Lola cry so we traded with Stacy and Vader came down with us. Vader and Lola were a good match. They played outside together and inside they played fetch. So cute.

So adorable!

Lola's new friend Vader.

Lola and I ate some strawberries for our snack. She also ate her Lunchable, saving some of her cookies for the doggies, and some Goldfish. James brought me back a chili dog from Sonic. 

Darrel picked up Lola in the early afternoon. I was sorry to see him Kim because I was really enjoying her company. She told me all about the My Little Pony TV show. 

Adam got home from work early today because he said he wasn''t feeling well.

I fixed the mashed potatoes while James picked up Joshua from choir practice at 4. When they returned dinner was mostly ready. James shredded the roast and riced the potatoes for me. We sat down and ate with Joshua and Stacy. James was anxious to get home so we left before Paul got home at 6:15. Stacy said he was so excited when he saw all the food. He even posted a picture on Facebook.

James drove us home safely and even stopped at the McDonald's for an ice cream for me. We read from our new book, "For Love or Honor" by Sarah Eden one of our favorite authors. 

The Jonquil family saga continues.

When we got home we unpacked, put things away and even though it was late we watched an episode of Heartland, "The Haunting of Hanley's Barn," a real thriller.

Memories:

Fun at Peter Piper Pizza

Cute couple!

2015

What's Halloween without a few bats

Logan, Jon, Lexy

I love fall photos.