Friday, July 5th, 2019

Billings, Montana

66th operating temple

Dedicated: 20 Nov 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Family of

Matthew 13:55

Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

Book of Mormon

Alma 27:16-28:8

New Testament "Ye Shall Be Witnesses Unto Me"

Acts 4:13-30; 5:17-42

General Conference

Just as He Did

W. Christopher Waddell

"We are taught on the ministering website of the Church that 'while there are many purposes of ministering, our efforts should be guided by the desire to help others achieve a deeper individual conversion and become more like the Savior.' Elder Neil L. Andersen said it this way:

'A person with a good heart can help someone fix a tire, take a roommate to the doctor, have lunch with someone who is sad, or smile and say hello to brighten a day. But a follower of the first commandment will naturally add to these important acts of service.'"

I called to make an appointment with Dr. Moffat for James but he is out of the office until Monday. He has an appointment on Monday at 10:45. James thinks he has bronchial pneumonia.

My face is swelling on my right side. My eyelid is the worse. It's like when I had cellulitis in my face when Ben was small, about 15 years ago. I guess I should have made an appointment with Dr. Moffat for myself. Cellulitis can be life-threatening, according to James. He looked it up on the internet and it said that if gangrene sets in tissues can die and the person could even lose their life. That sounds pretty drastic and I don't feel like my life is being threatened right now, just my face.

I texted Kim today to see if she and Brian were coming this weekend like she said they were last time they were here. Their plan was to go to a concert in Colorado and stop by here on the way home. She said they didn't have the money to go to the concert because they are helping Joe get his wisdom teeth out and that they have had a lot of medical expenses recently. She also said she tested off the charts for three different kinds of mold and she is getting treatments for that. I hope these treatments will help and that she will be able to feel good again. It's been a long time.

On the happy side of today I got a phone call from Lola. I wished her a happy birthday and told her that when she comes to see me that I am going to make her pink "baby" cupcakes. She was very excited!

I sent birthday cards to Max, Palmer, and Jared Ammon today. 

I got another two boxes of books ready to send out. 

There is smoke everywhere outside from the fire. Adam sent me a letter regarding the fire. James wanted to go outside to walk but there was too much smoke. What started out as a controlled burn has gotten out of control and it is pretty close to us.

James and I watched the movie, "Once Upon a Christmas Miracle."

It a true story about a girl who has liver disease and desperately needs a transplant and the guy who volunteers to give her his liver. It is a great story.

Head 85 percentile, body 15 percentile

Feet: Perfect

Alex took this photo at Big Sur

There is a black dog on the dark blanket

 Can you see the smoke?

Two more boxes

 Scarlett and her friend Callie Jo

Baby Christening

Thursday, July 4th, 2019

Regina, Saskatchewan

65th operating temple

Dedicated: 14 Nov 1999

By: Boyd K. Packer

Jesus Christ, Family of

Luke 8:19

Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.

Book of Mormon

Alma 27:1-15

New Testament "Ye Shall Be Witnesses Unto Me"

Acts 3:1-12; 4:1-12; 5:12-16

General Conference

Missionary Work: Sharing What Is in Your Heart

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Five Simple Suggestions for Missionary Work:

First, draw close to God.

Second, fill your heart with love for others.

Third, strive to walk the path of discipleship.

Fourth, share what is in your heart.

Fifth, trust the Lord to work His miracles."

James went to the Howard's and came back before I was even up this morning. I did not get much sleep last night. Too many thoughts spinning through my head and I took Tramadol too close to bedtime.

James and I are both so sick we can't even celebrate the holiday. We were going to go to the valley and be with Lola on her birthday and celebrate Independence Day Eastmark style but we just were both too miserable. Instead we stayed home and ate watermelon and that was about the extent of our celebration.

I really am grateful for all of those who have sacrificed to make our country free, many who gave their lives. I am grateful to live in the greatest country in the world, the United States of America.

Happy Independence Day!

 Can't think of a better way to celebrate
freedom and liberty than with this little one!

 Celebrating being 5!

Last year she was 4 on the 4th

Philadelphia temple

Celebrating family!

No rockets or bombs, just a fire.


I had to text Max and tell him we weren't coming down and
therefore he and Evan and Joshua wouldn't be able to come up. He was very sweet and said he hoped I felt better soon.

Wednesday, July 3rd, 2019

Halifax, Nova Scotia

64th operating temple

Dedicated: 14 Nov 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Family of

Mark 3:31

There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without sent unto him, calling him.

Book of Mormon

Alma 26:17-37

New Testament "Ye Shall Be Witnesses Unto Me"

Acts 2:37-47; 3:13-26

General Conference

Answers to Prayer

Brook P. Hales

"When our worthy desires are not granted in the way we had hoped, it may actually be for our ultimate benefit. For example, Joseph the son of Jacob was envied and hated by his brothers to the point that they plotted Joseph's murder. Instead, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. If ever a person might have felt that his prayers were not answered in the way he had hoped, it could have been Joseph. In reality, his apparent misfortune resulted in great blessings to him and saved his family from starvation."

Well James survived working at Howard's yesterday so he's back again today. Anthony isn't there to help because his vehicle has no brakes. Weston was supposed to help him but never showed up, so he's working alone, struggling with crooked posts and rails.

I finished getting my shipment ready this morning and worked on my blog and walked. These movies were playing in the background:

"A Rocky Mountain Christmas"

(filmed in Vancouver, Canada)

"All I Want for Christmas"

(One of my favorites, I love the kid in this movie!)

"A Joyous Christmas"

"Mistletoe Over Manhattan"

"Christmas Everlasting"

I didn't watch all of these in the morning, some spilled over into the afternoon.

James came home from the Howard's around 1 o'clock and told them he wouldn't be back until 4 because he was going to town with me.

Our first stop in town was at Taco Bell for lunch. It was so busy there were only two empty tables. The place was a mess. This town gets so overcrowded on holidays and most people don't know how to handle it. A girl came out and cleaned tables, sweeping more food onto the already dirty floor. Maybe I should get a job here.

James dropped me off at Walmart while he went to the UPS store and to Home Depot. Walmart was a disaster. They had to close for awhile on Sunday because of a power outage and it must not be fixed because most all of the frozen food and dairy cases were empty and the store was packed with people. I always wonder why people go grocery shopping with the entire family to tow.

I couldn't even get a quart of milk to go with my frosted mini wheats. I had to ask for help to get James's rice milk because there was only two and they were pushed back so far on the counter that I couldn't reach them. I wanted out of that place and so when James arrived I told him it was time to go!

On the way home he stopped at McDonald's to get me an ice cream cone. He really does love me!

We dropped off the book, Plato, we are returning to the seller because of a broken spine at the post office. We also picked up another load of books. This time only two boxes full instead of three.

Even Amazon thinks we deserve a refund.

James went back to the Howard's and I put the groceries away, including the two watermelons I picked out, and opened books. 

This evening we finished watching "Mystery 101: Playing Dead."

We both decided that Jill Wagner is one of our favorite actresses on Hallmark. She is pretty down to earth too. She lives on a farm in Tennessee and posted this picture on Instagram.

She said this little guy will live with his mom on the

farm all of his life.

Jill's farm

 On to the next thing!

 Yes, but how does her dad feel about country music?

I don't know how to post videos.

 It's supposed to be a "controlled" burn but there has

been so much smoke and it's close by.

 They change so much!