Tuesday, July 14th, 2020

Columbia River, Washington

107th operating temple

Dedicated: 18 Nov 2001

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Lamb of God

DC 76:39

For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the Father before the worlds were made.
Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"
Alma 32:27-43
April General Conference

"Hosanna and Hallelujah - The Living Jesus Christ: The Heart of Restoration and Easter"

Elder Gerrit W. Gong

"The sacred events between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are the story of hosanna and hallelujah Hosanna is our plea for God to save. Hallelujah expresses our praise to the Lord for the hope of salvation and exaltation. In hosanna and hallelujah we recognize the living Jesus Christ as the heart of Easter and latter-day restoration.

"Seek Learning by Faith"

Elder David A. Bednar

February 3, 2006

Sheri ran this morning and when she returned we went shopping in Taylor. First we went to Walmart. You would have thought I would have finished my shopping yesterday but I guess I can always find something to buy. Sheri got gas at Circle K and we were going to go in and get a drink but their soda machine was broken. Sheri got me $20 with her debit card and I sent her $20 through Venmo to pay her back. I needed the money for Summer's birthday card. 

Since there was no soda fountain at Circle K Sheri got a drink and a burrito at Sonic and a bag of ice. I didn't get anything. Sheri is on the intermittent fasting plan. She only eats between 10 am and 7 pm. 

When we got back to the cabin it was time for lunch, then a nap, and then ordering more books. As I was checking my IPI score on Amazon, my inventory performance index, I noticed it said that I had 25 books that were stranded. These were different than the books I just got out from being stranded. As I got to looking I realized all of the stranded books were ones that I sent yesterday and they had not even arrived at Amazon yet. Here is the message I got back when I emailed Seller Support: 

Based on my investigation, I have confirmed that your shipment is still being shipped to our warehouse. Rest assured that there is nothing wrong with your shipment and your IPI score will not be affected by this. I would also like to inform you that any shipment sent in our fulfillment centers will take 21 days from the delivered/checked in date to be fully received and processed into your account. In addition to this, receiving of shipments nowadays will take longer than usual since there are too many shipments being received prior to your shipment due to the peak season.

I humbly ask you to wait for the shipment status to be closed or to be fully received to avoid any confusions in our warehouse team and any inventory discrepancies. This helps ensure that the products in your shipment have had sufficient time to reach the appropriate fulfillment center, including your products that need to be reshipped to other locations in order to be closer to customers. 

This letter had two more complete paragraphs but I was already lost so I didn't include those paragraphs here. When I checked my status this morning, my books were still listed under stranded. I think they will eventually remove them. Amazon must be a zoo right now.

I ended up buying 11 books today. Only 39 more to go. Now that it is taking Amazon longer to process books, I need to order all of my books by the end of the week. It will take a couple of weeks for them to get here and by the time I send them off and wait 21 days textbook season will be in full gear. Stress.

I forgot to mention that I listened to Kris and Kathy this morning before Sheri and I went shopping. I am always reminded of things I need to be doing when I listen to them. 

Joe and Alex arrived this afternoon. They were not hungry but they were both tired and went upstairs to take naps while Sheri and I fixed dinner. The reason they weren't hungry is because they stopped at Panda Express before coming to Vernon. 

This afternoon Sheri and I made pies. She made a homemade blueberry with the best crust ever. I made an Eagle Brand pie with Coolwhip on top. This pie is for James and Ian. I used the pecan crust and it w

Sheri cooked the steaks outside on the grill and I made the mashed potatoes. She put some asparagus on a cookie sheet, sprinkled it with olive oil and put it in the oven at 450 degrees. All of a sudden I turned around and smoke was rising out of the back of the oven. I looked in at the asparagus and it seemed fine. I tried to open the kitchen window but it was stuck. I called James to come in and he managed to get the window open.  That smoky cloud was with us the rest of the evening. Sheri had bought strip steaks which are much cheaper than the steaks I usually get at Costco but they were delicious. The asparagus and potatoes were good too along with the rolls Sheri brought.

For "Come Follow Me" we watched a video of Alma giving his speech to the poorer Zoramites. We also read Alma 33. James asked Joshua to give the family prayer.

When James went out to ride Luna Ian, Sheri, the dogs and I went outside too. The dogs constantly bark at Luna. James was chasing after some cows so when he took off he was running Luna. Ollie was not on his leash and got loose and started running after him. We think he was going to save James from the "big spotted dog."

Sheri was yelling for him to stop but he was running full speed ahead and I doubt if he heard her. I was worried he was going to go out in the trees and get lost. James was long gone. Thank goodness Joshua and Evan were outside and Evan had shoes on. He could run faster than Sheri in her flip flops and was able to catch little Ollie who has such short legs. Sheri spent the evening pulling burrs out of Ollie's hair. 

Max, Alex, Joe, and James played a game of Hearts. Max came and asked James to play. While they were playing I was walking and listening to talks. I managed to get my 12,500 steps.

Joe and Alex went for a walk while we were eating. The other boys went upstairs and discovered a bat. It flew into my office and they shut the door. That's where Alex is sleeping and they said they would tell him. He was not upset at all and neither was Joe. Alex just said, "okay, I will catch him."

When James went out to ride Luna Ian, Sheri, the dogs and I went out also. The dogs just constantly bark at Luna. When James rode off to chase some cows he was going at a high run. Ollie was not on his leash and he took off running after James and Luna. She went running after him yelling for him to come back but he was in the "zone" and was not about to stop running. Sheri was slow because she had flip flops on and the ground is rocky and the grass high. Luckily Evan and Joshua were outside and they took off at a high run for Ollie. Thank goodness Evan had shoes on and was able to catch him. I asked Sheri if she spanked him and she said, "No, but I yelled at him." Poor Ollie.

This evening Max came in and asked if he wanted to play Hearts. James can't turn down a chance to play Hearts. Hearts is a came for four people, Alex and Joe being the other two. While they played I walked around the table in the entry listening to conference talks. I managed to get my 12,500 steps. It was a good day filled with family, fun and food.

 I wonder where mom and dad are going to sleep

 Hearts is serious business around here

 Tyra Banks is the new MC for Dancing 

with the Stars. I'm going to miss Tom and Erin.

Wednesday, May 20th, 2020

Preston, England

52nd operating temple

Dedicated: 7 June 1998

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, King

Matthew 25:34

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Mosiah 26:13-39 with James; Sunday journal; study guide, Meridian Magazine podcast with the Proctor's

Family Study Group

"Whatsoever He Saith Unto You Do It" by Whitney L. Clayton, April 2017

April General Conference

"That They May See"

Sister Bonnie L. Cordon

"By virtue of the Restoration of His gospel, we can be filled with the light of our Savior. However, that light is not meant for you and me alone. Jesus Christ has called upon us to "let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." I have come to love the phrase "that they may see." It is an earnest invitation from the Lord to be more intentional about helping others see the path and thereby come unto Christ."

"Lest Ye Be Wearied and Faint in Your Minds"

Neal A. Maxwell

April 1991

I am a child of God, blessed, and thankful.

I dropped James off at the Howard's around 8:00 this morning and then I went grocery shopping at the Walmart in Taylor. I know, I already went shopping yesterday. I am fixing mashed potatoes for the boys tonight. I knew I had a bag of potatoes in the pantry but when I checked them they were a little mushy. So here I am, on my way to Taylor on a beautiful spring morning. 

Shopping at the Walmart in Taylor is a much nicer experience than shopping at the one in Show Low. It is not too crowded and they aren't out of everything. 

I got my 5lb bag of yellow potatoes and a few other items. More than I had planned and I spent more money than I had planned. I got myself a t-shirt, some tan pants, and a pair of shoes. I got six frozen Healthy Choice meals and some garlic bread, a couple of notebooks, some shakes and various other items I don't recall right now. My trip would have been a complete success except I forgot to check and see if they had any Citrus Sunshine tea.

James worked at the Howard's for the use of his truck this morning. He needs to pick up bathroom fixtures and make a trip to the valley. The part for his truck is still not here. He told Tom he would work for him and fill his truck up if he could take it to the valley. Of course Tom, the nice guy that he is, said yes. 

Shopping in the morning is the best time to shop around here but it kind of messes up the rest of my day. I did not work on my books today. Today is my friend Pam's birthday. I met her at the church parking lot at 2:00 this afternoon. Pam is a very careful about always wearing a mask in public so I put on the pink mask Catherine made me. We talked in the parking lot for awhile and I gave her a card and her gift, the book "Grace Where You Are" by Emily Freeman. I hope she likes it. 

I struggled to get 10,000 steps today. My feet were hurting. The boys just hung out here at home today and rode Luna this evening when James got home. The boys went fishing at Sheep's Crossing but didn't catch anything. They said it was beautiful there and they did not see anyone else. That's the advantage of going out in the middle of the week. Alex loves to play games. They played Five Crown's, Scattergories, Banana Grams, Chess, Settlers of Caitan, and they wanted to play Hearts with grandpa but I think that will have to be tomorrow night because Grandpa is tired and he is getting up early tomorrow to go to the valley. While they were outside riding the horse Alex made the comment, "let's see if we can find a rattlesnake". He picked up a board up by the hill and, lo and behold,  there was a rattlesnake within 4 inches of his hand. The snake crawled in to a hole. Alex says they are going back tomorrow to either re-locate it or get rid of it in other ways. I told him to please be careful. I want the snake gone but not at his expense. Lola and Ruby will be here this weekend and I don't want that snake around when they are here.

Luna got new shoes today. Our friend Wayne Todd came out and did the job.

I had all of my part of the dinner ready by 6:30 like James said. He didn't come in to prepare the steaks until 6:30. It didn't take long for them to cook because the boys all wanted their's medium rare. James and I both wanted medium. For ribeye steaks they weren't as tender as I had wanted but the boys thought they were great. There was one steak left and Max asked if he could have it. I told him he could. He likes to eat his steak like a sandwich in a roll. I made Rhodes rolls today. We had steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus, Bush beans, and rolls. Afterwards Alex made brownies for dessert. 

I did my gospel study this evening but didn't quite finish. James wanted to go to bed before 10. It was 9:45 when my head hit the pillow.

Lark Rise to Candleford

 Do you think James would wear one of these?

Backsplash re-do

James and Luna on the trail of some antelope

 Who could resist that request