Saturday, October 27, 2012

"Sanctification is a reward for Personal Righteousness."

Today I paid bills, make chili and cornbread and some more pumpkin bread.  This evening was our ward Halloween party and chili, cornbread cookoff.  Since the Young Women are in charge James and I went early, around 5pm to setup, and stayed afterwards to cleanup.
There were lots of different kinds of chili and cornbread.  Teresa Smith won for her chili and her cornbread.

Teresa was kind enough to share her recipes with us.

It was a fun evening and the bishop said it was one of the best ward activities he has ever attended.  The girls divided up the ward list and called everyone so there was a really good turnout.

Mary Swift, our Laurel class president.

Adalyn Soderquist dressed as a watermelon fairy.

Jonah Soderquist, was a Ninja Warrior.

Kaeli Nicoll, alias CatWoman.
Kaeli is the other counselor in the Young Women's.

Shelly Applegate as a lovely Princess

and Jordyn Applegate as Stranger Danger.

Jace Applegate as an ancient Swordsmen.

Colter Hunsaker as the cutest puppy ever.

Trenda Wilhelm ready for the stake dance

later in the evening.

LeeAnn Hunsaker and some cute kiddos.

 Hailey Lootans as a Bumble Bee 

and Kilee Hunsaker as a volleyball player.

Tamara Applegate as Cleopatra.

The cupcake walk was a very popular activity.

LeeAnn Hunsaker helping to cleanup afterwards.

James was also on the cleanup crew.

It was a fun evening and in spite of the smoke from the fire we had a great turn out!  Afterwards Trenda took Shelly Applegate to her first stake dance.  Shelly had a great time!

Friday, October 26, 2012

James and I made a trip to town today and we ate at LaCasita.  James keeps trying new dishes but I always order the same thing: a green chili burro enchilada style with green sauce.  Why tempt fate?  I know I love this dish so why should I try anything else?  James admitted today that the green chili burro was really the best item on the menu!  While we are traveling back and forth to town I read to James.  It keeps him awake and happy.
The prescribed burn is getting worse.  Natalie Soderquist said she couldn't send her kids to school because they already have breathing problems with their asthma.  An elderly couple from the ward thought it was so bad they went in to town and got a motel room.  We toughed it out but it wasn't pleasant.

That line below the horizon is smoke.

A dull haze has settled in.

I made pumpkin bread again today because I had a visiting teaching appointment with Rosie Lauritzen.  I called ahead and she had forgotten about the appointment and wasn't home.  When she got home she said she was exhausted.  She is a fourth grade teacher and she had done a mystery theater with her kids this week which required alot of extra time and effort.  We made an appointment to meet on Sunday after the block.

Darrel took Rowan out camping on the desert.  From the looks of Rowan's face he had a great time.

I love this boy!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

I made pumpkin bread this morning, and took a loaf to Linda Diewald when I went visiting teaching.
I also made some cream cheese frosting to go with it.  Yummy!  Linda is from Tempe and Bishop McCook was her bishop from 1966 to 1969.  We were in that ward after we got married in 1968 so we were obviously in the same ward.  It's a small world!

The forest service started a prescribed burn today.  I didn't notice it until this evening.  I asked James if he was burning anything and he said no, it was the forest service.  It came right into our house and made it difficult to go to sleep.

President Heyman finally posted about Diane's stroke on their blog.  It was very touching.  I would like to share some of what he said:
"Diane is amazing...and blessed.  Her memory, speech, emotions and appearance were not affected.  She is working through coordination, sensation and strength issues on her right side and some dizziness and periodic double vision.  The doctors and therapists say with rehabilitation and time she should make a full recovery.  The body is an incredible and intricate thing.  I am observing that the mind and spirit are even more impressive.
Diane has not uttered a single negative word or complaint throughout this whole experience.  Her attitude is, 'This is what it is, what do I need to do to get better?'  All of her caretakers and visitors have mentioned how positive and inspirational she is.  I always new she was both, I could never have guessed the depth of those qualities, especially in the face of adversity.
Diane is God's unique blend of beauty and toughness, spirituality and strength, determination and humility, and pragmatism with faith.  You can not think of Diane without recognizing her gift for obedience, a trait that almost seems to be on the brink of extinction these days.
Among the many lessons being learned is that while God may not prevent challenges and trials, He never requires us to endure them alone.  Diane can speak of the angels unseen, but we both have been humbled by the earthly angels who have come to our aide with loving and selfless service.  I could spend hours listing their names...those who pray, fast, write, visit, encourage, watch over our loved ones at home and take cre of Diane.
Our plan is for Diane to rehab in Buenos Aires to the point where she can return to Resistencia and continue to fulfill our assignment.  If you think for a moment of all that entails, you can begin to catch a glimpse of the greatness that is Diane Heyman.
I have always known that my greatest accomplishment in life would be marrying Diane Curtis in the Mesa Arizona Temple.  This past month I have come to a deeper understanding of why."  Ray Heyman.

I was privileged to be a counselor to Diane when she served as the Young Women's President in a previous ward that we were in together.  She is a rare combination of talent, determination, faithfulness and obedience.  It was a privilege for me to learn from her. 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Last night Jared invited us to family scriptures at 6:30 am.  I made it.  I am not sure where James was.

Molly is excused from scripture study.

James leaves for school at 7.

Jared made steak, eggs, and hashbrowns for breakfast.  Emmy and Anna packed their lunches.

Today was sports day at Anna and Emmy's school.

Molly loves to have her picture taken.

After the girls left for school Molly got ready for Joy School.  She wanted to make sure I saw her Tinkerbell backpack.

Love the Hello Kitty shirt.

Molly's favorite blanket is one that Trina gave to her when she was a baby.  She calls it her "suck fingers" blanket.  She chooses a corner and holds it while she sucks on two fingers.

Yes, that's James in the background doing the dishes.

Watching The Lorax.

We left for Demming this morning and while James had a meeting with his Dad in his Dad's truck I waited in our car for over two hours.  Things are squared away for Alisha and Cindy and we feel better about the situation.  We stopped in Silver Springs for lunch and Springerville for groceries.  I had Mutual this evening.  We made final plans for the ward chili cookoff and Halloween party.  

James made the final touchdown in his game tonite.  Tricia posted a video on facebook.;  We should have stayed for the game!!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Happy Birthday to James's brother Dave.  Dave is the best neighbor a person could have.  We certainly do appreciate all the things he  has done for us over the years, and still continues to do!

We left this morning to see James's Dad in Demming.  He wants James to help him put his legal affairs in order.  We met him at the Denny's where James and I had lunch.  He wasn't his usual friendly self and I could tell he was preoccupied.  I guess as he drove here Alisha was trying to follow him and he was trying to ditch her.  She finally caught up with him and joined us at our table.  Things seemed a little tense and while George and James were talking Alisha handed me a letter under the table with James's name on it.  She said that when we got to Texas to have Jared read it to him.  George cut the meeting short and after Alisha left he said she was upset because she thought he was going to give all of his assets to his kids and she would be left in the cold.  This is not true, but because of the language barrier there is alot of confusion on her part.  Plus we all know how George can be.  She has spent 29 years with him and she feels she deserves something for that.

When we left Demming we headed for El Paso which is only about another hour and a half away.  We arrived around 2pm.  The kids weren't home from school yet but Molly heard us drive up and was lookng out the window waving at us.  Molly warmed up in no time and soon I was following her around the house doing her bidding.  No problem.  I love this little girl and enjoy so much the time I can spend with her.

Molly loves her new pom poms.

Doing a cheer for me.

We spent some time in her room which she

share with Emmy.

Emmy put this sign on the door.  It says: 

Molly and Emmy's room only.  

Stay our of bad things will happen.

Yikes!  I hope Emmy doesn't find out I was in her room!

Emmy had to do a cheer for me too.

Everything Molly knows she learned

from her sisters, Emmy and Anna.

Shortly after getting home from school

James was off to football practice.

It was crazy sock day at Anna's school.

Emmy broke her pogo stick record.

She jumped over 400 times without stopping.

Practicing their "tricks" on the trampoline.

Father and son chat.

Jared's new smoker he got at Sam's Club.

Tricia had the house all decorated for Halloween.

James bought a Z-pad with his birthday money.

Anna doing her homework.

Jared & Tricia performing 

"Popcorn Popping" for the

kids at bedtime.

Of course Molly had to do it too.

Tricia fixed delicious Hawaiian haystacks for dinner.  For dessert we had candy and some pumpkin bread that I brought.  We watched part of the Lorax and then Princess Bride before going to bed.  Anna loves Princess Bride as do Emmy and James.  I think Molly prefers The Lorax.  She loves singing the songs from The Lorax.  It was a fun day!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Happy Monday!  When you reach Monday again you know you have made it through another week!
I studied this morning and then after our scriptures and family prayer together James and I sat down with our early ballots and voted.  I had received an email from my friend Lina Hatch outlining how she voted and why.  It was very helpful with the propositions.  Later we went in to town and mailed our ballots and picked up my thyroid and hormone pills at the post office.  The package had been opened which looked a little suspicious.  Hope it doesn't happen again.  Foothills Pharmacy is so nice to mail these prescriptions to me free of charge.
I spent over an hour typing a power of attorney letter for James regarding his Dad's estate.  We are going to visit him tomorrow and he wants James to be in charge of his affairs. 
I also made pumpkin bread as a trial run.  I am going visiting teaching this week and I want to take some to my sisters.  I am a little out of practice because it's been a year since I made it.  It turned out great.  I am going to take a loaf to Jared and Tricia tomorrow.

 It tastes better than it looks.  For some reason it always sinks in the middle.

Maybe I am filling the pan too full.

James grilled chicken today.  He grilled enough to last us several days.  It is so delicious, one of my favorite meals.
This evening James watched the debate between Obama and Romney on Foreign Affairs.  I tried to watch but I got disgusted with Obama so I left. 

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Today in Young Women's I gave a lesson on "Avoiding Degrading Media."  Here are some of my visual aids and handouts:

It's a movie "goodie" box with handouts

for the lesson.

Warning label that some media can be

hazardous to your spiritual health.

This quote is by President Ezra Taft Benson.

It's been a busy weekend for the young women here in Vernon. Yesterday they did baptisms for the dead at the Snowflake Temple.  This evening they had Stake Young Women's in Excellence at the Show Low Stake Center.  Keep in mind that the temple is a 90 mile round trip and Show Low is a 50 mile roundtrip.  

Although the program started at 7 we had to be there at 6 for a song practice.  Sister Nicoll took the Applegate girls and I took Trenda Wilhelm, Mary Swift, and Kilee and LeeAnn Hunsaker.  Sister Soderquist is out of town at her sisters wedding.  This is the song we sang:

This is the song we sang.  It was introduced

at the General Young Women's meeting this year.

The featured speakers this evening were the President and Matron of the Snowflake Temple, Brother and Sister Baldwin who just happen to be the parents of our stake young women's president Sister Jones.  

President Baldwin thanks the young women for coming to the temple to do baptisms and then encouraged them to search for their own family names.  The last speaker was President Williams, the Show Low Stake President.  He wrote a letter to his 17 month old and 9 year old daughters and read it to the young women.

It was an enjoyable evening although I was disappointed that none of our girls participated in the Personal Progress aspect of the meeting.  There were displays set up in the cultural hall of value projects various girls had worked on.  We left around 8:30 for home since most of the girls get up at 5:30 for school.  

Program for Stake Young Women in Excellence.

I was gone this evening from 5:30 until 9.  When I left James was writing a letter to his children and their spouses.  When I returned he was just finishing it up and he said he had worked on it the entire time.  The letter is to express appreciation and to encourage them to keep the commandments, in particular, to keep the Sabbath day holy.  I do appreciate James so much!