Friday, June 27, 2014

While you cannot change the past,

you can change the future.

Today is the 170th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum.  It just so happens that the conference talk I was scheduled to read today was Elder Corbridge's entitled: "The Prophet Joseph Smith."

 A plane dropping slurry on the fire.

I watched the slurry come down but couldn't get a good picture.

 

The skies are still dark and ominous

There was an elk cow and calf in our yard this morning.  I wonder how many animals have been displaced because of this fire. 

James went to town this morning.  He had to tear himself away from the book Jared gave him for father's day about the Book of Mormon and Abraham Lincoln.  He went to get the oil changed in the car and to get us some lunch.  I was so frustrated because Walmart did not rotate my tires.  Next time I need an oil change I'm going to Center Tire.  James brought me back one of my favorite lunches from LaCasita: a chicken enchilada with green sauce and a side of refried beans.  Yummy!  

James took this picture on his way back from town.

The road to Vernon is closed and there are firetrucks

and other vehicles and activity in town.

I listened to a video clip by Sheri Dew this morning entitled: "What do women in the Church get?"  I wish every woman could listen to this clip.  Sheri Dew is a great ambassador for the Church.

Stacy called me with some distressing news.  Adam cashed his paycheck and then lost his wallet.  A police officer returned the wallet but of course all of the money was gone.  Adam is our oldest grandson and he has been working with James in Chandler.

We were scheduled to have a ward party tomorrow morning at the park but it has been cancelled.  The grade school and the park are filled with firefighters their equipment and tents.  

Sean Hunsaker was on the news this evening.  What a wonderful person to represent the people of Vernon.  It is so sad that our beautiful mountains of Vernon are on fire.  I feel like Sean, I am staying here and not moving anywhere.  

James and I started another Julianne Donaldson book since we finished her last book Edenbrooke.  This one is called Blackmoore.

  

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart

and lean not to thine own

understanding.

-Proverbs 3:5

First smoke from the San Juan fire.

I first heard about this fire from a Facebook post by Lynda Tanner.  

She said a fire had been reported south of Vernon.  When I went outside this is what I saw.  James got a call from our elder's quorum president Wes Miller asking us if we needed help moving things out of our house.  James said we weren't going anywhere, at least not yet.  He and Chuck Crane went out on the Razr to explore the fire.

Too close for comfort.

I took a shower and got cleaned up just in case I had to leave.  I also did some light housework.  If I did have to leave I didn't want to leave behind a messy house.  Funny how my mind works.

The scary thing is that everything is so dry that this fire is going to spread quickly and everything in it's path will go up in smoke.

The Red Cabin Ranch and Whiting Homestead have been evacuated.  There were 300 boy scouts from Gilbert on an encampment near Greens Peak who were evacuated.  My endodontist, Dr. Cullimore was planning on coming up on Friday to join them as his two boys were already there.  These boys and their leaders had 30 minutes to evacuate and left behind thousands of dollars worth of supplies and food.  

According to the reports we are in no imminent danger so we decide to finish our book Edenbrooke to take our minds off the fire.

I got this text from my grandson Alex: "You should pack all of your journals and take pictures of all your belongings just in case.  It would be terrible to lose those journals because they can't be replaced."  What a sweet sentiment.  Someone who actually cares about my journals and their value.

On a lighter note, here is a picture of our Beehive advisor Randa Covert who went fishing today with her brother.

 

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

"Bearing a load is a necessary and essential part of the plan of happiness.  Because our individual load needs to generate spiritual traction, we should be careful to not haul around in our lives so many nice but unnecessary things that we are distracted and diverted from the things that truly matter most."

-David A. Bednar

James came home to take care of me and now he is sick.  I called and made him an appointment with Dr. Moffat.  

He has an extremely high white blood cell count.  He has a bladder infection and flu like symptoms.  It's a good thing I'm feeling good even without pain medication.  It's not fun when we are both sick at the same time.  

I spent the day putting ice packs on my face, working on my blog, reading and studying and watching BYU devotionals.  I also read to James from Edenbrooke.  

I missed a service project at Mutual tonight.  The youth helped clean Sister Marilyn Tice's yard.  Brother DeWitt told me that the young women were awesome workers and worked harder than the young men.  He attributed it to their leaders but I said we couldn't take the credit and that they had been taught well by their parents.

James's prescription wasn't ready after his doctor's appointment so we went back in to town this evening to pick it up.  As we were leaving there were two deer in our yard.  James was afraid for the little trees that he planted so he chased them away.  

After picking up the antibiotics at CVS we stopped at Sonic for something to eat.  I got a New York dog which has sauerkraut, grilled onions and spicy mustard on it and boy was it delicious!  Maybe I was just extra hungry but it really hit the spot.  

Back at home we watched Rizzoli & Isles.  They said goodbye to officer Barry Frost who was killed in a car accident on the show.  In real life the actor committed suicide.  The grief and sadness portrayed by the actors was real as they mourned the loss of their friend.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Montanaeing tortured in the

"Draw near unto me," the Savior said, "and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you"

-D&C 88:63

I was up at 3am and left for the valley a little after 4.  I saw two cow elk and their calves just past Hunsaker's.  I also saw three more elk later on, a deer and a badger.  I was pretty awake until I got to Payson and then I started getting drowsy so I had to stop for a drink.  It did the trick. 

 I got to Dr. Cullimore's a little before 8.  Adam drove James there and dropped him off and took a check to pay a subcontractor on the Hatch job.  James sat in the waiting room for two hours while I was being tortured in the next room.  After I was finished I went to the house to take a nap while he finished up some work.  He insists that he's driving me home.  He is leaving Adam and Christopher here to work on the tile in the bathroom.  

I am supposed to eat soft foods so I got a shake at Sonic and then took my pain meds.  The combination was not good.  I got sick and threw up on the way out of town.  When we got to Show Low I had a Sprite and some mashed potatoes and gravy at KFC in Show Low.

James wrote this in my notebook: James brought me home today from my surgery because he is so in love with me!

 I do appreciate and love him so very much.

 

Monday, June 23, 2014

Lavender field in England

 "We apply the Atonement when we receive the Holy Ghost, feel it's sanctifying power, and become more like our Savior."

-Brad Wilcox from 'The Continuous Atonement', p.99

James left for the valley this morning.  He has Adam working for him now and he's trying to keep him busy and train him since Adam has no construction experience.

I call Dr. Cullimore and get my prescriptions for after my surgery called in to Walmart today so I can pick them up and take them with me tomorrow.  That way I don't have to stop and get them after my surgery when I probably won't be feeling or looking to great.

Alberta, Canada

I made a trip to town to pick up prescriptions, do a little shopping, get gas and pick up something to eat at Arby's.  I got a chicken pecan wrap which was pretty tasty but I made the mistake of ordering onion rings along with it.  Not the wisest health choice plus they were pretty taste less and made a hu

ge mess in my car.  

I got a new blouse from Walmart.  I really like it but it's just a tad too small which has motivated me to want to lose some weight.  

I came home and worked on my blog and watched The Next Foodnetwork Star and then went to bed around 8pm since I will be getting up at 3.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

"The Lord designated the purposes of marriage to go far beyond the personal satisfaction and fulfillment of adults to, more importantly, advancing the ideal setting for children to be born, reared, and nurtured.  Families are the treasure of heaven."

-Elder Russell M. Nelson as quoted by

Elder Neil L. Andersen in GC April 2014.

Somewhere in England

James left at 5:15 for stake council and then on to speak in the Linden ward.  Blain Curtis is gong to meet him there as his speaking companion.  

Ty Applegate was the youth speaker in our ward.  He spoke on work and self-reliance, a good topic for an Applegate since they are such hard workers.  Rob Langford and Adair Jim from the high council were our main speakers.  Brother Jim is a police officer on the Navajo reservation.  They both spoke on the sentence in the Family Proclamation which starts out: "Successful marriages and families...."  President Crandell was on the stand and spoke at the end of the meeting.  One thing he said was:  "When you have problems in a temple marriage, you work them out."

I sat by Patsy Tedder and we had a nice visit.  I went to high school with her brother Pete Whipple and she used to babysit my cousin Rita and her brothers.

Our Sunday School lesson was taught by Wendy DeWitt.  The lesson was about Samuel and Saul.  I sat by Sandra Wilhelm.

Denice Hall taught the young women about sustaining and supporting priesthood leaders.  I think it was appropriate that President Crandell and Brother Wilhelm came in.  Their comments really added to the lesson.

 A partial picture of the Phoenix temple.

 Rosie Lauritzen and I visit taught Lannie Gillespie after the block.  Lannie is assistant superintendent of Navajo schools and she says she is busier in the summer than during the school year because she is involved in alot of training.  

When I got home James was already there and had fixed me lunch.  We took a nap and then got up to prepare to feed the missionaries, Elder Russell and Elder Stott. When I asked him how his talk went he said he struggled with his voice but it went okay.

So grateful for our missionaries!   Elder Russell is from Tucson and Elder Stott is from Blackfoot, Idaho.  Elder Russell loves books so he went crazy when he saw all of mine.  He has been here six months and will be transferred to Scottsdale on Tuesday where he is going to be a district leader.  For dinner we had grilled chicken, rice, corn, and salad.  And for dessert brownies, and ice cream with chocolate sauce.  The elders took home some extra brownies.  I am always grateful to have the missionaries in my home because they bring such a wonderful spirit.  They gave us a list of all the people they are teaching so that we could pray for them.

 

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Elder Robert E. Wells wrote about the temple,

"There is no place on earth where we gain a clearer

and more complete understanding of the Savior,

our dependence on Him, and His involvement in our lives.

Indeed, our feelings about the temple are the truest

indicators of our deepest feelings about Christ."

Alice Wilhelm, LeeAnn Hunsaker,

Jordyn Applegate, and Kelly Reynolds.

Also attending but not pictured, 

Kilee Hunsaker and Shelly Applegate.

These girls were up and at the church this morning at 5:30am to attend the temple.  I am so proud of them, especially after the tiring week we had at camp.  They are valiant young women!

Here is a list of all of the people who attended the temple from our ward.  The entire Applegate family: Jimmy, Tamara, Jordyn, Shelly, Jace, and Ty.  This was Ty's first time at the temple so it was a special occasion for them.  Jimmy performed the baptisms and Tamara helped hand out towels.  Brother DeWitt's grandson was the only other young man who attended.  Brother DeWitt, Jimmy Applegate, Jim Diewald, Ricke Lauritzen, Blain Curtis, and Elders Russell and Scott and Sean Hunsaker rounded out our priesthood leadership.  John Wilhelm came but left because we had so many.  Diana Curtis, Tamara Applegate, Stefani Hunsaker and myself represented the young women leadership and our young women: Jordyn and Shelly Applegate, LeeAnn and Kilee Hunsaker, Alice Wilhelm and Kelly Reynolds.  The Eagar 2nd ward was there with us.

After the temple we all went to El Cupido's to eat.  There food is so good and our temple trip wouldn't be complete without stopping here.  On the way home there was a bike race.  Kelly, Alice, and LeeAnn counted 153 bikers.  LeeAnn whistled at a few of them.  She has one of the loudest wolf whistles I have ever heard.  

When I got home I took a nap and then typed James's talk.  He is speaking in the Linden ward tomorrow with Blain Curtis.  I also read to James from Edenbrooke and fixed him a meatloaf for dinner.  We did not watch any TV tonight as we were both studying the gospel in preparation for tomorrow.  

California Fun

Evan and his cousin Matea.

 No Mickey ears for this guy.

It's a coon skin cap all the way.

Nothing like playing in the cool damp sand.