Thursday, January 8, 2015



 

"But verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hath the spirit

of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another."

-Elder Dallin H. Oaks

 

 

James went to St. John's with Chuck Crane to get Cary Dobson to sign papers so we can get a tax credit for him grazing cattle on our land.  Cary has 260,000 acres and his ranch is worth 20 million dollars, but he's not selling. 

 

This afternoon we made a trip to town to take my tire to get it fixed at Discount Tire.  They said it was unfixable and they had to put on a new tire.  It's a good thing we had insurance.  It ended up costing us $30.00.  We also went to Chase and National Bank, the Book Barn, and had lunch at LaCasita.  We had to take care of business because we are leaving for the valley tomorrow morning.

 

 

Tonight we watched the second part of Christmas in Canaan and liked it almost as well as the first one.

 

 

Facebook find:

 



Wednesday, January 7, 2015

 

"The gospel of Jesus Christ opens the path to what we may become.  Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His grace, our failures to live the celestial law perfectly and consistently in mortality can be erased and we are enabled to develop a Christlike character."

-Elder D. Todd Christofferson

 

 

Am I ever going to sleep in my bed again?  I love the recliner in our bedroom almost as much as I love the one in the family room!

 

I got a good morning text from James at 5:19.  He is having more troubles and woes with the city of Chandler over the Hatch Hanger job at the Chandler airport.

I started my morning with what I call my lemon toddy which consists of: one squeezed lemon, one table spoon honey and one tablespoon vineager in a cup of hot/warm water.  This is supposed to be a good cleanser to use in the morning.  I am determined to drink more water.  Also, James and I are on a no junk food challenge for the next 3 weeks.  Today I had 8 glasses of water and one soda.  I told him I couldn't cut out junk food and sodas all at once.

 

Today was Niles Dutson's funeral.  I am sorry we missed it.

 

I worked hard today.  I swept, cleaned and polished the wood floors until I ran out of polish.  I changed the sheets on our bed and vacuumed and dusted our room.  I also paid bills and blogged.  James was home around 5:30.  He brought me an Asian salad and cup of chili from Wendy's.  We watched Downton Abbey and The Mentalist. 

 

The high today was around 50,  sunny and no wind.    It was 75 in the valley.

Gas in Show Low is $2.39 and in Chandler it's $1.87.  Come on Show Low!

 

Facebook finds:

 

Not sure what this is but I liked it.

 

 

It's always good to end with something spiritual. 

 

 

 



Tuesday, January 6, 2015

 

"A good life

is when you

assume nothing,

do more, need less,

smile often, dream big,

laugh a lot, and realize

how bless you are."

 

I took some Naprosyn this morning and I feel better.  I have been living on aspirin and Naprosyn. 

 

This year's gospel study goes something like this: Read the Book of Mormon every 3 months and bofm365 questions, the New Testament and the newtestament365 questions, Jesus the Christ and the Jesus the Christ study guide, general conference talks, and the church magazines, Sunday School lessons and Relief Society lessons.  I love studying the gospel and could spend all of my time doing it!

 

 

James called and said he got his ears cleaned out at the doctor's today and now he can hear.  He went to see an ENT specialist. 

 

I talked to Stacy about the house today and told them they could stay but we needed to keep it clean and have it ready to show at all times.   

 

Sheri sent me Rowan and Evan's soccer schedule.  I am excited that I will be down there and will be able to go to the games.  Trina is the coach so it should be fun.  I wish Joshua was playing too.

 

I felt better today.  I wonder if it's because I took six methotrexate tablets yesterday.  I had some of Sheri's homemade salsa today.  It sure is yummy! 

 

I got a call from Vickie and we talked for awhile.  I am also still watching Christmas movies.  I placed an order with Penney's today.  I ordered pants, a skirt, and a white jacket.

 

Facebook finds and random stuff:

 

 

Selfie at soccer practice

 

 



These pictures of Meryl Streep

were taken several decades apart in

the same dress.  All I can say is:

"well preserved."

 





Monday, January 5, 2015

 

"Courage is not just one of the cardinal virtues, but as C.S. Lewis observed: 'Courage is...the form of every virtue at the testing point...Pilate was merciful till it became risky.  King Herod was sorrowful at the request to behead John the Baptist but wanted to please them which sat with him at meat.'" (Matt. 14:9)

-Elder Lynn G. Robbins

 

James built me a fire before leaving for the valley.  He is one of my heroes.

I did my gospel study, some cleaning, and bill paying and two blog posts, December 13th and 14th.  The blog posts took almost two hours because of the pictures I downloaded.  I called the infusion center at the arthritis center to see if I could keep my 1:30 appointment today.  I left a message saying I needed to know by 9:30 because I would be coming almost 200 miles to get there.  No one ever called me back.  Another day of pain.

 

After taking a shower and getting ready to go somewhere I decided to go into the post office in Vernon to return the duplicate Madden game I got Max for Christmas.  I left the house at 11:38 in a bit of a hurry because the post office closes at noon for an hour.  When I got to the intersection of the Vernon road I pressed on my brakes and began sliding.  I know to let up on the brake but somehow the message did not get from my brain to my foot and I just kept pushing on my brake.  I began sliding on the ice still on the road and continued sliding until I hit the embankment on the opposite side of the Vernon Rd.  It's a good thing no one was coming or there would have been a collision.  I revved up my engine and got out of the ditch and considered myself lucky as I headed towards town.  I soon noticed that my car was making a terrible noise.  I stopped at the church and saw that I had a flat tire on the front driver's side.  I immediately called James. 

James was eating lunch at Jersey Mike's but he said he would call Chuck Crane for me. Chuck was at the church within 15 minutes.

 

Chuck Crane is another one of my heroes.  He proceeds to get the spare out from under my car and changes my tire even though he has a bad back and a bad knee.

 

Not necessarily Chuck's best side but nonetheless the position of a real hero at work.  I am so grateful for good friends and neighbors!

 

Today was a gorgeous sun shiny day with the high around 46 degrees.  I had planned on going to Show Low to get a salad after going to the post office but went straight home and had a hot dog with pork & beans instead.  I watched a couple of Hallmark movies, did some more cleaning and paying bills, and took a call from the arthritis center.  I have an infusion appointment and an appointment with Tiffany on Friday starting at 8:30. 

I am in so much pain that I take six methotrexates instead of four.

 

James exchanged James Hayden's boot that we got him for Christmas for size 10 1/2's.  I think he needed a reason to go to Bass Pro Shop to spend his Christmas gift cards.

 

 

 

 





Sunday, January 4, 2015

 

The Book of Mormon teaches,

"For it is expedient that an atonement should be made..., or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement...an infinite and eternal sacrifice."

- Alma 34:9-10

 

I gave James a haircut before church this morning.  We are also fasting and praying for Laura. 

We had to leave a little early for sacrament meeting to meet with Brother John Wilhelm.  He released me from my calling as 1st counselor in the Young Women's presidency.  Stefani Hunsaker will be the new counselor and Kathy Crane is the new Laurel advisor.

 

Our fast and testimony meeting was wonderful, and Kim and Brian were so impressed, especially with the youth who bore their testimonies.  Jackson Allen, Tyler Hunsaker, Shelly Applegate, and Trenda Wilhelm were included in that group.  James also bore his testimony and told everyone this would be our last Sunday here for about six months.  I was impressd with Chuck Crane's simple and beautiful testimony of the restored gospel.

 

I said goodbye to some of my young women before leaving church, but didn't attend Young Women's because I didn't want to be a distraction.

 

After church Kim and Brian shared their lunch with us, chili and hotdogs and then they began getting ready to go home.  Kim did a good clean of the hall bathroom which was pretty messy after a house full of boys using it all week.

 

We said our goodbyes and took some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was inside keeping warm while James took the pictures.  I would have insisted that he take one of the whole group together. 

 

 

After everyone was gone we took a nap and then got up to clean.  James took the Christmas tree down and went to home teach the Hunsaker's and the Wilhelm's.  He took birthday gifts to Tyler, Holly, and Talon.  When he returned I was in a serious conversation with Kathy Crane.  She brought me over some homemade bread and chicken soup because I have been sick.  She told me about her daughter who is suffering from depression because of her ex-husband and some of the things he has done and she tried to commit suicide over the Christmas holiday. 

 

This evening James and I studied our scriptures together.  We read 5 1/2 pages from the Book of Mormon and also read from the New Testament.







Saturday, January 3, 2015

 

The Tree of Life

 

Happy Birthday Cathi!

 

Sheri cooked bacon this morning.  It disappeared very quickly. 

Michael, Joe, Alex, and Ian are in a phase that I call Yahtzee Mania.  Michael was so excited about one of his scores that he posted it on the refrigerator: 479 points and more than one Yahtzee!

 

 

Sheri, Ben and I played Five Crowns, and I am not one to brag, but I won again!

 

 

While we were playing games James was building and stoking the fire.  He smells like smoke so my new name for him is "LumberJim."

 

 

Sheri got ready to go home and was in such a hurry she didn't even say goodbye and I didn't get any pictures.  Ian was the last one to get in the car and he said goodbye, but no one else did. 

 

 

After the Trezise's left Kim, Brian and I played a game of Five Crowns.  Brian was heard to say this while we were playing:

"To get the booty you want,

you have to get off the one you have."

 

Also, while we were playing Five Crowns Michael and Joe were playing Rockband.  Michael couldn't find the drumsticks so he used a couple of large plastic spoons he found in the kitchen.

 



 

 

Kim watched "Christmas in Canaan" with me and she like it just as much as I did.  I think it's a classic.  Who knew that Billy Ray Cyrus could act.  I also watched a new Hallmark move: "Surprised by Love."

 

James and I made a trip to town to get something to eat while the Horak's and Michael were getting ready for their dinner.  We went to Panda Express.  I got orange and teriyaki chicken with fried rice.

 

Darrel took Addy and Rowan snowboarding at Sunrise today.  He said there was lots of falling and some tears but at the end of the day they both said they had fun.

 



 

 Addy trying to stay on her feet

 

 



 Rowan looks like he's in control!

 

 





Friday, January 2, 2015

We are all so grateful for the snow!

Sheri, Joe, Alex, Michael and I made a trip to town for drugs and drinks.  Alex needed some drugs for his cold.  Sheri didn't want to drive, so I drove.  We went to Safeway and then to Circle K for Polar Pops and hot chocolate.  It was cold today.  

As I was coming back into Vernon from the highway, I slid around the corner a little.  Luckily I did not go off the road.  

Again today there were sled rides, Magic games, Five Crowns, and Rockband.  Evan also played on his Nintendo DS and Evan, Max, and Ian had a Nerf gun fight until Max bumped and hurt his head.  

 I think this was a game of Hearts.

Alex loves playing Hearts.

An intense Rockband session

More Rockband

It was a wonderful afternoon full of snow flurries!  We absolutely loved watching it snow!  James and I watched "Christmas in Canaan"  and I think it was my all time favorite Christmas movie that I watched this year.  I wish I would have invited Sheri and Kim in to watch it, but they were busy with their families.

James gave both Ben and Max a haircut today.  We had pork chops for dinner.  Alex cooked some and so did James.  They were delicious.

I cancelled my infusion appointment for Monday because I am still sick.

We received the news today that one of our friends from Chandler, Niles Dutson passed away.  He would have been 71 next week.  He had a heart attack.