Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Our friends The Whalen's visiting the San Diego temple.

One of the first items of business after gospel study was to cut James's hair.  I have been mentioning that he needs a haircut for several days now, but it will only happen when he is ready.  I gave a good one this time, no nicks, and not too short.

 As part of my gospel study this morning, along with reading from "The Blueprint of Christ's Church", I read the Sunday School lesson for this week, "Seek Ye for the Kingdom of God".  It is based on Jacob 1-4 and the purpose is to: Help class members feel a greater desire to magnify their callings, be chaste, and invite others to come unto Christ.  

I also listened to two talks from the last General Conference, both from the priesthood session.  "Your Next Step" by Randall K. Bennett and "Be Not Afraid, Only Believe" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.  As I listened, I was ironing.  After the conference talks I listened to two articles from this month's Ensign: "Caring for the Needy in Our Families", and "When One Needs Care, Two Need Help."  As I listened, I went about doing my chores, emptying the dish washer, making my bed and carrying in boxes to be put away.  

One of the reason I am sharing my gospel study is because of something I learned from Nephi.  When he gave the small plates to Jacob he had a special commandment for him: "And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should write upon these plates a few of the things which I considered to be most precious; ...And if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ's sake, and for the sake of our people." ( Jacob 1: 2, 4)

I want those who read this record to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the most precious thing in my life.  Therefore, I must include the things of the Lord in this record.

This afternoon James and I made another trip to town.  James wasn't going to come but I told him I would read to him and that I really enjoyed his company.  He caved.  

I needed to get some things at Walmart for my diet.  I needed fruits, veggies, nonfat salad dressing, some Lean Cuisine dinners, yogurt, shakes for James, and black ink for the printer.  I also got both of us new pillows.  Maybe a new pillow will help me sleep better.

I bought tickets online today to see Kaitlin Booth in "Legally Blonde" at Mesa Community College.  Karen and I were going to go together but she couldn't go until the 16th and I will be down there on the 8th so James is going to go with me.   Kaitlin will play the part of Elle Wood, the star of the show.

I love the picture of Kaitlin, but I think her dog,

Bruiser, was a chihuahua.

For dinner tonight I substituted my Nutrisystem meatballs, which I was suppose to eat with a small wheat roll, for Lean Cuisine spaghetti and meatballs.  

Delicious, especially the meatballs.

I was supposed to have a cup of cooked broccoli, but James made cooked cabbage and mushrooms with onions and bell peppers instead.  It was all wonderful.  He is so supportive!

We watched another movie about firemen tonight.  This one was called "For the Love of Grace" and starred Mark Consuelo and Chandra West.  We both liked it.  James may have liked Chandra a little too much.

 They never even kissed.  I wonder of Kelly Ripla had

anything to do with that.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

It's suppose to say Hillary in the background but

some of the letters got blocked to reveal the truth.

We finished 2 Nephi today.  I am a little sad to be coming to the end of Nephi's life.  He passes the responsibility of keeping the records on to his brother Jacob.

I am really enjoying Tad R. Callister's book:

In some ways it is very basic but it also gives the background for thinks such as baptism by sprinkling that I didn't know. 

I listened to Elder James B. Martino's conference talk today entitled, "Turn to Him and Answers Will Come."  This is one of my favorite talks from the last General Conference.  Let me just share a couple of quotes:

"If ye will

 not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things will be made known unto you." 

"We must make scripture study a daily part of our lives, as this will open doors of revelation."

"These personal religious habits -- obedience, scripture study, prayers and fasting --strengthened the sons of Mosiah.  The lack of these same personal religious habits was a major reason that Laman and Lemuel were left vunerable to the temptation to murmur and doubt."

Today is the first day of my Nutrisystem diet and it was a tough one.  I had a chocolate muffin for breakfast which was pretty decent but the lasagna I had for dinner was somewhat lacking.  My favorite things were the granola bar and popcorn that I had for snacks.

As I was watching television last night I caught the end of a Lean Cuisine commercial for white cheddar macaroni and cheese and it looked so delicious.  Lean Cuisine here I come!

James was out doing some work on his Cat today and accidentally backed over his chainsaw.  He came in with a pretty sad face.

We can't live here in the mountains without a good chainsaw to cut wood.  Hopefully he can order a new casing for it.

Another Super Tuesday and although Kasich took all 66 delegates from Ohio, Trump got all the delegates from Florida, Rubio's home state.  Rubio is no longer in the race.

Darrel called me today to see if I was in town and could watch Lola while he and Trina took the kids to see the new Disney movie, Zootopia.  I was sad to say I wasn't in town but recommended either Kim or Sheri.  Sheri won the prize.

Her hair is getting long and she looks so grown up!

Michael had to go to Urgent Care for strep throat tonight.  He ask the doctor when he would be well and when he said Thursday, Michael was relieved.  This Saturday is the big Chandler Rotary track meet.

Poor Mikey!

 I couldn't resist posting this picture of our friend Brooklyn

taking a nap in a basket.

This evening James and I watched a movie on UpTV.  It was called "A Girl's Best Friend."  James liked this one better than "Smooch" but I am not sure.  They were both great.  This one was more realistic and was sad because the little girls mother dies. 

It does have a happy ending though!

(If it didn't, I wouldn't like it.)

Monday, March 14, 2016

Happy Pi Day!

I got off to a slow start this morning because I wasn't feeling well.  I sat down to rest and ended up watching a movie called "Second Chances" about a wounded fireman and his landlord who fall in love.

James and I went to Show Low a little after noon.  Our first stop was Licano's where I had a tamale and a taco.  I want to eat well today because I am starting a diet tomorrow.  James wants to go to our class reunion in July and I have got to lose some weight if I am going to go.

After lunch James dropped me off at Walmart to do a little shopping.  I bought two 5-day boxes of Nutrisystem diet food.  I thought James might use one, but he turned his nose up at it and said he would "fend for himself."  I am grateful that he doesn't expect me to cook while I am dieting.

We also went to CVS to pick up a couple of prescriptions for James and then on to Sonic to get my large diet Coke with regular cherry flavoring.  I won't be getting one of these for awhile either.  

On the way home we read the first short story in our new book by Sarah Eden.

 The story we are reading is called

"A Friend Indeed."

Before going home we stopped at the Wilhelm's to take Johnny a birthday present.  He is four years old.  While James was getting his gift out of the back of the car, Johnny came over to my window to tell me his dad got him a handsaw for his birthday.  He seemed quite happy.  An interesting gift for a 4 year old.

This evening for FHE we listened to Elder Oaks's talk on the Atonement.  It was wonderful.  Afterwards we watched the movie "Smooch" which is a modern day take on the movie the Frog Prince.  We both really enjoyed it.

 I would like for my granddaughters to see this one.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Happy Birthday Terry!

 Terry with two of his favorite people,

Colin and Cathi.

Something happened in our sacrament meeting that I have never seen happen before.  Brother Wilhelm got up and announced that because people were leaving right after the sacrament, we were going to have the talks first today and then the sacrament.  He then said he was joking and the real reason the sacrament would be last was because there were no cups and someone had to go get some.

Hailey Hunsaker was the youth speaker.  She is the newest Beehive and you could barely see her above the podium.  She said she was going to talk about her favorite bible story, Abraham and Isaac.  She shared the story, read scriptures, related it to the Savior, and bore her testimony.  According to James it was the perfect talk.  She really did do a great job and her mother said she wrote it herself.

Pam Wood and Rick Lauritzen were the other speakers.  Pam spoke about friendship and Rick, at the bishop's request, spoke about doctrines, policies, and traditions.  Did you know that taking the sacrament with your right hand is only a tradition.

Kacey, Curtis and Zemira were in my Primary class today.  Our lesson was on Abinadi and King Noah.  The first thing I had them do after the opening prayer was guess how many coins were in this jar.

 The coins in the jar represent how many people left to flee into

the wilderness with Alma.  Do you know how many there are?

The person who guessed the closest got an extra piece of candy from the candy basket.

 This candy basket was much fuller before Primary.

Curtis guessed 350 and he was the closest.  The answer, of course, was 450.  More about Alma next week.

In sharing time today Sister Chaffin taught about King Noah and Adinadi.  I noticed that my kids knew most of the answers, except Zemira couldn't remember Abinadi's name.

Good News!  James was able to teach his Sunday School class this week.  I had called Ed Miller earlier in the week so he was prepared to step in any time if needed.  

After lunch and naps James went home teaching with Brother Lauritzen to the Scott's and the Hunsaker's.  I stayed home and watched a movie starring Alexis Bleddell, (Rory from Gilmore Girls), "Remember Sunday".  The movie was about a guy who was a genius and then he had an anuresym and lost his short-term memory every night when he slept.  It was a touching story in keeping with the Hallmark tradition.  

This evening I spent a couple of hours studying from the Book of Mormon Religion 121-22 manual in connection with my reading of the Book of Mormon.  James studied his Sunday School lesson.

Before going to bed we watched this week's episode of "When Calls the Heart."  

Last year on this day, I took my five oldest granddaughter's to see the new Cinderella movie.  We had a great time!

Ruby, Emmy, Molly, Anna, and Addy

 

Saturday, March 12, 2016

I finally got to watch Rowan and Evan play soccer
this season.

Although they didn't win, Rowan scored the two 
goals they did make.

 Ruby loves to photo bomb!

I am not crazy about this picture of me, but I 
couldn't pass posting this picture.

Some of the other perks of going to the soccer game.
Her eyes look so blue, and look at those lips!

 These two love snacks!

After cleaning our room and bathroom and washing sheets, etc. at Cathi's I left for the soccer game, following Sheri.  I am so glad I went.  James came too, but he came late and left right after the game was over.  I guess he was anxious to get home.  He made the mistake of going the Globe way and got in the traffic going to the Renaissance Festival so it took him a little longer than usual.

Of course I went through Payson and made one stop at the McDonald's.  I got home about ten minutes after James did.  It is good to be home and get things in order before Sunday.  We worked on our lessons for awhile and then watched a movie.  It was a little racy for a Hallmark movie and I was disappointed.  It was on the Hallmark Mystery movie channel.  It was made in 2003 and starred Kristen Bell as a teenager who spends the summer in Lake Havasu, Arizona with her dad whom she hasn't seen since she was 6.  It could have been good but their was sex, drinking and bad language.  Definitely not what I want from my Hallmark movies.

Jared posted this picture of James and Molly today.  I am always grateful to get pictures of my Texas grandkids!

 James really is a sweet boy!

Friday, March 11, 2016

I think it's great Sheri takes her boys for hikes!

While Sheri was taking her boys on a hike I was having my infusion at the arthritis center and then a birthday lunch with Karen Schneider at Firebirds.

 Karen looks good for being a little older than I am.

Back at home at Cathi's Indy and Lady are a little depressed with their mom and dad gone all day, five days a week.  Mostly they just lay around and sleep.  Indy came in for me to scratch his belly.

 Lady on her purple "burrito" bed.

 Indy giving me "the look."

Waiting for me to scratch his belly.

 

This evening we had a "girls night in" at Kim's house.  Trina couldn't make it because she had other plans.  We ate Oregano's and watched a Hallmark movie and mostly just talked and laughed.

This picture was taken last year

at Sheri's birthday lunch at

Liberty Market.

 Thanks Brian and Kim for letting us invade your space!

 

 Trenda W. took this picture of the sunset

in Vernon.

 

 

 

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Dollar Tree mirror for my visiting teaching handout.

James and I went this morning and picked up Lexy from Erik.  He still is not sure he doesn't need to replace the head gasket, but he said it passed all the tests and the check engine light went off.  If the check engine light comes back on, which it did, we will bring it in to have the head gasket replaced when we come back down for Easter. Update 3/18/16 The check engine light is off!

I went to five different Dollar Tree Stores this morning to look for the above mentioned mirror before I actually found three of them to use with a quote from the visiting teaching message to give to the sisters I visit.  I was so relieved and excited to finally find them!

After my shopping trip I went back to Cathi's and James and I went to lunch at Jersey Mike's.  We both had the chipotle cheesesteak sandwich.  Delicious!

Max, Alex, and Ben

This afternoon James and I went with Sheri, Alex, Ben, and Max to the Gilbert temple to do JD's baptism and confirmation.  JD is Ian's youngest brother.  Max was baptized for him, and Ben was confirmed.  James performed both ordinances.  It was all worth it to me as I sat across from Max during the confirmation.  Afterwards Max raised his head and there was a big smile on his face!
  Each boy actually did baptisms and confirmations for five individuals.  James and I saw and visited with an old high school friend Loren Hatch who was working in the temple.  I should have ask him if he was going to our 50th high school reunion this summer.

Ephraim Daniel Pope

Elida Pope had her baby today.  Boy #4 named Ephraim will join his brothers Ethan, Eli and Edmund, and his parents Erik and Elida. Congratulations! I was Elida's visiting teacher until they moved from our ward to Wagon Wheel. (Between Show Low and Lakeside).

This afternoon after dropping James's truck off at Cactus Radiator to have him put in a new muffler we went shopping at Deseret Book to get some new garments and to buy a book for Karen Schneider's birthday.  We also visited James's mom and sister Dawn.

James's truck waiting to be fixed.

James standing in front of a yellow rose bush in

his mom's back yard. 

On the way home to Cathi and Terry's we stopped at Elmer's to take home some dinner.  We called and ordered for Cathi and Terry too.  Cathi and I had the #7 plate with two beef enchiladas.  Terry and James both had machaca burros and tacos.  When we arrived home Wendy and Colton were visiting.  I felt bad that we hadn't brought them food, but soon found out that Wendy had been doing a Isogenix cleanse and wouldn't have eaten it anyway and Colton had already eaten.  Wendy told me all about Isogenix and her diet and even sent me the link so I could read about it.  She stayed and visited for quite awhile.  She shared with us when she experienced a tornado in Tennessee and then when she moved to Colorado and experienced another tornado there.  It was fun to visit with her and Cathi.  Colton seemed a little bored.

Michael had a track meet today at Brophy High School in Phoenix.

He did well in the 800.

Awesome!

This last picture is the wedding picture of Dave and Rosa Westbrook, two of our Vernon friends.  Dave is our home teacher and sometimes Rosa comes with him.  I was also Rosa's visiting teacher and loved to visit her.  This was posted on Facebook by their daughter Sadie.