Monday, May 9, 2016

I took this picture on the way home Saturday from inside the truck

I think it turned out pretty good.

Mosiah 26:14-39 - Who are the Lord's sheep?  Those that hear His voice. (vs. 21)

30 - Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.

39 - . . . pray without ceasing and give thanks in all things.

It took me awhile this morning but I was finally able to reset James's Apple password so he could download the Google app.

Yeah, you guessed it, I'm the techie of the family.

James and I met Dennis and Denise and Harold at Licano's today to celebrate Dennis's birthday.  Vickie was supposed to come but she had a headache.  Probably a "hangover" from the state track meet.

Dennis and Denise told of their treacherous hike below the Tonto National Bridge that they went on for Dennis's birthday.  Denise said she almost didn't make it and would never go again.  I guess it was stressful at the time but it gave them a good story to tell.

I should have had Harold scoot in as he is barely in the picture.  

After lunch and saying our goodbye's James and I headed for Walmart and Home Depot.  

On the way home we finished "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."  We stopped at the post office and Jared had sent me a book for mother's day.  

I love Elder and Sister Holland

This afternoon while James was working outside I paid bills and worked on my blog.  

For FHE James and I listened to Elder Rasband's conference talk, "Standing with the Leaders of the Church."  Here is a quote:

"Are you standing with the leaders of the Church in a darkening world so that you might spread the Light of Christ?"

We also watched this week's episode of "The Good Witch."  

I watched a few dances on DWTS.  I actually really liked Jodi and Keo's jive.  The ended up going home after getting a perfect score.

Here is a picture someone took of a storm cloud in Oklahoma:

Trina found this critter waiting for her in the garage when she came home from work tonight.

James says it's a vinegeron.  Some other people called it a sun spider, camel spider, and scorpion spider just to name a few.

What ever it is, it's disgusting!

Sunday, May 8, 2016

The hero of our story in Primary today.

Ammon was a great servant.

Notes on my personal gospel study.  Somehow James and I need to get back together on this.  Mosiah 25:15-26:13:

16 - Remember it was the Lord that delivered the people out of bondage.

18 - Alma baptizes Limhi and his people. 

19 - Alma establishes seven churches throughout Zarahemla.

24 - And they were called the people of God.  And the Lord did pour out His Spirit upon them, and they were blessed, and prospered in the land.

Mosiah 26

Many of the rising generation did not understand the words of King Benjamin and they did not believe the traditions of their fathers.

This causes problems throughout the Church in Zarahemla.  Alma doesn't know what to do with the non-believers and their iniquities.  First he goes to Mosiah, but Mosiah told him he was in charge of the church.  Then Alma goes to the Lord.

Maddie Carroll gave the youth talk in Church today.  Chuck and Kathy Crane were the main speakers. 

  Kathy shared the talk given by Jeffrey R. Holland in the April 1997 General Conference, "Because She is A Mother."  I liked this quote from the talk:

'If you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do.' 'Sometimes the decision of a child or a grandchild will break you heart.' 'Oh, God, let me not lose my own.' - Joseph F. Smith.

'No one fails who keeps trying and keeps praying.'

Chuck's talk was based on President Uchtdorf's talk in the recent priesthood session of conference entitled, "In Praise of Those Who Save".  'As we emulate the Savior's love, He will surely bless and prosper our righteous efforts to save our marriages and strengthen our families.'

There was a little bit of time left at the end of the meeting so Bishop Miller got up to say a few words.  He went to the state track meet in Mesa and talked about a girl who was a very fast runner and who through training and dedication had accomplished her goals.  He then said: "Conquer physical weaknesses through our mind.  Think about what you think about.  Everything begins with a thought."  Something to think about.

My Primary class went well today but they were too focused on the candy I brought.  I had Izabel, Zemira, Curtis, Braylin, and Talena.  Talena is from the older class but Denice Hall wasn't here today.  

They all enjoyed the story of Ammon and trying out the sling.  Of course all the boys want James to make them one.  

It's sad not having Sister Berry in sharing time.  Our Primary is so small I guess they sent her class to be with Sadie's or Rosa's.  

This is Rosa Westbrook and her daughter Sadie.

They are the two other Primary teachers who are

there every week with me.

I love them both.  Rosa raised seven boys and two girls.

After Primary we went home and James cooked me a most delicious fillet steak.  He also gave me Jordan almonds and the sweetest mother's day card.

Those potatoes don't look like much but they were delicious!

After lunch I took a short nap and then spent some time studying and then working on my next week's Primary lesson.  I also worked on my blog.  The TV never came on once today.  It was a wonderful Sabbath day and a great mother's day.  I heard from all of my children.  They really are wonderful.

 

 

Saturday, May 7, 2016

James, Kim, and I went to the Gilbert temple

to do initiatories this morning.

James and I have been to the temple five weeks in a row now.  We are serious about  temple work and family history.

After dropping Kim off at home James and I went to CVS to get some doggie treats to take to Holly. I also got some boxes of candy for the boys and Stacy.  I ask Joshua what kind of candy his dad likes and he said Whoppers. Next time.  I wanted to wish Michael good luck on his race but he wasn't there.

When we got back to Cathi's James went to Erik's to pick up his truck and to drop off my car.  We are leaving it here because it heated up the first two days we were here.  Now that the weather cooled down, it hasn't heated up again.

I was going to get pack and get ready to go home but Kim came by to bring me cards and mother's day gifts.  Brian got me a card just from him, which I thought was very sweet.  I got a $50 gift card to Olive Garden, some Lindor caramels, a purple journal and some pens.  

 I got myself the same purple journal that Kim got me.

She knows me so well!

When James got back he helped me pack.  We said our goodbyes and headed for Rowan's and Evan's soccer game.  We got there the same time as Trina and so she took us right to the field.  Sheri is so sweet, she let me sit in her chair.  We visited with Sheri, Trina, Suzy, and Bob, and of course Lola.  They boys lost but they look so handsome in their purple jersey's, and I didn't even get a picture!

On the way home we stopped at Burger House and then at Safeway where I bought some fillet's for tomorrow.  I forgot to mention that yesterday at Walmart James bought me an azalea tree.

We aren't sure yet if we should keep it inside

or if it's okay to put it outside.  We need to do

a little research.

We unpacked the truck and spent the rest of the evening working on our lessons.  Although we love seeing family in the valley, it is always good to be home.
James took the time to make a slingshot for my lesson tomorrow on Ammon.  Here he is working on it.

What a sweetie!

Here is the finished product:

The boys in my class are going to love this!

Lots of excitement at the state track meet tonight.  Desert Vista was ahead of the Chandler boys by one point with one event left, the 4x400 relay.  We had to win this race, or lose and then Michael would not get a ring.  Our guy started out in first and then another guy passed him, and then our guy was in first again and won the race.  Paul posted everything on Facebook so we actually got to watch the race.  It was so exciting when we won.  Both Chandler boys and girls took first!  Michael was one happy guy!

 Woohoo!

Congratulations! 

 One more picture.  This is Addy and Kayla at their dance recital.

 Addy is a little sad because she won't be performing

with this group anymore.

Friday, May 6, 2016

My "book of the month."

In conjunction with my calling as a teacher I am supposed to be reading this manual.  Also we are suppose to have training meetings once a month during the block.  Our ward hasn't started these training meetings yet.  Here are some notes I took from today's study:

Sources of power and support:

The power of the Holy Ghost

"As you strive to live the gospel worthily the Holy Ghost will reveal God's will to you."

"When the Spirit is with you, you will teach with God's power and help bring about the miracle of conversion." (See John 3:2, 2 Nephi 33:1).

The promise of my calling and setting apart.

"Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies."

 This is going to be a great read!

Scripture study: Mosiah 24: 1-15.  How has prayer helped ease your daily burdens?

12 - And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to Him and He did know the thoughts of their hearts.  

15 - . . . they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

At 10:00 I left for my infusion at the AARA office in Mesa.  I was there a little over an hour.  I felt very blessed as I saw some of the people who were so crippled that they could barely walk.

I went back home (Cathi's) and picked up James so we could go shopping at Walmart for the stuff to make the slingshot for my class.  My lesson this week is on Ammon guarding King Lamoni's sheep and teaching King Lamoni the gospel.

I picked up Sheri from Sears where she left her car to be serviced and we met Kim for lunch at Firebirds.  Sheri bought lunch for both of us with the $100 giftcard Dr. Carpenter gave her.

 One of my favorite restaurants!

I had what I always have at Firebirds, coconut shrimp with coleslaw and mango chutney.  Kim has never been to Firebirds before.  She loved the sourdough bread and her club sandwich on jalapeno bread.  Sheri had the delicious shrimp tacos.  We shared a piece of creme brule cheesecake for dessert.  It was a great experience.

The weather has really cooled down since Wednesday.  The high was around 80 today whereas Wednesday it hit 102 and Thursday it was in the high 90's.  
After lunch we said goodbye to Kim and Sheri took me to get a pedicure.  I tried to get a lighter color this time for summer.

Sheri got a dark purple but I didn't get a

picture of her toes.

Back at Cathi's I went with James to take his truck to Erik and then I dropped James back off at Cathi's while I went to Staples to get notebooks and then to Sam's Club to get gas and to get my car washed.  

When I got back to Cathi's she had picked up dinner for us at Panda so I ate dinner and then Dave and Laura came over for a visit.  We all sat around the dining room table and visited.  Cathi and Laura have a new game they like to play but Terry didn't want to play, so we just visited.  The game is called Tenzi.

It's a dice and card game.

 

Trina, Darrel and the kids came over later to bring my mothers day gifts and Trina said she had played the game and that it was alot of fun.

Trina and Darrel brought a beautiful purple orchid, a gift card to Cheesecake Factory and one to Red Lobster.  The kids absolutely loved the dogs, especially Rowan.  He says he wants two dogs, one like Indy and one like Lady.  He and Ruby went outside to see the tortoise, Scooter, but he was burrowed down in his hole.

 

Here is a picture of the orchid they gave me.  It is so beautiful!

 This picture was actually taken on Mother's Day

after I got cards from James, Brian, Sheri's family,

and Kim.

 

Thursday, May 5, 2016

This is where I want to be instead of running

around in the valley in 100 degree temperatures.

I was so tired this morning that I slept right through my gospel study time.  James left to go look at a job at Desert Highlands golf course around 7:30.  I got up and took a shower and came back into the bedroom to work on my blog.  Lady is my new best friend:

I think she misses Cathi and Terry being gone

all day.  She stayed with me until I left.

Today is my brother Dennis's birthday.  I called him to wish him a happy birthday and he said that he and Denise were on their way to visit Tonto National Bridge.  We set a date to go to lunch on Monday.  

James had an eye appointment with Dr. Vanover at Chandler Eye at 11.  I sent my glasses with him and Sheri fixed them perfectly!

While he was gone I went to Walgreen's to get a mother's day card and Amazon gift card for Lois for mother's day.  

When James returned from his appointment we drove the car to Sears to get the oil changed and the tires rotated.  It heated up immediately.  James dropped me off at the mall and then took the car to Sears.

We had lunch at Cheesecake Factory and this is what we had to eat.

This is the parmesean herb-crusted chicken

with mashed potatoes and green beans.

I love this dish, except I think my mashed

potatoes are better.  Their platter-plates are

huge and I can never eat everything on my plate.

James had the madeira chicken with mashed

potatoes and asparagus.  It was yummy too.

We made the mistake of ordering a piece of

cheesecake to share. 
It was just a little too much after our big meal.

After our car was finished we drove over to see Lois and Dawn.  We had a nice card and an Amazon gift card for Lois, and I gave Dawn a Book of Mormon and a journal with a note inside the Book of Mormon.  She may have peeked in the bag and seen what it was and didn't want to open it when we were there, I'm not sure, but the gift bag lay on the counter untouched as far as I know.  We also brought them a copy of the Conference Ensign and told them about the refugee choir.  

We had a nice visit but when we left I was wishing that we had brought flowers or a plant.  

Back at Cathi and Terry's we spent the evening in the office studying.  When Cathi went to bed she ask if they were ever going to get to visit with us while we were here.  I told her that I had saved tomorrow evening for that very purpose.  

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Sheri having fun with Snap Chat

 

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Not that I'm a Stars Wars fan,
but I think this is clever.

James left pretty early this morning to go buy a new drill and bit to finish the job in Fountain Hills.  He did it, and the general contractor said he would send him his last check.  Thank goodness!

I stayed on my gospel study schedule this morning and did some family history work and worked on my blog.  Around 10 am I left to go to the bank, Deseret Book to get some more conference Ensigns, and to get my bloodwork done at Dr. Allen's so I could pick up some more thyroid pills.

After Dr. Allen's I headed for Darrel's house.  I was a little early so I stopped at the Subway on Power and the 202 for lunch.  Driving and eating a sub sandwich is not a good idea.  No wonder I have food scraps in my car.  I got to Darrel's a little before noon.  He has to leave for work at 12:30 but I wanted a few minutes to go over the schedule, etc.  Lola was asleep when I got there and of course Ruby and Rowan were at school.  Trina and Addy already left for science camp.  Darrel wanted Lola to wake up before he left so she wouldn't "freak out" when he was gone and she saw me.  She got up on her own and didn't "freak out" at all when Darrel left.  We are already friends!

Just got up from her nap.

Lola wanted to watch the 'monkey' on TV so Darrel put on a Curious George movie before he left.  Being a Curious George fan myself, we watched it together.

George with some of his jungle friends.

After the movie and lunch, Lola and I went to pick up Rowan and Ruby from school.  I am pretty stressed about my car because it is heating up whenever I drive it now.  It probably doesn't help that today was the first 100 degree day in the valley this year.  

Darrel gave me good directions to get to the school so picking up the kids was no problem although it is quite a drive from their new house.  

When we returned home grandpa James was there.  At first Lola was little leary, but she soon warmed up to him.  She calls James "Umpa". 

 Looking at pictures on grandpa's computer.

Rowan was doing a report on prong-horned antelope so he and I were in trying to print off some pictures.  We got one, but then the printer ran out of colored ink so we couldn't print anymore.

Rowan missed soccer practice with Evan because he left his soccer shoes and shin guards in his mom's car which Darrel took to work.  

Instead of soccer practice, we went to Peter Piper Pizza on Ellsworth and Baseline.  The kids had a blast!

 I think we need a Peter Piper in Show Low!

Granpa won the pink ball for Lola and she wasn't

going to let go of it, not even to learn how to drive

a Corvette!

Ruby and Rowan playing my favorite game,

Skeeball!

We said goodbye to Rowan and Grandpa as they headed over to watch Michael run in the 800m state championship race at MCC.

Michael is in the blue with the white headband.

You can see the disappointment on Michael's face and

the way he is standing.  But his family is so proud!

The girls and I went home and watched another Curious George movie.  I couldn't help but admire their coffee table.

Ruby wanted to make sure that I knew that

her mom made this coffee table.

 Ruby had fun playing with the SnapChat

app on my phone.  She knows more about

how to use it than I do.

Rowan and Grandpa returned and we let the kids stay up until they Dad got home a little before 10.  We were all sitting on the couches watching "Studio C" when Darrel came home.

James and I were exhausted when we got home and went straight to bed.  It was an exhausting but very fun day and I am so grateful for the opportunity to spend time with Darrel's kids, although I did miss seeing Addy.

Alexis, Kylie, Addy, and Trina

at Science Camp.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

I had to post a picture of these three pretty ladies!

Kiley, Kaitlin, and Kathy.

Don't you just love their white teeth.  Maybe that's because Kiley is

a dental hygienist!  BTW, Kathy is the mom!

My gospel study this morning started with reading and finishing the book, "Covenant Keepers."  Here is a quote:

"Making covenants with God calls forth the divine within us.  Keeping our covenants with God allows Him to pour His divine power into us."

Notes from my scripture study of Mosiah 21:28-22:9:

See Mosiah 21:32 and 35:

32 - Since the coming of Ammon, king Limhi had entered into a covenant with God, and also many of his people, to serve him, and keep his commandments.

35 - They were desirous to be baptized. . . . an account of their baptism shall be given hereafter.

My conference talk for today was Sister Durham's, "A Child's Guiding Light."

Studied Howard W. Hunter's lesson on The Law of Tithing.  

I had prayers and scriptures with Adam and James and then they went out to work.

It does my heart good to see them

working side by side.

I ironed for about an hour and a half today getting clothes ready for myself and James to take to the valley.  This gave me awhile to listen to talks.  I am trying to focus on the Christlike attribute of charity this month.  When I listened to the Renlund's talk on charity they referred to a talk given by Marvin J. Ashton in the April 1992 General Conference entitled, "The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword."  I want to print this talk out and really study it.  Here is one of my favorite quotes:

"The way we treat each other is the foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

I also listened to a talk by President Howard W. Hunter given in 1988.  In this talk he told the story of Vern Crowley and the lessons he learned from his dad.  I actually remember this story because it has such a profound effect the first time I heard it. Listen to it on the Gospel Library app if you have the time. Not sure if it was April or October General Conference. The name of the talk was, "A More Excellent Way." Here are a couple of my favorite quotes:

"Don't try to force others to do better,

inspire them to do better."

and

"The peace of Christ doesn't come from 

seeking the things of the world."

Next a talk by President Monson given in 1994 called, "An Example of the Believers."  Here is a quote I wrote down:

"What we need is less criticism and more models to follow."

As I was working in my bedroom, getting ready to leave for the valley, I watched DWTS.  My favorite dance was Paige's and Mark's.  They were awesome and they got a 30, or a perfect score!

I said goodbye to James and gave him a kiss around 3pm.  Adam was gone on a Razr ride.  He couldn't come to the cabin and not ride it at least once.  On the way out of town I stopped at Sandra Wilhelm's to pick up a couple of doTerra items.  

The throat drops are for James and the

peppermint for me.

Total cost: $37.50

I could probably get them cheaper from Cathi,

but I know that Sandra could use the money.

She has nine children and lives in a very small house.

Because I want to stop at Deseret Book when I get to the valley, I decided to go the Salt River way.  Of course I had to stop at Burger House for dinner.  I ordered in and had a bean burro.  It was delicious!

Burger House in Miami on

Live Oaks and Forest. 

On to Gilbert and a stop at one of my favorite places.  I bought some journals and conference Ensigns.  I have to control myself in this place.

 

When I left Deseret Book for Office Max across the street, I noticed that my car temperature was on high.  I left the AC off as I went across the street.  Once I headed for home on the freeway it cooled down a bit.

I unloaded my car and organized all my things when I got to Cathi and Terry's.  I even had time to visit a bit.  Cathi showed me her new favorite show, "Little Big Shots".  The show is about young kids with real talent.  We watched 11 year old twin boys who play the trumpet, and their siblings who form a brass band.  They were amazing!

I waited around until James got home, even though I was tempted to go to sleep.  I guess he drove Adam around Mesa looking for a Chase bank to deposit his check.  

It was good to finally go to bed.  Of course I had to rub Indy's tummy before saying goodnight.