Thursday, June 2, 2016

I may have posted this before, but in case I didn't, here it is.

Cathi has this in her office and I love it!

James posted a sweet note regarding our anniversary on Facebook yesterday and he got 125 responses.  Romance is not dead!

Alma 10:1-16

My notes:

1 - Amulek preaches and gives his genealogy and reputation.  He also tells of the angel's message to him regarding Alma.

12 - The people are astonished because of Amulek's witness.  They thought Alma stood alone.

14 - The lawyers seek to destroy Alma and Amulek.  They are a bad bunch.

I love the new manual "Teaching in the Savior's Way."  At first when I heard that we should focus on the people not the lesson, I was a little confused.  Now I understand.  

I have to share this excerpt from the book I am reading, "Christ in Every Hour."  This is found in the chapter 'The Strengthening Power of Christ' on pages 94-95.  The subtitle is: 'Nephi's Thesis:

God Will Make Us Mighty:

"Like a good writer, Nephi provides a thesis statement in his introductory chapter of 1 Nephi: 'I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance'( 1 Nephi 120).  His general theme is not just obedience to God, but what obedience provides us: divine power to overcome obstacles.  In the subsequent chapters of his first book, Nephi provides no less than five examples - fleeing from Jerusalem, obtaining the brass plates, God freeing him from his brothers' murderous plot, successes and failures with the Liahona, and the women being made strong like unto the men - to illustrate and support his thesis that God gives divine strength and enabling power to the faithful to overcome difficulties.

After recounting these five major events, Nephi concludes:

"And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled.

And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them" (1 Nephi 17:3).  Is it any wonder, then, that after these varied experiences, when the Lord asked Nephi to build a ship, Nephi so confidently accepted the challenge?  Nephi had learned of, accessed, and experienced the strengthening power of Christ - the divine power that enables us to do things beyond our natural capacity - and thus was able to boldly bear the burdens, trials, and temptations with which he would be faced throughout the remainder of his life.  Like Nephi, if we are to face and overcome our modern tests in their varied and distinct forms we must daily tap into and receive this same enabling, strengthening grace from our Lord, Jesus Christ."

I love Nephi.  Do I have enough faith and obedience to tap in to this enabling power?

James built another bird house.

This was has a bigger entrance.

Two bluebirds have already moved in to the first house.  James saw the female with pine needles having a difficult time getting through the hole. Now we can sit on the deck and watch our bluebirds and the humming birds at the feeder.

My new Zep floor cleaner works really well and so does the polish. The floors look beautiful!

We went in to town this evening to wash the car and to satisfy my craving for a New York dog.

I love this picture of Dallin that Stacy posted on Facebook

Three months old with lots of hair

and personality.

 

 

 

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Happy Anniversary to a couple

of old people.

 It has been 48 wonderful years with

my sweetheart.  

Today's scripture study is from Alma 9:19-34

Alma commands the people of Ammonihah to repent!

23 - And now behold I say unto you, that if the people, who have received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress contrary to the light and knowledge which they do have,  I say unto you that if this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression, it would be far more tolerable for the Lamanites than for them.

24 - For behold, the promises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shall utterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth?

25 - And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;

26 - And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.

27 - And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name.

28 - Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that which they have been - if they have been righteous they shall reap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the damnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.

Alma is an amazing teacher and prophet.  He goes on to call the people of Ammonihah a lost and fallen people, hard hearted and stiffnecked.  The people tried to cast him into prison but the Lord would not allow it at this time.  

I wanted to make something special for breakfast for our anniversary.  At first I thought about omelets, but then Judy Pargeter, a friend from Chandler posted this recipe video using puff pastries, cream cheese and strawberries, all ingredients that I have.  

James joined in the action by cutting and "laying out" the puff pastry.

James says I am trying to domesticate him.

He's right, and it's working.

I call them cream cheese strawberry

pinwheels.

 As I learned on chopped, presentation

is important.

Oh, by the way, they were delicious!

We each had three.

Our plans for celebrating today included lunch in town and then going to Christopher's Gardens, the plant nursery in Lakeside to get some ideas for landscaping around the cabin.  

 

James picked Darby's for lunch over Persnikkity's because he loves their sandwiches.  He ended up ordering the turkey dinner which was really kind of sub-par.  A disappointment, although he ate everything on his plate.  I had the oriental chicken salad.

 My salad was very tasty.

We sat on the enclosed patio.

Next stop, Christopher's Gardens.  Lot of plants including flowers, etc. in five different greenhouses.  I took notes and pictures as we found some things we liked.  We didn't buy anything today but definitely made some plans.

Hedges for the front planter.

I am wondering if these would work for a hedge

along the deck outside our bedroom.

I like these!

James says we need some spearmint

because it is like a vine and grows well.

I want fir or spruce trees to line our drive.

 We made a stop a Home Depot for James.  I went in to see if they had any wood floor cleaner and polish.  I ran in to George Wallace, a member of our ward.  We have been praying for George because he had surgery and afterwards had to be put back in the hospital because of water retention which caused major swelling.  He said he had just had a test done for blood clots and was hoping for good results.  George is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.  He has a beautiful place and hosts wedding receptions, girls camps, and reunions.  I hope he is healthy so he can enjoy his summer visitors.

 

James went in to Walmart to get some steaks and asparagus for our dinner tonight. 

On the way home we read from Alexandra.  

After a nap James went outside to work.  The time got away from him and by the time he came in, it was time to get ready to go to the Church and the stake center for his temple recommend interviews.  No steaks tonight.  I guess we will have them for lunch tomorrow.

I rode with James to Show Low to keep him company.  President Williams and President Crandall were running behind with their interviews so I had to wait outside in the car for about 40 minutes.  Thank goodness it was a nice evening and I brought my neck pillow.  I took a nap.  

I guess the Butler's, a couple from our ward who have been serving a mission in Tennessee for the past nine months,  were home and needed to be released.  That is why the wait was so long. 

 

For our anniversary dinner we stopped at Sonic.  I had a corn dog and James ordered a New York dog.  He had to wait to get home before he could eat his dog, but it was delicious and now I am craving one!

 

We will be at our condo in Scottsdale next week and now James had a job at Desert Highland in Scottsdale which works out perfectly.

 

Today at school Emmy participated in her classes wax museum which features famous characters from the past.  Tricia posted a video that I watched which was really good, but I don't know how to post it on here so I am just going to post a picture.

Up close and personal with

Mary Temple Grandin.

Famous for her advancements in 

animal husbandry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

This morning's sunrise
My favorite time of day.

Alma 9:7-18

11 - Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe. 

12 - Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. 

13 - Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? 

Taco Tuesday at Alibertos:

Quite delicious

My main reason for coming to town, besides to get tacos, was to get floor cleaner and polisher.  When I went to Walmart I discovered they don't carry the Shark brand anymore.  Other strange things going on in Walmart:

At first I thought they were completely out of
canned tomatoes and tomato sauce kind of 
like they were out of lemons a couple of weeks ago,
and I panicked.  When I went around the corner towards the meat
cases, I saw shelves with the tomatoes and tomato sauce.  I guess they are just rearranging.  I didn't stop to read the white papers place up and down this aisle of shelves.  

James did some shopping at Home Depot and then we drove home.  On the way we read from Alexandra, our sweet and clean novel.

On the way home it looks like it's raining all around us, especially out towards St. Johns.  It always seems like we are "on the edge."  I think we should name our place Edgewood Estates.  We are at the edge of the woods and also the edge of the weather.  Edgewood sounds better than Edgeweather.  

Look what came in the mail today:

It's George, or the monkey as Lola calls him.

I can hardly wait to give him to her on her birthday.

For my rest and relaxation time this afternoon I watched an episode of "Chopped Allstars."  Ann Burrel, Claire Robinson, Duff from Cake Boss, and Robert Irvine.  The two finalists were Robert Irvine and Ann Burrel.  Ann ended up the winner.  She was "amazing!"

She gave her winning to the juvenile diabetes foundation, another reason I wanted her to win.

I went in to my bedroom to send out a family email and was going to watch another episode of "Chopped" but I couldn't find the remote to the TV.  I am sure it will show up eventually.  

I talked James into going to the Taylor Walmart this evening to look for my floor cleaner.  They didn't have it either.  

Emmy had her guitar recital this evening.  

  There is just something about a girl

who plays the guitar!

The photobomber is Molly.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Finally got a picture of Addy!

Joshua is holding Larry the Lizard.

James Hayden was on a Razr ride.

 When I woke up this morning in Chandler at 5:50, James was already up and dressed and he said to me: "I'll be waiting out in the car for you.  He was ready to go home.  Thirty minutes later I was ready.

We started a new book called Alexandra on the way home.

It's called a sweet and clean

Regency romance novel.

  We got back to Vernon around 10, and our company was still there!

Addy started a game of Apples to Apples.  I forgot

how much fun this game is to play with kids.

Hey who went to Maverick?
I guess it was Jared when he got gas for the Razr. 

More random pictures.

We have some posers in our family.

Things I didn't get pictures of that I wish I had:

Darrel vacuuming.

The kids have a "candy fest" eating all the candy I usually save for my Primary class.

More pictures of kids on the Razr.

More pictures of James and Addy.

Evan learning to drive.

Both cars left a little after noon. Molly came and sat on my lap and ask if she could live with me.  That melted my heart.
  I hope Darrel doesn't get caught in the Memorial Day traffic.  The house was very quiet after everyone left.  I sat down and watched an episode of "Chopped."  James took a two hour nap.  He was up awfully early this morning.

Some random pictures I want to post.  I showed this first one to James Hayden and he said it looked like "marshmallow clouds."

Toasted marshmallow clouds.

I would love it if James could build a clubhouse that looked like this:

We could paint it purple and plant it by a

red tree and put up a colorful fence!

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Future missionaries!

These boys, along with 11 other children were all in my Primary class today.  They read and answered gospel questions.  I was very impressed.  They are three of the best boys I know!

 Molly ready for Church.

Ruby would not allow any pictures of her because she had to fix her dress, she said you could see through it.  Addy came to the rescue.

 We took this picture after Church with her 

Ruby shirt on.

 Lola stayed home with her dad

and Addy.  

Addy is still recuperating from surgery.

 I love this picture of Molly.

 Lola and her friends.

 Emmy was in my Primary class too.

She was the oldest and probably

the wisest.

 James went to Mel Wilhelm's class.

Brother Wilhelm was very impressed

with James's gospel knowledge.

After teaching 14 Primary children, only two who were actually part of my normal class,  I went in to sharing time and Sister Skousen, the Primary president, said I could go to the 5th Sunday adult meeting in the chapel with the bishop.  I was so happy.  

James, Jared, James Hayden, and I all sat together on the 2nd row.

The bishop gave a presentation about FamilySearch and the Find, Take, Teach program.  He said he was directed to do so by the First Presidency.  He used a computer and projected images up on a screen.  He showed us how to use the fan chart and descendency chart to find ancestors who need temple work done.  I was excited to go home and try it.  

When we got home from Church, Jared's lunch was waiting for us.  He prepared ribs and wanted to make sure we had some before we left for the valley.  They were delicious!  Thank you so much Jared!

Evan had a headache during the last hour of Church and spent his time laying down on the couch in the foyer.  As soon as he got home I fixed him, Josh, and Rowan something to eat, and he felt better.

We left for the valley at 1:35 for Michael's seminary graduation and arrived at the Ray and McQueen stake center at 4:55, five minutes before it started.  Thank goodness Stacy saved us places.

Kyle Dana was quite entertaining as he is the high councilman over seminary. Also, three of Kim and Brian's former bishops were speakers: President Campbell, President Lewis, and Brother Nelson.  Michael says Brother Nelson is his Sunday School teacher and he loves him.  He put in a plug for institute.  He actually teaches institute at ASU and Stacy encouraged Michael to attend his class.  Here are some pictures of family members who attended:

Where is grandpa James you ask.  He was in the men's room.

I love these pictures of Alex and Michael.

They have grown up together and have

been buddies all of their lives!

 G-pa and his boys!

They have outgrown him.

After graduation we went to Stacy and Paul's for dinner.  Stacy had fixed a delicious roast with carrots and rolls.  Before dinner Paul showed Elder Bednar's video about light and then bore his testimony to Michael about going on a mission and how he was prouder of him graduating from seminary than high school.  It was felt heartfelt and I hope Michael was really listening to his dad.

It was nice to visit with Cathi and Terry.  They have not been to the ROC since Tuesday because of the smell of the newly varnished floors.  Terry had a trip to the hospital on Friday because of severe stomach pains.  He also had headaches, but seems to be feeling better tonight.

Terry's son Nathan and his girlfriend, Allison came by to see Terry.  Nathan asked if there was anything they could do to help and offered to do yardwork.  I was impressed with Allison, because she was very friendly and came up and shook our hands.  She is a child psychologist and works with high risk kids.  Nathan is my favorite of Terry's boys.  I guess he and Allison met at a "bug" show.  She bought one of his butterflies.  

Lady and Indy were so happy to see us when we got here.  Lady couldn't stop barking and dancing around!

Saturday, May 28, 2016

The Snowflake temple

I took this picture of the temple on Thursday evening on our way to our cleaning assignment.

Alma 7:14-27
14 - Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
23 - And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.
24 -And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.
Alma's blessing to his people:
27 - And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever.  And thus I have spoken. Amen.

I made blueberry muffins for breakfast.  Molly said she doesn't like them so she had Honey Nut Cheerios.  Jared, James, and Molly waited around all morning for Darrel and his kids to get here so they could go to Greer with them.

Playing a game while waiting.

  Finally, around 1:30 they decided to go without them.  Emmy said she wasn't going anywhere so she stayed home with us.  It looks like Molly and James had fun in Greer.

 Darrel got here about an hour later with a boat-load of kids: Addy, who did not feel well and went directly to the couch to lie down, Rowan, Ruby, Lola, Joshua, and Evan.  Emmy made immediate friends with Lola, and carried her around everywhere.  Ruby and Molly were inseparable when Molly returned from Greer.  Molly is quite a bit taller than Ruby now.

   Ruby explained that she comes from a short family.

When Ruby saw the new storage shed she asked me when grandpa was going to build the kids clubhouse.  I told her when we got some more money.

Finally when Addy took her meds and started feeling better she and Emmy "hung out."  Rowan, Joshua, and Evan spent most of their time outside getting dirty and playing imaginary games.  

Of course, everyone wanted to go on a Razr ride, except Lola.  It took her awhile to get used to it.  

Everyone wanted their turn to drive.

I spent much of the afternoon working on my Primary lesson about Korihor.  This evening after dinner we had a birthday party for Emmy.  She will be 11 years old on June 4th.  First we had to sing happy birthday and blow out the candles.

Poor Addy, was still not feeling too well.

A soccer cake with chocolate, and mint chocolate

chip ice cream.

These are some of the gifts that Emmy received: A RipStick from her dad, and a pair of new shoes.  I forgot to take pictures so for those of you who don't know what a RipStick is I took a picture at Walmart:

James was riding it all over the house.

It took Emmy a couple of days to learn how to use it.

We gave her money, a potholder loom, and some peppermint body wash.  Addy and her family gave her a design coloring book and some paper clips and colored tape to make bracelets with.  

After the party we went outside for fireworks.  Everyone who wanted to got to hold and shot off a Roman candle.  Lola loved the fireworks.  Of course there were sparklers for everyone too.  Emmy got to hold the "big one" and fire it at the end of the show.

Ruby wore her lightup bow for the occasion.

Sparklers make you smile.

James looking for a good one.

I think that's Emmy in the background shotting

a Roman candle.

Sorry I didn't get more pictures.  Here are a couple of Lola inside

the house.  

At Emmy's party

She loved our rocking chair.