OUR FAMILY

Friday, November 3, 2017

Tuesday, October 31st, 2017

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

95th operating temple

Dedicated: 30 July 2000

by: James E. Faust

Jesus Christ, Ascension

Luke 24:51

And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
Book of Mormon
3 Nephi 17:1-25
*Why do you think Jesus Christ told the people to ponder the things that He taught and to ask Heavenly Father for understanding? How often do you do this?
My answer: The dictionary says that ponder means to weigh mentally think deeply, deliberate, and meditate. Pondering is, in my feeling, a form of prayer. Pondering the things of God helps to keep us from becoming complacent in our approach to Him.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell explained the dangers of not regularly internalizing the gospel in our lives. "The worshippers at Rameumpton so ritualized their religion that they never soke of their God again until they had assembled themselves together a week later at the stand. (Alma 31:23) Note the contrast in how Jesus instructed His followers on this hemisphere. (3 Nephi 17:3)
See how the Master focuses on the family, on pondering, praying, preparing together! It should not surprise us, if we routinize our religion and do not assign the highest priority to the kingdom, that our hearts and minds will quite naturally drift to other things."
Doctrine Covenants Favorite Scriptures
DC 1:17-18
17 Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments;
18 And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets-
General Conference

Abiding in God and Repairing the Breach

Sister Neill F. Marriott

"We need to continually deepen our knowledge of and obedience to Heavenly Father. Our relationship with Him is eternal. We are His beloved children, and that will not change. How are we going to wholeheartedly accept His invitation to draw near to Him and thus enjoy the blessings He longs to give us in this life and in the world to come. Do we trust Him enough to abide in Him and walk with Him?

I spent the morning making Frankenstein Rice Crispy treats. The prototype looked better than mine.

I made 32 of these babies and then we loaded up the car and left for the valley at 1:30 instead of noon.

We stopped at Arby's in Show Low so I could get a roast beef sandwich. James is fasting.

We drove straight to Stacy and Paul's to deliver their treats. Next we stopped at the Howard's and left them a dozen cookies. We also delivered treats to the Trezise's, Cathi and Colin, and Kim, Brian, and Joe. We then headed out to Darrel and Trina's. They were at a party in their bishop's backyard with lots of other ward members. Addy was with friends so she wasn't there. Rowan left right after we arrived to go trick-or-treating with friends. James broke his fast and had a couple of pieces of pizza before we left with Darrel, Trina, Ruby, and Lola to go trick or treating with some of their friends.

Lola was so cute. Whenever someone said anything about her being a cute little princess she would say: "I'm a unicorn."

I'm a Unicorn!

See my tail?

Ruby was Marinette from

The Miraculous Ladybug show

This is Rowan

As we were out trick or treating we got several offers for adult treats and beverages. My favorite house was one close to Darrel and Trinas. It looked like a ship and was playing pirates of the Carribean music along with a pirate, treasure chests, etc.

Trina's friends from Canada are opening an ice cream shop soon and it sounds pretty amazing!

Ruby walked with me after trick or treating to get my 10,000 steps.

Afterwards James and I went to Burger King and Fry's for some water and dinner. Really the best thing we had to eat this evening was the salad Trina made. It had spinach, chicken, pinions, olives, small tomatoes, feta cheese, corn, and avocado with Olive Garden dressing. It was delicious!

After the family all returned home we sat down to watch some Studio C Halloween sketches while the kids looked over their loot.

Lola kept taking one bite out of a piece of

candy and then moving to the next.

Ruby and Rowan.

Rowan got two whole Hershey bars that Addy

wanted to trade for, but he wasn't giving

them up.

I think Addy's pile was the biggest.

Back home in Vernon:

The Grapp children came trick or treating:

I left them six Frankenstein treats.

Huntleigh, Brayllin, and Taylor

Carrie Underwood and her husband

Castle in Germany

Joshua and Evan

Alex

It's Dallin and Sarah from a couple of years ago

a.k.a Barnacle Boy and Mermaid Man.

The Hoose family

Memories: 2016

Ben's Halloween costume

A couple of years ago

This clown drives for Blue Ridge schools

A closeup

Chandler Eyecare staff

Allison and Nathan got married last October 31st.

2015

Love this bunch

I love this picture of Ruby!

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Monday, October 30th, 2017

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

94th operating temple

Dedicated: 16 July 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Appearances, Postmortal

John 21:4

But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 16:1-20

What is the purpose of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon?

* It is a sign to the entire world that the Lord has begun to gather Israel and fulfill covenants He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (3 Nephi 29:1; Ether 4:17).

Who is the House of Israel?

*The House of Israel generally refers to the descendants of Jacob, whose name was change to Israel in the Old Testament (Gen 32:27-28). In the Book of Mormon the Savior expanded this definition to include not only the literal descendants of Israel (3 Nephi 20:25-27) but also all Gentiles, or other people, who repent, are baptized, and come unto Christ. (3 Nephi 21:6). The gathering of Israel is taking place in preparation of the Savior's Second Coming. In recent years it has been accelerated as missionaries are being called at a younger age Heavenly Father loves all of His children and wants us to be gathered and united when the Savior comes to redeem the world. What an exciting time to be alive!

Doctrine Covenants Favorite Scriptures

DC 1:4

And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chose in these last days.

General Conference

Turn On Your Light

Sharon Eubank

"Each of us needs to be better at articulating the reasons for our faith. How do you feel about Jesus Christ? Why do you believe the Book of Mormon is scriptures Where do you get your peace? How do you know you have a real prophets? Use your voice and your power to articulate what you know and feel - on social media, in quiet conversations with friends, when your chatting with your grandchildren. Tell them why you believe, what it feels like, if you ever doubted, how you got through it, and what Jesus Christ means to you."

Venison for breakfast. Thanks Paul from Oregon!

Thanks James from Vernon for the

steak and gravy!

I read this quote by the prophet Joseph Smith in my studies today:

"To magnify a calling means to build it up in dignity and importance, to make it honorable and commendable in the eyes of all men, to enlarge and strengthen it, to let the light of heaven shine through it to the view of other men."

And by Thomas S. Monson:

"And ow does one magnify a calling? Simply by performing the service that pertains to it."

James and I both took our vehicles to town today to have them serviced. I left a little early to meet Sister Chaffin at Dollar General to pick up my cake carrier. She and her kids were on their way to New Mexico so we said goodbye. I will miss Hailey and her kids.

I waited at Discount Tire for 30 minutes for James. When he finally got there he ordered 3 new tires for my car and then we headed to Walmart where he took his truck in to get the oil changed. While we were waiting we decided to walk to La Casita for lunch. We got all the way there and when I saw the empty parking lot I remembered that it is closed on Monday so we walked back to Panda Express. At least we are getting on steps in today. We had lunch at Panda and visited with my cousin Randy and his wife Debbie. An old friend from high school, Allen F. also came by to say hello.

After picking up James's truck we went back to Discount and brought my car to have the oil changed at Walmart. At this point James got to go home while I did some shopping for over an hour while they serviced my car. I got home around 5:30 after being gone for six hours.

After unloading the groceries I make some chocolate chip cookies for James to take to the Wilhelm's. He wanted to do a home teaching visit but John is gone hunting with some of the kids so cookies will have to do.

For F.H.E. we listened to Sister Marriott's conference address. I was exhausted so I sat down to watch "Dancing with the Stars", Halloween edition while James printed his temple names from "Take a Name."

DWTS

My favorite couples dance

Jordan and Lindsey

Emma and Drew

Mark and Lindsey

Phantom of the Ballroom was the

best dance of the night!

Memories

Addy as the Queen of Hearts

One of my favorite pictures of Darrel

Ruby, Lois, Lola, Addy, Rowan

about three years ago.

Sunday, October 29th, 2017

Veracruz, Mexico

93rd operating temple

Dedicated: 9 July 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Appearances, Postmortal

John 20:29

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 15:1-24

*Why is it so important to keep the commandments?

*How does keeping the commandments allow us to be a light to others?

"Keeping the commandments can help us avoid a lot of sadness, misery and really hard things. 'If ye love me, keep my commandments.' (John 14:15)

Every commandment has a promised blessing. Obedience brings growth, protection, spiritual and temporal blessing, and ultimately eternal life. The most important reason to keep the commandments is to show our love, gratitude and devotion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ."

Doctrine Covenants Favorite Scriptures

DC 1:2

For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated.

General Conference

The Voice of the Lord

Elder Neil L. Andersen

"Recently, while visiting the Provo City Center Temple, I admired a painting entitled First Vision from Afar. The painting depicts the light and power from heaven as the Father and Son visited the young Joseph Smith. While not making a comparison with the very sacred event that ushered in the Restoration, I can imagine a similar visual that would reflect the light and spiritual power of God descending upon this general conference and, in turn, that power and light moving across the world."

It was Shelly's farewell today. She wants others to feel loved of the Lord like she does. She also played a number on the piano because she is learning to do hard things. Jackson Allen and the bishop also spoke.

We have a new young men's presidency: Brother Wilhelm, Brother Skousen, and Brother Applegate, a powerhouse presidency.

Jace, Colter, Grace, Liana, and Liana's cousing Brecklyn were in my Primary class today. I guess Curtis is staying home taking care of Ruthie and Johnny who are sick. I gave two lessons today to make up for next week's regional conference. I gave the lesson on the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum and then a brief lesson on Brigham Young becoming the prophet and how a prophet is chosen today.

The third hour the women were taught by Brother Allen and Bishop Miller. Brother Allen did a great job. We discussed Sister Eubank's conference talk.

After the block the new high priest group leadership was set apart in the bishop's office. James was set apart by Brother Greer of the high council and Brother Hunsaker and Brother Curtis were set apart by President Jensen.

In Brother Greer's setting apart of James he mentioned his voice and his family, two things that were very important to James. It was a wonderful setting apart.

When we returned home Paul was here to do some reloading. James made him some lunch and went outside to eat with him.

I watched a Christmas movie and did some studying and blogging.

This evening we had some unexpected visitors. The Grapp family from our ward came by for a visit. They brought apple cake and homemade bread. We had such a nice visit. The kids played upstairs and Brother Grapp and Benson put together my spiderman Legos kit. Sister Grapp told about Tildy who is five getting on one of their horses and riding without a saddle or a bridle. She took a video. It was pretty amazing!

Jared texted to tell us the doctor who is buying his practice is going in to the hospital for bypass surgery and the bank has still not approved his load. We are praying that everything will work out as it should.