Thursday, March 15th, 2018

Cuidad Juarez, Mexico

71st operating temple

Dedicated: 26-27 Feb 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ Authority of

3 Nephi 15:5

Behold I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me s fulfilled, for I have come to fulfill the law; therefore it hath an end.

Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 33:1-15

*When has the Lord asked you to do something you follow through simply for the sake of obedience?

Old Testament

Numbers 31-32

31 Moses sends forth 12,000 warriors who destroy Midianites - Prey divided in Israel - None n armies of Israel were lost.

32 Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh receive their inheritances east of Jordan - They covenant to join other tribes in conquering Canaan.

General Conference

The Priesthood and the Savior's Atoning Power

Elder Dale G. Renlund

" In addition to obeying the laws and ordinances of the gospel yourself, I invite you to make and keep priesthood covenants. Receive God's oath and His promise. Magnify your responsibilities in the priesthood to help Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Use the priesthood to help deliver the opportunity to benefit from the Savior's atoning power to someone else! As you do, great blessings will come to you and your family. I testify that the Redeemer lives and directs this work, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

I got up at 5:30 this morning. I told James to tell the boys if they slept on the couch to expect the light to come on at 5:00. I guess they slept upstairs. 

After breakfast I met with the boys to plan a menu with them. They like spaghetti, steak, hotdogs and hamburgers, fried chicken, and grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Off I went to the grocery store in the rain and wind. I am so sad about poor Lexy.  

The lines were long at Walmart and I had a huge basketful of groceries. I was in line and a younger man and older woman got in line behind me. The thought occurred to me that I should let them go ahead of me because they didn't have very much in their basket,  but I had waited in line so long already I was selfish and ignored my prompting. I had lots of meat and as a result some blood dripped on the floor. I told the cashier and she gave me a paper towel to clean it up. The older woman behind me offered to do it for me and took the paper towel out of my hand. That was nice of her.

Checking out, loading up my bagged groceries, and getting my ice before I went out the door, I felt like I was doing a balancing act.  It was still cold and windy and as I was loading the back of my car this same woman who was behind me in line came to help me load my car. I was again touched by her thoughtfulness and as I thanked her again, I asked for her name. Her name was Jo and she said her husband has dementia and her son came to stay with her for awhile to help with his dad. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't let her go in front of me in line because I never would have allowed her to do this service for me and we would have never met. It touched my heart that there are still kind and thoughtful people left in the world.

It rained on me most of the way home. When I got home I noticed the rain had turned into little white pellets which melted after they hit the ground. 

Evan and Max and James dug into the fried chicken I got but I noticed Joshua wasn't interested. Luckily I also bought some frozen pizzas. I fixed two, one that James and I ate and the other one for Joshua and Evan. They both loved it.

I read, took a nap, and worked on my blog this afternoon. James took the boys on a Razr ride in the cold. They went down the pit three times and had a great time. 

For dinner James braved the weather outside and grilled the top sirloin steaks I bought. I made garlic bread, corn, and beans. We had a nice meal and the boys all loved the steak and garlic bread.

Enjoying their steak dinner.

The boys went upstairs after dinner and played video games or whatever they do up there. They came down a little later to watch Jurassic Park 3. I did not know I had this movie. Someone must have left it here because I never would have bought it.

James and I finish our steps and then watch an episode of "Heartland."  Lou's book tour bombed. She sold very few books.

 I got 15,120 steps today. 

I watched Pride and Prejudice, 1995 on my phone today. 

Stacy and Paul attended Dallin's concert at the Crescent Ballroom tonight. The Killer's opened for them.

Kacey is ready for the countdown.

Annie and Leo after Leo's open heart surgery.

An Indian woman and spider rock at

the Grand Canyon.

This is how the kids look when they

go on a Razr ride.

Wednesday, March 14th, 2018

Kona, Hawaii

70th operating temple

Dedicated: 23-24 Jan 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ Authority of

Helaman 14:12

And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.

Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 32:1-9

* How do you feast upon the words of Christ?

- James & Karen: "Fully consider their meaning to me personally, and apply them to my life When we do this, we can receive a spiritual confirmation from the Lord that makes them delicious to us.

Old Testament

Numbers 29-30

29 Sacrifices are to be offered during the seventh month, including at the Feast of Trumpets and at the Feast of Tabernacles.

30 Vows and oaths must be kept - Fathers may disallow vows of daughters, and husbands may disallow vows of wives.

General Conference

The Book of Mormon: What Would You Life Be Like Without It?

President Russell M. Nelson

" My dear brothers and sisters, I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions - every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for you own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions."

Elk are in our yard this morning. James was asleep, but I saw them. 

James left for the valley around 10 a.m. Five minutes later he called and said he wrecked my car and sent this picture.

My poor car!

There was a group text going on about Jared and Kacey having a girl and what they are going to name her and James was looking down at his phone. He slid off the road and hit a rock. The car is drivable and James went ahead to the valley to his doctor's appointment and to pick up Max, Evan, and Joshua.

I was home alone all day and brooded over my car. I did my gospel study, steps, my blog and watched Emma on my phone while I was working. I also continued to scrap the polish off the floor. It's going to take forever at this rate. I did keep busy most of the day. 

The boys and James got home around 10 p.m. I texted both Stacy and Sheri to let them know they arrived safely.

Some of the books I ordered.

I need to show this to Ruby!

Fossil Creek

Enjoying Spring Break

Spring training is in full swing in the valley

I want a horse just like this one!

Tuesday, March 13th, 2018

St. Paul, Minnesota

69th operating temple

Dedicated: 9 Jan 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ Authority of

Mosiah 15:1

And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.

Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 31:1-21

 *Since we're saved by Christ's grace, why does it matter that we follow His example and endure to the end?

- We are saved by grace after all we can do, according to Nephi.

Old Testament

Numbers 27-28

27 Law of inheritances to sons and daughters and kinsmen set forth - Moses shall see but not enter promised land - Joshua called and set apart to lead Israel.

28 Sacrifices to be offered each morning and evening, on sabbath, on first day of each month, at Passover, each day of feast of unleavened bread, ad at feast of firstfruits.

General Conference

By Divine Design

Elder Ronald A. Rasband

" When we are righteous, willing, and able, when we are striving to be worthy and qualified, we progress to places we never imagined and become part of Heavenly Father's 'divine design.' Each of us has divinity within us. When we see God working through us and with us, may we be encouraged, even grateful for that guidance. When our Father in Heaven said, 'This is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, He was talking about all of His children - you in particular."

The Heart of the Widow

Elder O. Vincent Haleck

" My prayer for each of us is a plea to have the heart to bear our burdens, make necessary sacrifices, and have the will to do and to give."

We had five elk bedded down by our fence outside the bedroom window this morning. Soon they were up and walking around with several of their friends. Everyone was asleep. Darrel was the first up, besides James and I and he caught a glimpse of them. Addy told me that next time I should wake her up!

Darrel and Trina and the kids clean and leave by 9 a.m. because Darrel has to go to work.

Not sure why Darrel looks so worried.

Before leaving James played a match game with Ruby and Lola. Does he not know that Ruby is the queen of the match game?

Lola is actually pretty good at this game too.

James said they were pretty even until Ruby

went on a run and took all the cards that

were left on the table. 

Goodbye one more time!

They were home before one and I got a text saying that Lola had taken a remote and the toy phone. The remote is to an old DVD played that we don't use, thank goodness. I told her she could keep them if she would let me play with them when I come down. She agreed.

I watched part of a new Hallmark movie, scrapped polish off the floor, walked, and caught up on my gospel study today. 

We went to the post office and picked up two packages. When we got home I realized there should have been one more package and so James went back and sure enough Debbie said to him when he walked in: "You forgot a package." All of the packages were books that I had ordered.

I was especially excited to receive the book, "A Reason for Faith."

Sister Hales got the idea for this book because she couldn't answer all the questions her kids asked about the Church, so she consulted the experts.

James and I watched "Heartland" this evening.

Look how much they've changed!

We saw "Cinderella" together.

Look at the price of the ticket.

Unbelieveable!

Interesting

Monday, March 12th, 2018

Raleigh, North Carolina
68th operating temple
Dedicated: 18-19 Dec 1999
By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ Authority of

Mosiah 7:27

And because he said unto them that Christ was the God, the Father of all things, and said that he should take upon him the image of man, and it should be the image after which man was created in the beginning; or in other words, he said that man was created after the image of God, and that God should come down among the children of men, and take upon him flesh and blood, and go forth upon the face of the earth - 

Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 30:1-18

* Why is it important to recognize that we are all imperfect, and none of us, member or not, are above each other?

Old Testament

Numbers 25-26

25 Israelites who worship false gods are slain - Phineas slays adulterers and stays plague - Israel commanded to vex the Midianites who had beguiled them.

26 Moses and Eleazar number Israel on plains of Moab near Jericho - Males twenty years and older, excluding Levites, total 601, 730 - Only Caleb and Joshua remain from those numbered at Sinai.

Old Testament Favorite Scriptures

Exodus 20:17

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

General Conference

The Eternal Everyday

Elder Quentin L. Cook

" When we are truly humble, we pray for forgiveness and forgive others. On the other hand, as indicated in the Lord's Prayer, when we do not forgive others' trespasses, we bring ourselves under condemnation. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, through repentance our sins are forgiven. When we do not forgive those who trespass against us, we are in effect rejecting the Savior's Atonement. Holding a grudge and refusing to forgive and refusing to humbly approach our relationships in a Christlike manner truly brings us under condemnation. Holding a grudge is poisonous to our souls."

Are we living in a post-Christian world as some believe? I hope not. This statement was made in Elder Cook's talk.

Darrel helped setup our smart TV upstairs and showed me how to use it. I certainly appreciate his help. As a result, since we have a VCR up there, I got out some of our old videos and found the original "Parent Trap" made in 1961 starring Hayley Mills, Brian Keith, and Maureen O'Hara. Ruby really wanted to watch it so I put it on. Poor quality but still watchable. We stopped before it was over to go look for snow. 

We took Darrel and Trina's Yukon and the Razr. Ruby started out riding in the Razr with grandpa. Grandpa stopped and Ruby got in the car with us and Addy got in the Razr. The reason he said no more could get in is because he had the snow sled in the backseat. 

As we were climbing a hill there was quite a bit of snow and mud and Darrel got stuck. James came back to help and with his help and Darrel's skillful driving we were able to get out of the mud. Lola who is sitting in the backseat listening and observing said:

"I am scared for myself." I told her I wasn't scared, I knew her dad could get us out.  

James ended up taking all the kids further up the mountain while Darrel, Trina, and I parked the car and walked. We never quite made it to where James had taken the kids. James got the Razr stuck and the only other vehicle on the road, two guys in a pickup, pulled him out. The snow was slushy and it was cold and the kids got wet so it wasn't long before they wanted to go back to the cabin. James said that Lola was worried about her dad and wanted to go back and make sure he was okay. Someone said, let's go back to the house and Lola said, "It's not a house, it's a cabin."

We have some lunch, play some games, and of course I took a nap. Ruby wanted to finish watching "Parent Trap" so we went back upstairs to watch it. While we were watching the movie Lola hid the Easter eggs and Ruby and I tried to find them. 

While Trina, Rowan and Addy were working on my Brick'em temple Darrel made the kids macaroni and cheese for dinner. All the girls ate it while Rowan had a dry bowl of cheerios. He doesn't like mac and cheese and he doesn't like milk in his cereal.

I almost forgot, while we were upstairs some elk came into the yard and we all had to stop what we were doing to watch them. James and Rowan, who were outside working saw them first. Lola and Ruby both had to try to look at them through grandpa's binoculars. Addy took some pictures and so did I, using the telephoto lense on my phone.

Lola wanted me to stay upstairs with her while she watched "Little Mermaid 3." I stayed for awhile but since Rowan and Addy were there I came downstairs because James wanted me to read to him.

It's hard trying to keep everyone happy.

As James and I were going to bed Ruby asked Darrel to put the 2nd Parent Trap in, the one made n 1998 starring Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, and Natasha Richardson. Ruby said she wanted to see all the things she missed the first time.

We found snow!

Some cute little snow bunnies!

Ruby doing a puzzle.

Ruby posing while she does a puzzle.

Playing with bubble wrap. 

Rowan asked for it but he let

the girls play with it.

 Looking for the elk.

Using the "scope" on my camera.

 Lola helping cook dinner
with her eyes closed.
That's how good she is.

Darrel supervising from a distance.

The building crew.

Darrel looks at old photo albums

in the background.

I earned every one of these.

Sunday, March 11th, 2018

Edmonton, Alberta

67th operating temple

Dedicated: 11-12 Dec 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ Authority of

2 Nephi 10:14
For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.
Book of Mormon
2 Nephi 29:1-14
* How have these verses increased my appreciation for the Book of Mormon?
Old Testament
Numbers 24
Balaam sees in vision and prophesies of the destiny of Israel - He prophesies of the Messiah: There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.
Old Testament Favorite Scriptures
Exodus 20:16
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
General Conference

Repentance is Always Positive

Stephen W. Owen

" I have a friend who grew up in a less-active Latter-day Saint family. When he was a young adult, he too 'came to himself' and decided to prepare for a mission. He became an excellent missionary. On his last day before returning home, the mission president interviewed him and asked him to bear his testimony. He did so, and after a tearful embrace, the president said, 'Elder, you could forget or deny everything you have just testified of in a matter of months if you do not continue to do the things that built your testimony in the first place.' My friend later tole me that he has prayed and read the scriptures daily since he returned from his mission. Being constantly 'nourished by the good word of God' has kept him 'in the right way.'"

I was up at 4:15 this morning. I had my prayers and continued working on my Primary lesson, "Abraham and Lot," The Circle of Love.

We left at 8:40 because I wrote personal notes to all the kids in my class.

Andy W. was the youth speaker in sacrament meeting today.  He spoke on his favorite scripture story which was Nephi getting the plates and what an example he was of overcoming trials.

Sister S. Wilhelm spoke on the Church's Self-Reliance program. 

Brother Goodman was the final speaker and what a wonderful talk he gave. He spoke about justice and mercy and how God wants all his children to enjoy all of His blessings. We open the vault to those blessings through our faith and obedience. As we live God's laws we find protection and are pointed toward Jesus Christ. Suffering for sins should help us to change. That is it's purpose.

We had two visitors in our Primary class, the Patrick's grandchildren Rhea and Graham. They are not members but they love coming to Primary. I also had Curtis from the older class, and Liana, Amaron, and Andyn from my class. I spoke with Sister Singleton about Jace and he is in Whiteriver visiting his birth mother. Gracie was not here today and I have written her a note as I did all of the children in my class. Colter was in the valley visiting his sister Brielle with his parents and LeeAnn and Hailey.

When I gave out the notes I wrote to the children in my class, Curtis ran out of the room. It was sometime before he returned.

Sister Hall's mother did singing time today. She was quite good. 

Sister Skousen did sharing time which involved all the children and was based on the scriptures. 

I spoke with Sister Skousen about Sister Gentry and she loves Sister Gentry as much as Sister Gentry loves her.

Liana and Andyn both got to pick two treasures for the two newsletters they turned in. Amaron wanted one too but I had to tell him no. I told him I would help him do the paper which isn't due until the next fast Sunday so he could pick a treasure. I can no longer do these papers every week, but now only once a month.

Andyn took the fishing hat and some colored pencils. Liana took some candy and a doll.

We went home and had lunch and before we knew it Darrel and Trina were here with all the kiddies.  

At 4 p.m. I went to a high priest group presidency meeting with James. They are planning a party for the older single sisters in the ward and they want the wives input. Sister Hunsaker was there too but Sister Curtis is still in St. David taking care of her father who has alzheimers.

The meeting was just an hour long and then we were back home with our company. James cut the chicken breasts in half and I made a honey mustard to marinate them in. I also took out the chicken tenders from the freezer and put them in some warm water and took some rolls out to rise. We had a very nice dinner: Chicken, grilled and fried tenders, green beans, corn, beans, a salad which Trina made, and rolls. It was quite delicious.

After dinner I played Apples to Apples with Ruby, Trina, and Addy.  Addy and Rowan worked on my Provo City Center, "Brick'em temple and then we watched Lindsay Lohan in "The Parent Trap." Of course Lola had to watch her favorite movie, "Brave" before we watched ours. It was after midnight before we went to bed.

Couldn't resist this one.

President Nelson and his wife Wendy

greet some young adults at the 

Nevada fireside.

The last of the Butler brothers.

Salt River Canyon

Such a lovely couple

Trina said it was like they were in a cloud.

Salt River Canyon

Courtesy of Darrel