Thursday, March 29th, 2018

Villahermosa, Mexico

85th operating temple

Dedicated: 21 May 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ Authority of

3 Nephi 9:15

Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

Book of Mormon

Enos 1:11-27

Have you ever prayed for an enemy?

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 24-26

24 Laws given concerning divorce, newly married persons, making merchandise of men, taking of pledges, leprosy, oppression of servants, and leaving gleanings of crops.

25 Judges prescribe punishment for wicked - Marriage law provides for brother's widow - Just weights and measures required - Israel commanded to blot out Amalekites from under heaven.

26 Israel shall offer to the Lord a basket of firstfruits of Canaan - They are commanded to keep law of tithing - Israel covenants to keep commandments, and the Lord promises to make them a holy people and a great nation.

General Conference

"Seek Ye Out of the Best Books"

Elder Ian S. Arden

" It is the very essence of religion not to have a sure answer to every question, for this is one of the purposes of faith. In that regard, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has taught us that 'when those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes.'"

We had about 20 elk walk across our yard this morning between 8-8:30. They were walking back up the hill to bed down for the day.

After my gospel study this morning I began getting ready to go to the valley. I got out my red pot, two crockpots, the ham roaster, utensils, the ricer and the food I need to take with us. I also boiled some eggs for coloring. I watered my plants, packed a box with snacks, and finished up Stacy's basket. It looked like this:

Pink little Lambie!

We left at 11:47 and James already has 10,000 steps. He worked outside and sprayed off the car and the garage. 

It is a beautiful day, no wind, sunny, and 50 degrees. We stopped at Burger House and got a couple of burros. James needs some Biotene so we stopped at the Walgreen's in Apache Junction.

I got two Tofifay's, one for Stacy and one for us, and some Biotene although they didn't have the little spray bottle. 

From Walgreen's we went on to Darrel's to unload. It is 85 degrees. Yikes!  As soon as we got unloaded we drove over to Chandler to the Enterprise on north Arizona Avenue. We had pre-registered and we were signed up at the one in south Chandler so we drove to the one on Germann and Alma School inside Cobblestone Carwash.

We were there for over an hour. The service was so slow. Finally we came away with a Toyota Camry. James drove Lexy to Erik's and I drove the rental to pick him up. 

Our next stop was at Stacy's. We gave her the basket and she loved it. James had to make an egg with Joshua's egg spinner. 

Such concentration.

Can you find his egg?

Since Stacy is going in the morning to have surgery Paul and James gave her a priesthood blessing. Paul anointed and James gave the blessing. It was sweet.

We got back on the 202 and headed east to Darrel and Trina's. We stopped at the Sweet Tomatoes on Power Rd. and had some dinner.

I had asked the kids to help me fill my Easter eggs. I had seven different colored plastic eggs and I originally was going to assign a color to each kid. Ruby picked the sparkly ones and that made Lola cry. We gave a couple to Lola and then Ruby got upset about something and laid over on the couch the rest of the evening. I felt bad but didn't know what to do. I did everything I could think of to make her happy. I think she was tired. Rowan and Addy and I had fun filling the eggs. Rowan is hilarious. He put a small amount of candy in one egg with a note that said: "I bet you wish there was more."

Lois had cataracts removed from her right

eye today. 

This was three years ago in March.

More from last year at Buckulieu Springs.

Silly kids!

I showed this to Ruby and she loved it.

Kyler, Jasmine's baby.

Somewhere in the White Mountains.

Our new book.

She is one of our favorite authors.

Wednesday, March 28th, 2018

Nashville, Tennessee

84th operating temple

Dedicated: 21 May 2000

By: James E. Faust

Jesus Christ Authority of

Matthew 12:18

Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Book of Mormon

Jacob 7:21-Enos 1:10

* Why do you think it was important to, Nephi, Enos, and Mormon that these records be preserved for their brethren the Lamanites?

Talk: Holy Scriptures: The Power of God unto Our Salvation

By: Elder Robert D. Hales, October 2006, general conference.

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 22-23
22 Moses sets forth laws pertaining to lost property, wearing of proper clothes, caring for interests of others, marrying virgins, and sexual immorality.
23 Moses specifies those who may and may not enter the congregation - He sets forth laws concerning sanitation, servants, usury, and vows.
General Conference

Essential Truths: Our Need to Act

Elder Adilson de Paula Parrella

" Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Lawgiver, the Holy One of Israel, our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, our King, our All.

May we all continue to act upon these essential truths and knowledge, offering our obedience to God and His Beloved Son.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

I finally caught up on my blog but tomorrow I will be going to the valley and will probably get behind again. It is never ending.

"Gratitude is twin sister to humility; pride is a foe to both." - Elder James E. Talmage

James wanted to send out a family text this morning regarding general conference. He had a hard time. It took him about two hours but he didn't give up and he finally accomplished his goal.

I listened to the song, "I Heard Him Come," which was composed by Jeff Goodrich and sung by Afterglow. I also listened to Afterglow sing, "The Greatest Gift."

I worked on my personal history today using a book which gives various assignments. Today I told about my grandparents, Albert Alexander Strickland and Myrtle Mae Rutledge, my grandpa and nannie.

The high today was 54 degrees. All of the snow is gone. 

For lunch we had marinated chicken thighs, lemon pepper asparagus, and a salad. Everything was delicious.

We made a trip to town. We finished "Charity House Courtship," and started the new Sarah Eden book I bought, "Ashes on the Moor." I got all the things to put in Stacy's basket and the cellophane wrap to put around the outside. I couldn't find her favorite candy, Tofifay, so I got some Jordan Almonds at Walgreen's instead. She likes those too and so do James and I.

We came home and watched, "Royal Matchmaker," and finished our steps. I got over 17,000. James fed his bunnies. I got lemon squares at Walmart for us to try. They were just as good as the homemade. The sugar cookies with icing I bought were gross and they got thrown in the trash. 

Conference reminder by my friend Marci.

Happy 90th Birthday Aunt Gene!

Lola is number 1!

Buckelieu Springs

Rowan, Ruby, Evan, last year.

I love watching Evan climb and hike in his flip flops.

Tuesday, March 27th, 2018

Tampico, Mexico

83rd operating temple

Dedicated: 20 May 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ Authority of

Moses 6:52

And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.

Book of Mormon

Jacob 7:1-20

* Sherem is the first anti-Christ in the Book of Mormon. 

*President Ezra Taft Benson shared the following three questions we can ask ourselves to avoid being deceived:

1.) What do the standard works have to say about it?

Brigham Young said the Book of Mormon was written on the tablets of his heart and no doubt helped save him from being deceived.

2.) The second guide is: what do the latter-day Presidents of the Church have to say on the subject - particularly the living President.

3.) the third and final test is the Holy Ghost - the test of the Spirit....This test can only be fully effective if one's channels of communication with God are clean and virtuous and uncluttered with sin.

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 19-21

19 Cities of refuge appointed for cases of manslaughter - Murderers shall be put to death - Two or three witnesses required in court cases - False witnesses punished.

20 Laws revealed for selection of soldiers and making of war - Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites shall be utterly destroyed.

21 How murders by unknown persons are expiated - Equity required in dealing with wives and children under plural marriage - Stubborn and rebellious sons may be put to death.

General Conference

Do We Trust Him? Hard Is Good

Elder Stanley G. Ellis

" Before this calling I was a financial consultant in Houston, Texas. Most of my work was with multimillionaires who owned their own businesses. Almost all of them had created their successful businesses from nothing through lots of hard work. The saddest thing for me was to hear some of them say that they wanted to make it easier for their children. They did not want their children to suffer as they had. In other words, they would deprive their children of the very thing that had made them successful."

I got up at 4 a.m. and looked outside. It was a winter wonderland and still snowing!  The trees are frosted and it looks like we have at least two inches. Thank you Lord.

According to President Nelson how I care for my body affects my destiny.

I read an article in the New Era today about a girl with cyctic fibrosis and how she turned her life around by exercising and eating healthy. She ended up going on a full-time mission. It was very inspirational. I need to realize that my body is a gift from the Creator. When we live with patience, faith, and gratitude, we find joy.

"Joy, it seems, Is not only happiness but the resultant feeling of the Holy Ghost manifest within us." - Barbara B. Winder, former General Relief Society President.

It snowed most of the day today but by the end of the day all of the snow was melted except on the mountains. The snow that fell today melted as soon as it touched the ground.

Brother Patrick came over today to show James some radios. These are walkie-talkie radios run off a tower. James wants some so we can communicate with other people who have them so if there is an emergency and our phones don't work, we can still communicate.

I am sure we will eventually get some but right now we just don't have the money.

At 2:30 I went to visit Sister MacArthur across the road from us. She and her husband and their two year old daughter just moved here from Fairbanks, Alaska. He is still a firefighter in Alaska and will be going back up from April until October. 

They both grew up in Show Low and when they had their baby they decided they wanted to be back down here by family. She is Sister Umphress's sister and their parents live in Linden. Her husbands parents live by Walmart.

I enjoyed my visit with her and took her a small Easter basket and shared a couple of quotes with her, one by President Nelson.

Love this little Lambie!

For dinner we had leftover spaghetti, and salad. We are trying to clean out all the leftovers in the fridge before we leave. 

After dinner James took a short nap and then left to go on a visit with Brother Greer from the stake and Brother Curtis from the ward. They visited the Gordon's, the new converts. James says they have goats and they spin yard out of the goat hair.  He really enjoyed the visit and said you can tell they love the gospel.

We  watched the final episode of season 7 of Heartland. Jack and Lisa secretly got married, Amy flew to Europe with the prince as part of his horse show. Ty and Caleb won $100,000 with their barrel racing horse. Georgie got the trick riding saddle of her dreams because she is spoiled rotten. We will not be ordering season 8. If we watch it, it will be on Amazon Prime.

Added tulips to my Easter centerpiece

I love this frosty scene

So gorgeous!

Our "snow" pit

I wish it would last.

So pretty

"Come As You Are" 
by
Greg Olsen

I wonder if our backyard could
look like this?

The White Dove of the desert

 Interesting

Monday, March 26th, 2018

Cochabamba, Bolivia

82nd operating temple

Dedicated: 30 April 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ Authority of

Moses 1:32

And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.

Book of Mormon

Jacob 6:1-13

*What must we do to obtain the Lord's mercy?

Talk: "The Merciful Obtain Mercy" By: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April GC, 2012

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 17-18

17 Those who worship false gods shall be put to death - Priests and judges shall determine the hard cases - Kings shall not multiply horses or wives or gold - The king must study the laws of God daily.

18 How priests are supported - 

divination, spiritualism, and the like are abominations - A Prophet (Christ) shall arise like unto Moses.

General Conference

God's Compelling Witness: The Book of Mormon

Brother Tad R. Callister

" I bear my solemn testimony that the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God. It is God's compelling witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ, the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith, and the absolute truth of this Church. May it become the keystone of our testimonies, so it may be said of us, as it was of the converted Lamanites, they 'never did fall away' (Alma 23:6). In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Apart But Still One

Elder Joni L. Koch

"Just moments before His excruciating experiences in Gethsemane, when Jesus was praying to the Father for His Apostles and all of us, the Saints, He said, 'That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.'"

James left at 5:30 a.m. to clean the baptismal font at the Snowflake temple. It is a priesthood responsibility. Charlie Gordon went but Brother Hatch said he couldn't come in because temple workers must have a complete recommend and he only has a limited use.

Brother Diewald had to take him home so that just left Brother Curtis, James, and Brother Lundgren who visits our ward but now lives in Snowflake. Brother Curtis, the high priest group leader, is very frustrated because they cannot get the members of their quorum to volunteer to serve. 

Yesterday was Palm Sunday and this is the Holy Week, Christ's last week before his Crucifixion and Resurrection. I am going to send out a text to all the kids each day this week. This was today's:

"The events of the Savior's life leading up to His Crucifixion and Resurrection can teach us a lot about His love for us. Each day during the week before Easter, think about how the following events in Jesus's life can help you in your life. As you do so your understanding and love for the Savior will increase."

1. Anointing at Bethany (Matthew 26:1-13)

"When Jesus was having a meal with friends, Mary poured expensive ointment on His head. Some complained about the expense, but Jesus said, 'Why trouble ye this woman For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.'"

*What gifts can you give Jesus?

*Do you know someone who is struggling? How can you be an instrument in God''s hands to help them lift their burden?

This afternoon James took Sister Dye some wood. I guess she was in the hospital yesterday. She is in very poor health. 

No chance of snow in the near future was the forecast this morning. Now there is up to a 40% chance by 4 a.m. tomorrow. Woohoo!

No TV for us this evening. James worked on the Deming accounts and I worked on my blog. For FHE we listened to Elder Koch''s conference address, "Apart, But Still One."

We also walked and read from "Charity House Courtship." 

Today I got on familysearch and discovered that someone had posted a history of Walter Robinson and Lena Ellen Miles as narrated by Aunt Garnet, grandma Maxwell's sister. It is 10 pages long and I am very grateful to have it.

I finished watching the two seasons of "Little Men." Now I am looking for something else on Amazon Prime.

Grand Canyon

Sasha and Emma from "DWTS" tied the knot.

A lot changes in three years.

Cute Wilhelm kids.

How would you like to work in 

the nursery?