OUR FAMILY

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Thursday, December 27th, 2018

Buenes Aires, Argentina

39th operating temple

Dedicated: 17-18 Jan 1986

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Death of

Alma 22:14

And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king.

Book of Mormon

#1- Moroni 7:35-48

#2 - Ether 15-Moroni 4

General Conference

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?

Matthew L. Carpenter

"Through His ministry, Christ taught that He had power over the physical body. We cannot control the timing of when Christ's healing of our physical ailments will occur. Healing occurs according to His will and wisdom. In the scriptures some suffered for decades; others, their entire mortal lives. Mortal infirmities can refine us and deepen our reliance upon God. But when we allow Christ to be involved, He will always strengthen us spiritually so we can have greater capacity to endure our burdens."

I blogged through December 19th today. I wonder if I will ever catch up. My problem is that my internet is so slow and it takes forever to download pictures.

Stacy is coming today so I had to do a little cleaning. I vacuumed our bedroom and the family room. I dusted and cleaned bathrooms upstairs and did some laundry.

After cleaning, James and I went to town. We had lunch at Los Corrales because Maxine told me they had a lunch special for $6.95. I got a chicken enchilada plate with rice and beans, which is the lunch special. James splurged and got the Los Corrales enchilada and it looked like this:

Pork with bell peppers, onions, and sour cream sauce.

I tasted it and it was delicious!

We picked up a prescription for James at CVS and then did some shopping at Walmart. I bought squash, broccoli, asparagus, two roasts, steak, spinach, bread, pineapple, bananas, eggs, milk, cheerios, shakes, ice, diet Dr. Pepper, and toilet paper and paper towels. That ought to last us a couple of days.

When we got back to Vernon Stacy, Michael, Joshua, Shipley and Vader were there. I guess Paul decided not to come. It took me forever to carry in all of the groceries. Michael was carrying in wood with Joshua.

We have more snow. While it was snowing outside Stacy, Michael, James, and I played Hearts. James ran them at least twice and Michael ended up losing.

For dinner Michael made us Gordon Ramsey steaks and Stacy made fingerling potatoes with parmesan cheese. I made some asparagus and squash. Everything was delicious.

Stacy and the boys watched Harry Potter while I watched a Christmas movie in the bedroom. I also walked.

Zoo Lights

The Whalen family

The Thompson family

The dogs love Michael

They love Joshua too, especially when he

shares his apple with them.

Such a big girl!

I love that smile!

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Wednesday, December 26th, 2018

Lima, Peru

38th operating temple

Dedicated: 10-12 Jan 1986

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Death of

Alma 16:19

Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and also the resurrection of the dead.

Book of Mormon

#1 - Moroni 7:20-34

#2 - Ether 13-14

General Conference

Taking Upon Ourselves the Name of Jesus Christ

Robert C. Gay

"Can any one of you imagine our Savior letting you and your burdens go unnoticed by Him? The Savior looked upon the Samaritan, the adulterer, the tax collector, the leper, the mentally ill, and the sinner with the same eyes. All were children of His Father. All were redeemable."

Today was a snow day. Stacy and Paul were going to come up but Paul had something he had to do so they aren't going to make it until tomorrow. We stayed home and watched it snow.

I worked on my blog. James made some phone calls for his Mesa job which still has not been approved by the City of Mesa.

We got lots of Christmas sweets. I think I ate an entire box of scotch mellows today. In order to burn all these calories I need to walk about 50,000 steps a day.

We watched Christmas movies and a young adult fireside by the Uchtdorf's. I have never heard Sister Uchtdorf speak today. She has quite a heavy accent.

We had canned soup and frozen dinners for lunch and dinner. It was a "down" day. We needed one of these.

One of my favorite scriptures

So adorable

Such a sweetheart!

Erik and Amelia's family

Tuesday, December 25th, 2018

Seoul, Korea

37th operating temple

Dedicated: 14-15 Dec 1985

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Death of

Alma 11:42

Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

Book of Mormon

#1 - Moroni 6:1-7:19

#2 - Ether 10-12

General Conference

The Father

Brian K. Ashton

"During mortality, Heavenly Father provides us with the conditions we need to progress within His plan. The Father begot Jesus Christ in the flesh and provided Him with divine help to fulfill His mortal mission. Heavenly Father will likewise help each of us if we will strive to keep His commandments. The Father gives us agency. Our lives are in His hands, and our 'days are known' and 'shall not be numbered less.' And He ensures that eventually all things work for the good of those who love Him."

Merry Christmas!

We got up around 6:30. Alex took a shower and then the boys "opened the Christmas room."

After all the gifts are unwrapped, James, Sheri, and I start breakfast. James and I are making biscuits and gravy with venison and Sheri is making bacon. Stacy brought bacon too, Trina brought eggs and German pancakes, and Kim and Brian brought juice. There was plenty of food. Those attending this Christmas extravaganza: Sheri, Ian, Alex, Max, Evan, Kim, Brian, Joe, Stacy, Paul, Joshua, Michael, Dallin, Sarah, and Adam, Darrel, Trina, Addy, Rowan, Ruby, and Lola. Those were the people. The dogs included: Ollie, Shipley, Vader, and Dallin and Sarah's dog, Charlie.

Christmas Day in the morning: Chandler

Whitehouse, Texas

After breakfast in Chandler:

Some people went outside to play in the backyard

and others lounged around on the couch.

Sarah, Dallin, Charlie, and Joe. Stacy by the door.

After everyone had left we cleaned up and waited for Ben's phone call. The minute I saw he face on Sheri's phone screen I began to tear up. We talked to him for a few minutes but the Trezise's talked for an hour.

Ben and Elder Nelson in the same sweater.

Before leaving Sheri's Gail came down and visited with James. I think he was in town for Christmas and to see Kit's baby. He wanted to make sure James was ok after his back surgery.

I packed up our car and we said our goodbye's and headed for Darrel and Trina's. We wanted to see their Christmas presents and visit for a few minutes.

Here we are in Mesa at Darrel and Trina's new house. They are in the drywall phase. Hopefully they will be able to move in sometime in March or early April.

At their rental where they now live:

Ruby got a robe, slippers, and a bunny mug.

Lola on the move. Notice that she is barefooted.

Lots of things to ride this year.

I don't think she ever got it out of the driveway.

So fun!

I drove to the McDonald's in Globe, which was open by the way, and James drove the rest of the way home. He had said we would be home by 4:30 but it was actually 4:36.

I begin unpacking and putting everything away. Although we had a great time celebrating with family, it is nice to be home. Here is a list of the Christmas gifts I received:

From Lois and Dawn - An Amazon gift card for $30, a runner for the table and three aprons that Lois made. President Nelson's book, The Teachings of Russell M. Nelson and a DVD about his life from Kim and Brian. A loopy case for my phone, a family photo, and an Olive Garden gift card from Sheri and Ian. Scotch mellows and a $50 Cheesecake Factory card from Darrel and Trina. Family photos and serving at the Salvation Army from Jared and Kacey. A beautiful garnet/diamond necklace from James. It was a wonderful Christmas and has been a great year.