Saturday, December 29th, 2018

Frankfurt, Germany

41st operating temple

Dedicated: 28-30 1987 Aug

By: Ezra Taft Benson

Jesus Christ, Death of

3 Nephi 6:20

And there began to be men inspired from heaven and sent forth, standing among the people in all the land, preaching and testifying boldly of the sins and iniquities of the people, and testifying unto them concerning the redemption which the Lord would make for his people, or in other words, the resurrection of Christ; and they did testify boldly of his death and sufferings.

Book of Mormon 
#1 - Moroni 9:1-19
#2 - Moroni 8-10
General Conference

Now Is The Time

Elder Jack N. Gerard

"Unless we take the time to reflect, we may not realize the impact of this fast-paced environment on our daily lives and the choices we make. We may find our lives consumed with bursts of information packaged in memes, videos, and glaring headlines. Although interesting and entertaining, most of these have little to do with our eternal progress, and yet they shape the way we view our mortal experience."

The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and the frosting (snow) is falling off the trees. Michael ran four miles this morning. I'm so proud of Joshua for shoveling the snow off the front porch in preparation for the Trezise's coming today. 

James made biscuits and gravy for lunch. It was a little early because Stacy, who fasts most of the morning, was starving and she says this is her favorite meal. 

This afternoon Michael and I met Sheri at Maverick. Ian drove Max and Evan to the cabin in the van and Sheri, Michael and I went shopping at the Walmart in Taylor. I saw Brother Hatch, one of the temple recorders doing his shopping. 

Brrrr...It is sun shiny but windy and cold today. I got gas at the Circle K next to Walmart and was going to wash my windshield but the water was frozen. 

Things are getting a little crowded in our kitchen with Stacy and Sheri setting their food out on the counter and everyone sharing the frig and freezer. Luckily Sheri brought an ice chest and we put that in the garage. 

I cooked the other roast I bought in the crockpot and we had it for dinner with leftover mashed potatoes. It was delicious.

Stacy watched Galaxy Quest this evening and then Michael found the Maverick DVD and everyone watched that while Sheri and I were in the bedroom watching Christmas movies. Michael wanted to watch Ratouille. I realized I didn't have it so I ordered one...oops I accidentally ordered two. I guess I can give it to Michael for his birthday.

Michael and James made a blueberry, apple cobbler this evening. It was delicious!  We didn't have any 7-Up so they used red cream soda and it turned out pink.

 Michael staring at the pink with white

polka dots cobbler.

It's the taste that matters and it 

was delicious!

2018 pictures of Palmer, Autumn

and Scarlett

 I think Charlie might be looking

for her teeth.

She looks so cute in the dress Lois made her.

Of course, she looks cute in anything.

 Ready to play in the snow. Michael pulled

them around on our sled behind the Razr.

They had a blast, except the snow does fly

back in the face of whomever is riding.

Ian showing me his wireless ear phones.

He loves reading and listening to Brandon

Sanderson books on his Audible account.

 The Umphresses got hover boards for

Christmas

This happened a few days later.

Friday, December 28th, 2018

Denver, Colorado

40th operating temple

Dedicated: 24-28 Oct 1986

By: Ezra Taft Benson

Jesus Christ, Death of

Helaman 14:14

And behold, again, another sign I give unto you yea, a sign of his death.

Book of Mormon

#1 - Moroni 8:1-30

#2 - Moroni 5-7

General Conference

Choose You This Day

Elder Dale G. Renlund

"Christ's advocacy is, at least in part, to remind us that He has paid for our sins and that no one is excluded from the reach of God's mercy. For those who believe in Jesus Christ, repent, are baptized, and endure to the end - a process that leads to reconciliation - the Savior forgives, heals, and advocates. He is our helper, consoler, and intercessor - attesting to and vouching for our reconciliation with God."

We got more snow during the night. Now there is 8". Joshua went out and shoveled snow off the sidewalk. 

Michael put on his workout clothes and even though it was very cold outside he went for a run. 

I like the purple Mikey, especially the shoes!

Shipley and Vader love the snow, especially Vader.

I worked on my 2019 budget today. 

Michael and Joshua went for a Razr ride but it was snowing so much they had to come back. 

I had leftover steak and a roll for lunch. James made steak, eggs, potatoes, and toast. 

Stacy worked on the Starry Night puzzle and watched the movie, "I Walk the Line." The movie is a little depressing for me but Stacy loves it and says it is about redemption. It is but I just don't think it's a good movie to watch with your kids. 

Stacy's car is covered with snow and she was afraid it was going to be stuck so James moved it for her. He almost got it stuck but was able to park it on the driveway. We now have 13" of snow. Are we snowed in?

For dinner we had pot roast, which Stacy said was delicious, mashed potatoes, broccoli and rolls. Since I made the dinner, Stacy did the dishes. 

Michael and James played chess. James won. 

Our satellite went down during "School of Rock." Michael had to knock the snow off the satellite dish and then it reset.

Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Michael and Joshua getting wood 

from the woodpile.

 My Tree

Look at the snow piled up on the picnic table.

 View from the front porch.

Can you see the road?

 It was piled much higher before it got
cleaned off.

Front planter filled with snow.

Cute quilt

 Cute Baby

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, 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