Thursday, January 3rd, 2019

Orlando, Florida

46th operating temple

Dedicated: 9 Oct 1994

By: Howard W. Hunter

Jesus Christ, Death of

DC 18:11

For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 2:16-3:8

New Testament

Lesson #1 - Quote by Elder Bednar:

"As learners, you and I are to act and be doers of the word and not simply hearers who are only acted upon. Are you and I agents who act and seek learning by faith, or are we waiting to be taught and acted upon? ... A learner exercising agency by acting in accordance with correct principles opens his or her heart to the Holy Ghost and invites His teaching, testifying power, and confirming witness. Learning by faith requires spiritual, mental and physical exertion and not just passive reception" ("Seek Learning by Faith," Ensign, Sept. 2007, 64).

General Conference

Lift Up Your Head and Rejoice

M. Joseph Brough

" To help us travel and triumph over our hard times with glimpses of eternity, may I suggest two things. We must face hard things, first, by forgiving others and, second, by giving ourselves to Heavenly Father."

I have a book box ready to mail to Amazon's fulfillment center. Sheri and Ian are leaving this morning with the boys and I want to be here to take a picture but James has a doctor's appointment with Dr. Moffat about his laringitis, plus I want to mail our box of books, so I go to town with James.

Kim took a picture for me but I guess there had been a bit of a misunderstanding and Max shoved Evan down. Sheri and Ian both yelled and Max so none of them were happy in this picture. 

Sheri looks happy.

James and I stopped at Taco Bell for my taco craving. We also went to CVS to get James's prescriptions.

We got stuck going up our hill at home. I walked the rest of the way and Brian came in the Razr to rescue James and the car. I guess the car got stuck 2 more times.  

Brian and Kim have taken down our Christmas tree, and the grandkids stockings. Brian has carried everything downstairs. I am so grateful for their help! I love looking at my Christmas tree when it's up but I hate taking it down and putting it up.

Sheri and company got home safely. They pick up Ollie at Cathi's and he is happy to see them. Later Cathi comes down and he is so excited to see her that he stands by the door blocking her so she can't get out. She picks him up and he licks her all over the face. This dog is in love with his aunt Cathi.

Brian made breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs with sausage and hashbrowns. I didn't eat too much because I had been snacking on lemon cake all day. 

We had several deer, Kim counted 8, and some elk in our yard this evening. Kim and James both took pictures. One of the cow elk herd Kim and I talking and ran back up the hill. The rest of the herd stayed around for awhile.

This evening the four of us, Kim, Brian, James, and I watched one of my favorite Christmas movies. It's called "Christmas Around the Corner" about a girl who visits a bookstore in Vermont and changes the entire town. Love it.

We have some friends who came home from the valley after Christmas, Pam and Chuck, to find that their waterline had broken. There is also a single sister in our ward with broken pipes. The elders quorum is going to put skirting around her manufactured home to keep them from freezing again.

A Charlie picture a day keeps the 

blues away.

Phillipians 4:13

Brian and James enjoying dinner together.

 Kim's latest M&M craze

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2019

San Diego, California

45th operating temple

Dedicated 25 April 1993

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Death of

Moroni 9:25

My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 1:16-2:15

New Testament

To truly learn from the Savior, I must accept His invitation, "Come follow me." Matt. 6:14-15; 18:21-35; Luke 23:33-34

General Conference

Deep and Lasting Conversion to Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Elder Quentin L. Cook

"World conditions increasingly require deepening individual conversion to and strengthening faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement. The Lord has prepared us, line upon line, for the perilous times that we now face. In recent years, the Lord has guided us to address related core concerns, including:
* Honoring the Sabbath day and the sacred ordinance of the sacrament has again been emphasized for the last three years.
* Under the bishop's direction, strengthened elders quorums and Relief Societies are focused on the purpose and divinely appointed responsibilities of the Church and helping members make and keep sacred covenants.
* Ministering in a higher and holier way is being joyfully adopted. 
*Beginning with the end in mind, temple covenants and family history service are becoming a purposeful part of the covenant path."

When I came in to the family room this morning Kim, Brian, and Sheri were watching a Christmas movie. They ended up watching two movies this morning. Ian was making breakfast. Michael cleaned the fireplace using my $2,000 vacuum. It's okay though because it is old. 

After breakfast Ian took the boys sledding. Max came in afterwards and said he lost his pants while he was on the sled. Oh dear. 

Sheri and Kim went out to build a snowman but the snow would not stick together because it was so dry so they went for a walk instead. They were gone for quite awhile and walked over two miles. Sheri looked it up on Google and a 40 year old woman burns 2,000 calories a day. I wonder how many calories a 70 year old woman burns in a day.

 Meet Mrs. Smiley Snow

It's snowing again. The boys come in and drop their snow-covered clothes in the laundry room. I have them trained well. 

Brian is smoking our ribs for us. I prepared a rub and James put the rub on and put the ribs in the smoker. It says leave them for 3 1/2 hours but since our smoker is run by propane you have to check it periodically to make sure it maintains the right temperature. This is what Brian did until they were done around 4 p.m. The boys devoured the first rack in about five minutes and the rest of us shared the second rack. The beef ribs were mostly fat and bone. Delicious, although they were just a snack. Brian and Sheri both made burgers for dinner and Sheri also made hotdogs. I did not have dinner.

Brian says the best kind of smoker is a Traeger so I looked them up. They run anywhere from $599 to thousands of dollars if you get them with a grill. I guess I will need to start saving my money.

You watched movies and played games inside and outside there was the snow.

 Joshua wears this mask to keep

his face warm. I think it is Brian's.

While Sheri and Kim were on their walk they

texted it to me and ask me to show it to James.

They wanted to know if it was a mountain 

lion. He said no, it is either a dog or coyote.

Trivial Pursuit

The game gets more interesting when Kim plays.

 She finished her "Valley of the Sun" puzzle.

 Something I definitely need more of.

 She always brightens my day!

Lots of steps today!

Tuesday, January 1st, 2019

Toronto, Ontario

44th operating temple

Dedicated: 25-27 Aug 1990

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Death of

Mormon 9:13

And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 1:1-15

New Testament

We Are Responsible for Our Own Learning

General Conference

Opening Remarks

President Russell M. Nelson

"This morning we will announce a new balance and connection between gospel instruction in the home and in the Church. We are each responsible for our individual spiritual growth. And scriptures make it clear that parents have the primary responsibility to teach the doctrine to their children. It is the responsibility of the Church to assist each member in the divinely defined goal of increasing his or her gospel knowledge."

My breakfast consisted of lemon cake, banana nut bread, which Sheri and I made yesterday, and biscuits and gravy. In my defense I didn't know the biscuits and gravy were coming but I couldn't pass them up when they did. Brian brought an elk roast and he cut it up and James made the gravy and Brian made the best biscuits, Pillsbury frozen.

Looks a mess but tastes great!

Kim is working on her puzzle, Sheri is watching a Hallmark Christmas movie, and Ian is upstairs reading a book. It looks and feels like we are snowed in. We got more snow during the night but we really don't care. I was trying to blog for December 24th but something was wrong with blogger or my internet connection so I finally gave up and sat down and watched Sheri's movie. 

Michael built a fire this morning and kept it going throughout the day. I think he might have been a little cold. The boys played video games, football, and went sledding. Kim, Brian, and Sheri shoveled snow on the decks and there was a ton! Thanks guys! Kim had a backache the rest of the day and that made me sad.

Kerri H. brought the birthday cards for the sisters having birthdays in January for me to sign. She got stuck two times. I hated to ask him but I did ask James if he would help her. 

Our neighbor Pierre had his tractor out clearing the road and he helped get her "unstuck" the first time. She came up to turn around in our driveway and got stuck again.  This time James got her out. I think she thought her four-wheel drive truck was invincible but she found out that it wasn't.

The boys went sledding but I think the snow got the best of them too.

 Instead of putting their wet clothes in front

of the fire I had them go directly to the 

laundry room and then I dried the clothes

for them.

The first thing they wanted when they came in was some hot chocolate. Here is Joshua putting an icicle in his hot chocolate to cool it down.

Michael and Max playing a game of chess.

Max won.

I made sub sandwiches for lunch. One for James, Ian, Kim, Brian, and myself.

James, Michael, and Max went to Dave Elkins to check on his water to see if it was frozen. The snow was so deep they couldn't find the shut-off valve.

 Who is that masked man?

Max

Michael

Sorry Mr. Elkin, but everything is covered with snow. It's a marshmallow world in the winter time.

I found one of my old dream journals from 2010 in the cupboard today. I had written down for several days some of the dreams that I had. I shared them with Kim and we had a good laugh. I am writing from Darrel and Trina's right now so I don't have the journal with me. One of the funniest was Trisha Yearwood leaving Garth Brooks for Ryan Seacrest. I will share more when I get home.

Sheri made shrimp and tilapia for dinner. I had been snacking all day so I did not eat much dinner. James, and Michael made another cobbler. This time Max assisted. We took a vote and decided on blueberry and peach. 

The kitchen is a gathering place and everyone

adds their opinion. Sheri loved this one better

than the blueberry-apple. I preferred the

blueberry-apple, but this one was good too.

Kim loved the fact that it had peaches in it.

Sheri and I were watching a movie in the bedroom and realized we

should invite Kim even though she was working on her puzzle.

She declined but said she was glad that we thought of her.

A daily dose of Charlie makes everything better.

As I set goals for the new year here are some
things to consider:

I love Mother Teresa!