OUR FAMILY

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Monday, June 10th, 2019

Frankfurt, Germany

41st operating temple

Dedicated: 28 Aug 1987

By: Ezra Taft Benson

Jesus Christ, Exemplar

Matthew 4:19

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Book of Mormon

Alma 13:21-14:5

New Testament "Not as I will, as Thou Wilt"

Matthew 26:1-19 Mark 14:1-16 Luke 22:1-13

General Conference

Feasting Upon the Words of Christ

Takashi Wada

"The words of Christ can help us 'increase our spiritual capacity to receive revelation' and safely guide us through our life. Mormon teaches that the words of Christ have 'a great tendency to lead the people to do that which is just' and that they are more powerful than anything 'the sword' can accomplish. As I have searched for God's wisdom in dealing with my own challenges, always as I have tried the 'virtue of the word of God', I have felt inspired and enabled to make wise decisions, overcome temptations, and bless my life with increased faith in Christ and love for those around me. Our prophet, Russell M. Nelson, has taught us that 'in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost'. Needed revelation will come as we try the 'virtue of the word,' and that word will be more powerful than anything else we could try or imagine."

I worked on catching up on "Come Follow Me" this morning.

James left around 8 o'clock to look at a remodel job at Dawn's school.

Ruby went to swimming lessons and Lola went to tumbling.

Trina was supposed to work but they put her "on call."

When Lola returned we packed up Lexy and after Rowan offered a prayer of safety and peace we left for Vernon. Rowan sat in the front seat and Lola and Ruby were in the back. James is staying here for a 1:30 appointment with his ear, nose, and throat doctor, Dr. Weiner.

I headed out on the 202 towards Gilbert Rd. Instead of going all the way to the 101 I decided I was going to get off on Gilbert Rd. That's the way James came in on Saturday. Something happened when I got off and instead of heading north on Gilbert Rd., I headed south. I was so frustrated that when I came to the Peter Piper Pizza on Baseline Rd. I decided to stop for lunch. The first thing Lola said was: "Gramma, I don't won't to play, I want to go to the cabin."

I bought four buffet lunches and we probably ate enough for one. The things that was really costly was the drinks. Oh well. Darrel did give me cash for the week to feed the kids. I promise I didn't use all of it today, only about a third.

I forgot to tell a cute story about Lola that happened yesterday at our family dinner. She said to Joshua: "Everybody in your family is brown except for your mom....and your dog Shipley."

As I left Peter Piper I headed north on Gilbert road and took the 60 to Country Club which turns into the 87, the road to Payson.

When we got to Payson we stopped at McDonald's to use the bathrooms and to eat ice cream. Lola was asleep when we got there but when we said the word ice cream she woke right up.

In Show Low we stopped at Safeway so Lola could use the bathroom and so we could do some shopping. The kids decided they wanted spaghetti for dinner. Ruby likes broccoli so I got some broccoli and french bread to go with our spaghetti. All the kids got to pick out a fruit. Rowan picked nectarines, Ruby plums, and Lola strawberries. We also got some cherries for grandpa.

Our next stop was the Conoco station on the hill as we were leaving Show Low. Last stop was the post office. No books, but a pink slip saying I had items too big for my box.

As we were driving towards Vernon I noticed ominous black clouds coming from Springerville, and New Mexico.

Rowan carried everything in from the car and I put it away. The kids took their stuff up stairs. They are all going to sleep in their family room.

I went up and helped them clean the dead bugs out of the bathtub and the toilet and then I vacuumed and dusted.

James got here around 6. He told the kids that there were two antelope outside. It's LaVerne and Shirley! The kids and James stood in our bedroom looking through binoculars to see if the antelope were pregnant. They determined that they were.

As we sat down to dinner it began to rain. It rained hard and then the rain turned to hail and it looked like there was snow on the ground. The temperature dropped from 80 to 60. The drop in temperature is one of the things I love about rain!

After dinner I walked and played with Lola. We played bowling and chess. Ruby and Rowan were upstairs playing Minecraft. Lola found the tea party box with hats, and boas. I told her if she put it back we would get it out tomorrow and have a tea party.

We all had family prayer together before going to bed.

Eating spaghetti while it rains and hails

Lola said: "I like this bread"!

Sweet Scarlett

These two are friends forever!

Five years ago had the time share.

I love the look on Max's and Joshua's faces

as they consider the fact that Evan knew

Friday, June 14, 2019

Sunday, June 9th, 2019

Denver, Colorado

40th operating temple

Dedicated: 24 Oct 1986

By: Ezra Taft Benson

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

A of F 1:1

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

Book of Mormon

Alma 13:10-20

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

Review John 13-17

General Conference

The Eye of Faith

Elder Neil L. Andersen

"We can know the things of God as we seek them spiritually. Paul said, 'The things of God knoweth no man, except he has the Spirit of God. ...For they are spiritually discerned.'"

I did two blog entries this morning and I am still behind.

Darrel and Trina worked on getting Lola's room fixed up. They put in a ballet bar in front of a mirror and also a new dresser. Everything is white with pink accents and a little blue. Lola loves it!

James and I cleaned the kitchen and family room area. He did the dishes and focused on the kitchen while I swept the entire area. James also washed the arcadia door window. We don't normally clean on Sunday but Trina invited the family over for dinner, plus she is having a Whirlygirl photo shoot after church. Whirlygirl is the name of Trina's website where she is selling little girl leotards.

We attended the Twenty-two Point ward with Darrel, Trina, and the kids. We sat on the front row of the overflow.

The youth speaker is the daughter of a professor at Grand Canyon University. He teaches classes on the Bible. He daughter, Sophia, talked about the parable of the talents. The crux of her talk was that we need to develop our talents so that we can serve others.

The next talk was by a Sister Humpherys. She quoted Proverbs 22:16: "Train p a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." She asked the question she was asked: "How is my family preparing for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ."? Here are some of the notes I took:

We must lead by example. She says she seeks to obtain the Spirit in the early hours of the morning when her house is quiet.

She tries to make her home a haven. They set a goal to have one day with no fighting. To work up to that day they practiced each day having an hour of no fighting. They called it the hour of peace.

Build faith in Jesus Christ through daily family prayer and scripture study. Attend meetings, have dinner together. They ask themselves the question, "what if Jesus was coming this week."

They set goals in these areas: spiritual, physical, talents, education, service, work, future, and fun. They practice having love at home.

Brother Graham was the last speaker. He spoke on the importance of doing missionary work. He used Elder Uchtdorf's talk from conference: "Missionary Work: Sharing What Is in Your Heart."

These are the five points mentioned in Elder Uchtdorf's talk:

1. Draw closer to God.

2. Fill your heart with love for others.

3. Strive to walk the path of discipleship.

4. Share what is in your heart.

5. Trust the Lord to work His miracles.

I sat by a Sister O'Connor during Relief Society. She was so friendly and kind. She has been a widow for 15 years. She said her husband's mother was a Maxwell from Eagar. We figured we must be related.

The lesson was based on Elder Rasband's talk: "Build a Fortress of Spirituality and Protection." It was a great lesson with lots of participation. I want to use this talk in our Relief Society in Vernon.

Sister Hansen taught the lesson. She goes back and forth from her home here and in California where her husband is still an air traffic controller. Their son and his family with two children are in the ward too.

When we got home from church Darrel, James and I began preparing for dinner while Trina, Lola, Scarlett and her mom, and Ivy and her mom, did a photo shoot with the girls modeling the leotards that Trina has for sale.

The family began arriving around 5 pm. Attending were:

Sheri, Ian, Max, Evan, Kim, Brian. They came for dinner. After dinner Stacy, Paul, Michael, and Joshua came.

For dinner we had: Darrel's lemon chicken and rolls, a salad and macaroni and cheese made by Sheri, asparagus made by Trina, and strawberry shortcake with ice cream and whipped cream made by James and I. Brian and Kim visited with us during dinner but didn't eat.

Here are some photos from this fun family affair:

Lola modeling on of the leo's that Trina

is selling.

While Ruby, Kim, and I were playing Rummicub Lola felt a little left out. She wanted someone to come upstairs and play dressup with her. I suggested that she do a fashion show with all of her dressup clothes, so she did.

Everyone got a tour of Lola's new room. She is so excited about it.

She said she was so proud of her mom for doing such a good job. We reminded her that her dad helped too and she said, "Oh yeah, him too." She also told everyone not to touch the ballet bar.

After everyone left, Lola, Ruby, and Darrel played PieFace. I'm sorry I missed getting a photo of Darrel.

The girls loved getting hit in the face

with whipped cream.

Back home in Vernon, or should I say Show Low,

Heather had her baby.

Charlie was just too tired for the

regular Sunday photo shoot.

Saturday, June 8th, 2019

Buenos Aires, Argentina

39th operating temple

Dedicated: 17 Jan 1986

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

Moses 4:2

But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and chosen from the beginning, said unto me, - Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

Book of Mormon

Alma 12:28-13:9

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

John 17

General Conference

Seeking Knowledge by the Spirit

Mathias Held

"We liked the emphasis on personal growth, on education, on hard work and self-reliance. We learned about the remarkable humanitarian program. And we were impressed by the general conferences, with the wonderful music and the profound spiritual principles shared there."

We left for our shift at the temple around 5:38 this morning, listening to the above talks on the way.

Even though we had two bundt cakes we only took the almond poppy seed one into the temple to share. We left the other one in the car to take to the valley.

The Brimhall's presided over our preparation meeting.

Before leaving for the temple this morning I got 3,000 steps. As I did my rounds today I had my phone in my pocket counting my steps. James does this every week we work. I did it today because I knew I was not going to have time today to do very much walking.

My schedule went something like this: Plan for the veil with Sister Reidhead, break, locker room, top of the stairs greeter, assistant veil director for the 8 am session. Initiatory, bapistry - they didn't need me, assistant veil director for the 9:30 session, waiting for the next veil with Sister Reidhead, and assistant veil director for the 11 am session. There were only six sisters in this session.

We left for the valley from Snowflake, going through Heber and Payson. We stopped in Payson at Culver's to eat. I had a salad and a sundae and James had the fish dinner. He said it was delicious.

When we arrived in Mesa we went straight to Highland High School where Ruby and Lola's dance recital was being held.

Two of the first people we saw upon arriving were Darrel and Trina. Darrel bought our tickets and then went to buy flowers for the girls while James and I saved seats. Trina stayed outside waiting for her parents. All six of us sat together.

The name of the dance company that Ruby and Lola belong to is: Rhythm and Motion Dance Center. The name of the program was Danceopoly and the dances were all based around games.

There were 28 numbers. Lola's was #6, Pieface. They danced to the song Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch with tap shoes on. I especially loved it when they blew kisses. It was so cute.

Ruby's dance was #27 and was called, "Fortnite." It was a hiphop dance. They did the "floss" at the end so when it was over I made Ruby do the floss for me.

Such cuties!

Darrel didn't want to spend another $15 a piece for Rowan and Addy to come so they each went to a friends house during the concert.

James and I walked after the concert and back at Darrel and Trina's. He went outside and I stayed inside.

Arizona Highways

Lake Powell

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Friday, June 7th, 2019

Lima, Peru

38th operating temple

Dedicated: 10 Jan 1986

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

DC 93:14

And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.

Book of Mormon

Alma 12:20-27

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

John 15:18-27; John 16:1-4, 16-33

General Conference

The True, Pure, and Simple Gospel of Jesus Christ

President M. Russell Ballard

"One of my children once said, 'Dad, I wonder if I will ever be able to make it.' I responded, 'Al Heavenly Father asks of us is to do the very best we can each day.' Brothers and sisters, do the best you can do day after day, and before you know it, you will come to realize that your Heavenly Father knows you and that He loves you. And when you know that - really know it - your life will have real purpose and meaning and you will be filled with joy and peace."

Sold another book today, "Awakenings."

James went to Chacon's early to pick up all of the materials, etc., and took them to Bill's.

I stayed home and worked on my blog and the "Come Follow Me" lesson.

James got back in time to drive with me to my infusion appointment although I did the driving.

I had an appointment with Dr. Caldron at 9:45. I only see him about twice a year. When my appointment was over he walked me back to the infusion center where Frances and Angie work. Frances took my blood pressure, which was good, and Angie hooked me up to the meds. Everything was pretty routine.

When I was finished I texted James and tried to call him. When I looked up from my call, which he didn't answer, he was driving in.

From the doctor's we drove to the Olive Garden on Gilbert and the 202 for lunch. Darrel and Trina gave me a gift card for mother's day.

James ordered the stuffed chicken marsala and I had five cheese ziti. We both had salad and breadsticks. They are having a special right now and I got one plate of ziti to eat in the restaurant and other to take home. It was delicious! For dessert we had the original cheesecake with strawberries and I loved it more than what we had at Cheesecake Factory yesterday.

No one was home when we got back to Darrel and Trina's. I think they all went over to Bryce's and Lexy's to swim. I texted Trina and told her it was National Donut Day and both Krispy Kreme and Walmart were giving away free donuts, no purchase necessary.

We packed up and headed for home, going the Globe way. I read and slept and it seemed like before I knew it we were driving in to Show Low. We stopped at Safeway and James went in to get something for the temple tomorrow. He came back with two bundt cakes, one with strawberry flavoring and the other with almonds and poppy seed. Perfect.

James walked around the yard and showed me all of the fruit trees and vines. We have apple, plum, cherry, and apricot trees, 33 raspberry vines, one blueberry bush, and blackberries. How exciting!

These are the things I did this evening before going to bed: I checked my book alerts for new pricing, swept and mopped the dining room and kitchen floor, worked on my blog, walked and took a shower. James was already in bed. We get up early in the morning for the temple.