Friday, March 6th, 2020

Cordoba, Argentina

145th operating temple

Dedicated: 17 May 2015

By: Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Jesus Christ, Judge

2 Nephi 21:4
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"
 "The Doctrine of Christ" D. Todd Christofferson, Apr 2012

March 2020 Ensign

Ministering Through

Temple Service

Saints, Volume 2

Chapter 36

The Weak Thing of The World

Oct 2019 GenCon

"Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ"

Elder Dale G. Renlund

" I invite you to commit to a lifelong process of discipleship. Make and keep covenants. Throw your old ways into deep, churning waterfalls. Completely bury your weapons of rebellion with no handles sticking out. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, making covenants with a real intent to reliably honor them will bless your life forever. You will become more like the Savior as you always remember Him, follow Him, and adore Him. I testify that He is the firm foundation. He is dependable, and His promises are sure. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

We have received texts from both Alex and Michael recently. Alex said: "I was just thinking about how much I love you and grandpa! I hope you both are doing well!  

I replied: "Thank you Alex! We are doing well. It is so sweet of you to ask. We love you so very much!

From Michael: "Hi, just wanted to check in with you guys and say I miss you and love you!

Our replies: (Michael sent his message to both of us, whereas Alex just sent his to me).

Me: Thanks Michael. I love you and miss you too!

James: What a thoughtful grandson! Thanks for your concern. I will have a great afternoon because I will be working at the temple.

Michael: Snowflake?

James: Yes

Michael: That's the best one.

Me: The Gilbert is more grandiose.

Michael: It doesn't have the scenery and charm though.

Me: Snowflake is like a cozy cottage.

Michael: I've never actually been inside.

Me: Someday

Michael: Yes

I sure do love these boys, or young adults, I guess I should say. To me they will always be boys.

We had Pirate Booty all over the couch this morning. I got out the vacuum and did some cleaning. It's worth it to have Pirate Booty on your couch when you have friends like the Grapp's. 

I did quite a long post for Monday on my blog and then lost it because of my computer. That means I will have to post again this evening.

Today is Kristin Miner's wedding and reception. We were actually invited to the sealing in the Gilbert temple. James wanted to go but decided not to. Dave, Kristin's dad is one of his dearest friends. He was a counselor to him when he served as a bishop. Bunny, Kristen's mom, is a good friend too. We will send a card and since they are registered on Amazon, we will send a gift too.

I inventoried 14 books today. James was waiting for me to get my shipment ready so he could take it into town when he went. I told him there was no way I would have it ready today so he went without books.

I got a text from Sheri today asking if we could meet her in Heber on Sunday to pick up Max. I told her we could but was wondering if Max would come up by himself.

A text from Darrel asking if we could watch Lola and Ruby Wednesday-Saturday while he and Trina, Addy, and Rowan, went to trek. He was going to bring them up on Wednesday. I told him Dad may be down there and could bring them back.

I texted with my nephew Brian Maxwell this morning. I asked if James and I could come for a visit tomorrow. He said they were leaving for the valley in the morning. I asked him how he was doing? He said:"I'm doing good. A couple more weeks in this boot and then maybe I can take it off. I said we would like to come and visit another time if that was okay. 

Cammy's bread is too good. It goes so well with butter and jam after being toasted.

My friend Karen S. had a story to tell me about Costco and how they are running low on supplies because of the Corona virus scare.

"I wanted some gluten free noodles that Costco had but they sell out on and off and I can't get them so I watch for them to get back in stock. Today Costco had them in but with all the craziness I ordered them online through instacart with some other things. They were just delivered and the driver said Costco was insane today, and Saturday was worse. All the canned goods, rice, cereal, macaroni and cheese, water and toilet paper were sold out.The shelves were empty on those aisles. Scary!

People go crazy when they think a crisis is coming. We are supposed to always be prepared so we don't have to panic and greedily grab every thing in sight at the last minute.

James bought a new sander to get in the smaller areas as he finished up Sheri and Ian's balcony railings. I guess that's one of the reasons he went to town today.

I do this too Scarlett! 

She still looks beautiful!

 Ollie and Ziggie, or as I call them,

Salt and Pepper.

 Why does Trump have on a 

flight jacket?

I don't know what kind of bird this is,

but he is definitely patriotic!

 We taught Kristen in Primary

She's all grown up and beautiful!

Kristen's sister McKell is a baker with

a wedding business. She is married and

raising two boys also.

I needed a picture of the groom

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

Phoenix, Arizona

144th operating temple

Dedicated: 16 Nov 2014

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Judge

Isaiah 11:4

 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he shall he slay the wicked.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

2 Nephi 33

Nephi's words are true - They testify of Christ - Those who believe in Christ will believe Nephi's words, which will stand as a witness before the judgment bar.

Saints, Volume 2

Chapter 34

Nothing to Fear from the Wicked

Oct 2019 GenCon

Spiritual Capacity

Michelle Craig

"The Church's new program for children and youth is built on the foundation of learning to seek revelation, discovering what the Lord would have us do, and then acting on that direction. Each one of us, regardless of age or circumstance, can strive to seek, receive, and act. As you follow this eternal pattern ordained for our day, you will draw nearer to Jesus Christ - His love, His light, His direction, His peace, and His healing and enabling power. And you will increase your spiritual capacity to become an everyday instrument of His hands in accomplishing His great work. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

I got up this morning, worked on Inklings, did a blog post, and then finished getting my books ready to ship. I was ready by nine o'clock to go to town in case James wanted to go with me. He is working for Chuck at the temple today and has to leave around 12:30 this afternoon.

He did want to go because he had a tire he needed to drop off at Central Tire. James dropped me off at Walmart while he did the UPS drop, washed the car and put gas in it. 

Walmart was out of hand sanitizer and low on hand soap but they had toilet paper and most everything else I needed. I got some strawberries and Coolwhip and whipped cream and some short cakes so we could have strawberry shortcake at our "Come Follow Me" meeting on Monday.

We were out of bread so I bought two loaves only to have Sister Grapp bring us a loaf of homemade bread this evening when they came over to watch the first two episodes of "When Calls the Heart." 

I think James likes to come to town with me because I read to him both going and coming home. Right now I am just reading this one Aunt Dimity book with him, "Aunt Dimity Vampire Hunter." I just read it and was going to go on to the next book I was on and James asked me not to, so I am reading this one again. It's okay because I like it and it reveals some pertinent information regarding Kit Smith and why he won't marry Nell.

The entire Grapp family came over this evening as I said before. We watched the first two episodes of "When Calls the Heart."
Leland is so cute! He did make a mess with popcorn and Pirate Booty on the couch and the floor in the family room. Brother Grapp tried to pick it up but I told him I would get it with the vacuum tomorrow.

There was a problem with his binky and James

is helping him fix it.

 Leland loves big stuffed animals. At home

he has a giant frog. Here he is loving Yoda.

The neat thing was when he was finished he

put Yoda back where he found him.

 Radiant Ruby

I love her in the hat too!

 Lola loves to dance!

I'm trying Sister Hinckley!

 Go Brienna!

Wednesday, March 4th, 2020

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

143rd operating temple

Dedicated: 4 May 2014

By: Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Jesus Christ, Judge

2 Nephi 15:16

But the Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

2 Nephi 32

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost - Men must pray and gain knowledge for themselves from the Holy Ghost.

Saints, Volume 2

Chapter 32

Stand Up and Take the Pelting

Chapter 33

Until the Storm Blows Past

Oct 2019 GenCon

"The Joy of the Saints"

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

"I believe the the ultimate 'joy of the saint' comes in knowing that the Savior pleads their cause, 'and no one can conceive of the joy which will fill our souls as we hear Jesus pray for us unto the Father.' With President Russell M. Nelson, I testify that joy is a gift for faithful Saints 'who have endure the crosses of the world' and who are 'intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.' May your joy be full, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

It was a beautiful day today, no wind and 61 degrees. 

James went out and cut some wood and hauled it over to stack next to the house with his small Cat. 

Today I blogged. I am always behind after being in the valley a couple of days. I also worked on books. I have two shipments to get out this week. I'm behind on books too. I also walked. I had three days this week that I got less than 10,000 steps so I'm playing catch up there too. My gospel study is a little behind. I'm glad we only have three chapters to cover this week. This is Nephi's farewell sermon. I will miss him.

James went to the post office and picked up more books for me. When you order three books a day five days out of the week, they just keep coming. Hopefully I will get rid of two piles this week.

James had an elders quorum meeting tonight. They are still trying to get their ministering districts organized. Chuck is still sick with bronchitis. James said he really shouldn't have been there. Both he and Kathy have been struggling lately with illness.

I've decided I'm going to get my books ready in the morning and take them in to town. My mission will be two-fold, ship books and buy some groceries. We are out of everything! I hope Walmart has toilet paper.

Makenzi and Tyler's baby girl

 Nothing like a newborn baby

 The Woman at the Well

at first I thought it was a campfire

I found out this week that Brother McCleve 

was the younger brother of my friend

Sharon McCleve who was one of my

best friends in high school. He grew up

in Show Low and lived right across the 

street from the church.

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020

Gilbert, Arizona

142nd operating temple

Dedicated: 2 Mar 2014

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Judge

Isaiah 5:16

But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

2 Nephi 31:13-21

I love Sister Dalton!

Saints, Volume 2

Chapter 31

The Shattered Threads of Life

October 2019 GenCon

Be Faithful, Not Faithless

Stephen W. Owen

"Brothers and sisters, I testify that Jesus Christ is at the head of this Church. He is inspiring our leaders and guiding us to the spiritual nourishment we need to survive and thrive in the latter days. That spiritual nourishment will help us be faithful and not faithless. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

We left the house around 7 o'clock this morning and drove to the Walmart on Baseline and Signal Butte. James bought a pair of shoes. I got caught up in buying a basket and gifts for Sandra Wilhelm. Yesterday was her birthday. I want to get her something nice because she is such an amazing person. She is raising 10 children in a teeny tiny house. I almost made us late for our session at the temple. Also, I told James to turn the wrong way getting off the freeway and that cost us an extra five minutes. 

When we arrived at the temple it was a little past 8. The session starts at 8:30. I am sure Sheri is already here. The first thing I did was go to the records office and ask them to print off a family name for me. We were able to do this because I have the family tree app on my phone. We could have done this for James too but instead he just used a temple name.

We dressed and went upstairs to the chapel. We were the last two they let in. As the company got up to walk to the FaceTime room Sheri turned around and when she saw us she had the biggest smile on her face. That smile was worth any effort we had to make to be here.

Sheri saved me a place by her. I love going to the temple with family members. Kim couldn't make it this morning. She goes to work at 10. 

There were 112 brothers and sisters in our session. That's over twice as many as we can handle in a session in Snowflake. 

The session went smoothly and efficiently. Each row has 8 seats and the two sisters each took a side of the room and did four sisters in each row.

There are 12 veils in the Gilbert temple, twice as many as we have in Snowflake. They moved us through quickly and effectively. Sheri and I visited in the Celestial room for a few minutes. She told me a story Ben told her about a girl named Lucy on his mission. The family name I went through for was Lucy Skinner. I wanted Sheri to wait for James but she said she had to get to work so we said our goodbyes. James wasn't too upset that she left without saying goodbye to him. I think he understands the demands of work.

After the session James took me to the Hobby Lobby on Gilbert Rd. I wanted to get some decorations for St. Patrick's day. Yesterday Lola had a leprechaun trap she had made. It was a shoebox decorated with a Skittles rainbow and several Rollos stacked up to look like a pile of gold. She was taking it to school for an activity.

After I finished shopping at Hobby Lobby, we drove across the street and down half a block to Olive Garden. We were the first one in the door at 11.  James ordered zoodles primavera which consists of zucchini noodles and other vegetables with grilled chicken. So healthy. I ordered chicken scampi with sauce, onions, bell peppers and noodles. Not so healthy but very delicious.

We had breadsticks and salad and for dessert we shared a chocolate lasagna brownie. Thank goodness for gift cards or we would never order dessert.

Brownie layered with cream cheese.

It was good but my favorite dessert here is

the strawberry cheesecake.

I left the brownie we didn't eat and my leftover chicken scampi in Darrel and Trina's frig. 

We went back to Darrel's and both took a nap. As I got up from my nap I began looking for the card I bought for Tanner and the one I bought for Sandra. They were in the same Walmart bag. I could not find them. James looked in the car and I looked everywhere inside. Have we done it again? Did I leave the bag in the cart or on the counter at Walmart? 

We got ready to go. No one was there to say goodbye to. Our first stop before leaving town was Walmart.  I wanted to get Tanner and Sandra another card so we could send Tanner's today and deliver Sandra's on our way home.

While I was looking for cards James was at the service counter with my morning receipt. He came over to me and gave me a gift card. He said, not only did you leave the cards but you left some Easter grass and other items totaling around $15. I used the gift card to check out. Sometimes James is on the right track, especially when it comes to matters of money.

We mailed Tanner's card before leaving town and delivered Sandra's basket on the way home. Why didn't I take  picture? The basket was a cute pink basket with a stuffed cow you can play peek-a-boo with. There were two bags of mini Cadberry chocolate eggs, Sandra's favorite. I put in my favorite lotion, Jergen's Original and my favorite bodywash Soft Soap Honeysuckle and Orange. There was a pedicure brush, body scrubbers, purple and yellow and Sister Nelson's book. Sandra was very grateful and so was Lanel, her little two year old girl.

I forgot to mention that we stopped at Burger House on the way home. James got a green chili burro and I got a bean and cheese. Mine was delicious and so was his. 

We FaceTimed in the car with Kacey, Jared, and Charlie. We had a REALLY good visit!

When we got home and got everything unloaded and put away, we watched a Hallmark movie starring Jesse Metcalf. It's the Martha's Vineyard Mystery Series, episode two.

I did not get my steps on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. I have some catching up to do this week.

Trenda's birthday is March 1st and her mom's is

March 2nd.

 Trina with Tristan and Tristan's 3 kids

James says even though she is blonde, she

is a black bear. This picture was taken in

British Colombia.