OUR FAMILY

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Wednesday, September 13, 2023: My mom's 93rd birthday, up @ 4:45, RWC, Helaman 3:35, J's trip to town & Dennis's, Temple w/ Tignor's & Hipps',Rain, J's mtg, walk,

Columbia, South Carolina

62nd operating temple

Dedicated: 16 Oct 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon Reading

Helaman 3:19-37

Book of Mormon 100 Favorites

Alma 32:23

And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned.

Come Follow Me

2 Corinthians 2:5-11 Forgiveness is a blessing I can both give and receive.

April General Conference

"The Work of the Temple and Family History - One and the Same Work" by Elder Benjamin De Hoyos

I got up at 4:45 this morning.

Today would have been my mom's 93rd birthday. She died 24 years ago when she was 69.

I read in "Rescuing Wayward Children" today about sanctifying ourselves to help save our children. I was wondering what a good definition of sanctification would be. During scripture study James and I read Helaman 3:35 where a definition of sanctification is given: sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

James went in to town to get some supplies and some more canvas blankets for the lawn from Dennis. He was back at 11:30 so I called him and reminded him that we needed to leave for the temple by 12:45. He said he was at Dennis's and was going to go in and say hi but would leave immediately.

He made it back in time to get ready and leave about 12:50. We arrived at the Snowflake temple after a rainstorm and at the same time as the Tignor's and we parked right next to them and walked in together. The Hipps' were already inside.

James and Brother Hipps each sat on one side of Terry, T-Bo. It was good that they were there because he definitely needed help.

Our friend Sue Young was a worker in the temple and had the new dress on that Catherine Halcomb had sewn for her. We said our goodbyes to the Tignors and the Hipps in the celestial room and drove home in the rain, a real downpour as we got closer to Vernon.

After dinner, leftover chicken and stuffing casserole, James went to his elders quorum presidency meeting. Jared and I went out on the front porch and watched the satellite station go by. We received a prompt from our app, "Sky Guide" that it would be in the sky this evening.

I told Jared that anytime he needed to use my car he was welcome to. He seemed grateful. I hope I did the right thing.

Joshua

Our friends the Skousen's

Trina

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Tuesday, September 12, 2023: big breakfast for the guys, "Snack Treats" puzzle, some rain, stable & lawn, "A Quiet Promise", town, chicken casserole, mailed Kacey's card

Bismarck, North Dakota

61st operating temple

Dedicated: 19 Sep 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon Reading

Helaman 3:1-18

Book of Mormon Favorite

Mosiah 2:17

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

Come Follow Me

2 Corinthians 1:3-7; 4:6-10, 17-18; 7:4-7 My trials can be a blessing.

April General Conference

"Trusting the Doctrine of Christ" by Elder Evan A. Schmutz

Something James says almost everyday: "I can't find my . . .

James and Jared Ammon had a breakfast of potatoes, green chilies, eggs, bacon and biscuits.

It was cloudy with rain all around us but none here until later in the day.

Work outside today consisted of painting the stable and working on planting the lawn. Owen Taylor called James about a job here in Vernon pouring a concrete slab for a modular home.

James and I went to town. Our book by Anita Stansfield, "In Search of Heaven", is a four-part saga about the Barrington family. We started part two on the way home from the valley yesterday and continue it today. It is called "A Quiet Promise." Elinore Lane found a Book of Mormon near her home in England where she worked as a servant in the Barrington household. When the first Mrs. Barrington dies she marries James Barrington. They move to America. Elinore and James's two children David and Iris, are both baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. James is supportive but not interested in being baptized at this point in his life.

While James and Jared Ammon were outside planting the lawn I was inside preparing a chicken and stuffing casserole. I had the first serving. It was not as good as I had anticipated but was quite tasty when eaten with some whole berry cranberry sauce. I once had a recipe that was better than this one but I can't seem to find it. Both James and Jared Ammon said they loved it but I think I can come up with something even better the next time I feel like making chicken and stuffing.

James and I mailed Kacey's birthday card when we were in town today. I hope she gets in on time. Also, while we were gone to town the Peeler's dog Roxy came over for a visit. Jared had no idea whose do she was. When we saw her we knew immediately. She is an overweight basset hound with the shortest legs for a big body. I guess the Crane's were watching her while the Peeler's were in the valley getting treatments for Donna's cancer and she escaped. Kathy came over to get her and she was happy to follow Kathy home.

Teaching with Power by Tad R. and Kathryn S. Callister

"As our children's prime gospel teachers we can teach them the power and reality of the Savior's Atonement and of their divine identity and destiny. In so doing, we will give them a rock foundation upon which to build."

Finished my "snack treats" puzzle

Alex Braddock is engaged

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Monday, September 11, 2023: Leave for valley @ 7, Payson stop, K&B's Kim's apple dump cake, Sheri's dryer ok, Aldi, Sonic, AARA infusion, J his mom's, OG, D&T's, home

Columbus, Ohio

60th operating temple

Dedicated: 4 Sep 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon Favorite

Jacob 2:17

Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.

Come Follow Me

2 Corinthians 1-7 "Be Ye Reconciled to God"

April General Conference

"There Can Be Nothing So Exquisite and Sweet as Was My Joy" by Elder Craig C. Christensen

It was overcast this morning at 7 when we left for the valley and we were hopeful that it might rain, but it didn't happen. Things are getting very dry around here.

We stopped in Payson at the Speedway station where we normally stop for a potty break, some gas, and some snacks. I got a Snickers Protein bar. I ate it but I won' buy another. It just wasn't that good.

My appointment for my infusion at AARA isn't until 12:45. The first place we went when we got to Chandler was Kim & Brian's. Brian was just driving up the same time we arrived. He had been to a signing and was all dressed up. He has the stuff from our car in the back of Bruce the Bronco. I was so happy to get my Tinkerbell floormats back and the garage door opening. Kim offered us some of her apple dump cake and boy am I glad we said yes. It was delicious! James loved it too. She had a fall wreath on her front door and had her mantle decorated for fall. She says she does fall in September and Halloween in October. And I would add Christmas November-January.

After leaving Kim & Brian's we headed for Sheri's house. She thinks she has a gas leak in her dryer because she says her laundry room smells funny. When we got there Ian was home and he said there was no leak. James checked it out anyway and he agreed with Ian. He said the smell is not coming from a gas leak. He called and told Sheri and this seemed to satisfy her.

Our next stop was at the new Aldi store in south Chandler at the place where there was a Bashas on Alma Sch. and Queen Creek. Kacey got a candle warmer at the Aldi near her and I wanted to see if I could get one, which I did. I love it!

It goes with the plaque I got at Hobby Lobby

a while back.

From Aldi I had James take me to Sonic for a drink and then we headed north to AARA (Arizona Arthritis & Rheumatology Associates) for my infusion. James dropped me off around 12:20 and then he headed for Tempe to visit his mom and sister, Dawn.

Ang drew blood and put my infusion tube in. I was there an hour at which time I noticed that my friend Frances, one of the techs who works in the infusion lab and has been at AARA for many years, got some tatoos since I lost saw her. She is a cute little hispanic girl, probably in her 40's. Last time I was here she had the day off for her birthday. Maybe that was her birthday present to herself.

I was finished with my infusion just a few minutes before 2. James was outside walking. We were both starving so we headed for the Olive Garden on Gilbert Rd. just north of Germain. I got the baked ziti and James got seafood alfredo. Darrel & Trina gave us an Olive Garden gift card for my birthday and we used it to pay for our meal. I got a doggie bag to take home and the waitress included four breadsticks.

Next stop, the Gilbert Costco just behind Deseret Book. James gets his pomegranate and acai juice here because it is so much cheaper than the grocery store. We also got pistachios, Kirkland laundry detergent, gummy calcium supplements, and toilet paper. We can't get out of Costco without spending at least $100. Oh yes, I also got some Christmas wrapping ribbon.

Our last stop here in the valley was at Darrel & Trina's. Rowan, Ruby, and Lola were at home when we picked up the lounge chair I ordered and had delivered at their place. We gave them all a hug and Lola asked me if I wanted her to make me a necklace. I said yes. Grandpa said we needed to go so I told her to make my necklace, I told her the colors, and that we would pick it up the next time we were down. Rowan and Ruby have their first cross country meet on Saturday. I guess Trina worked today so she could go to their meet on Saturday.

We went home through Globe and got home a little before 8 p.m. James got his 10,000 steps today, I did not. Jared Ammon was waiting up for us. As soon as we got home, he went downstairs to go to bed. It was good to be home.

We've all changed a bit

I had a poodle dog skirt with bobby sox and

saddle oxford shoes. I wish I would have had

a T-bird, my favorite car. Love that little round window.

Chandler Eyecare

My notes from Scarlett and Charlie.

They are supposed to say Gramma.

Autumn in Vermont

I want to go!

Monday, September 18, 2023

Sunday, September 10, 2023: "Your Endowment" JA Greens Peak, J ward council, Bartels speak, Tim new EQC, lunch, visit Tignor's, steak fajitas for dinner, TWP

Spokane, Washington

59th operating temple

Dedicated: 21 Aug 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon Reading

Helaman 1:18-34

Book of Mormon Favorite

1 Nephi 15:8

And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?

Come Follow Me

1 Corinthians 16:1-24

April General Conference

"Your Patriarchal Blessing - Inspired Direction from Heavenly Father" by Elder Randall K. Bennett

Relief Society Lesson

"Remember What Matters Most" by President M. Russell Ballard

Book: "Your Endowment"

"The covenants and accompanying ordinances of the temple are the only way to put the Atonement of Jesus Christ into full practice in our lives and receive the greatest blessings of eternity."

I got up at 5 a.m. I heard Jared leave for Green's Peak on the Razr.

After our morning prayer, James left for ward council. Chuck asked him to go because Chuck and Kathy have company, their daughter, granddaughter and great grandson. Oh yes, and probably their son-in-law.

My friend Sue Hubble brought her granddaughters, Kaitlynn who is six and Sky who is four to church with her. These are her daughters children. Her daughter passed away recently. Sue shares the girls with their dad who has them in Show Low during the week because they go to school. Sue has them on Thursday - Sunday. She loves the girls, but she is exhausted!

Zemira Wilhelm was the youth speaker today. I love Zemira and I thought he did a great job. Tim and Alana Bartels were the main speakers and both of them did a good job.

Alana Bartels - "Wholehearted" by Michelle Craig. 1) Keep covenants even when it isn't easy. 2) We can act in faith. 3) We can be wholehearted and joyful in our devotion, the widows mite, she gave her all. Jesus doesn't see our lack as failure.

Tim Bartels - Told about living in Nauvoo and how it gave them strength in hard times. Talked about the faith of the Nauvoo pioneers. Trail of Tears changed to Trail of Hope by President Hinckley. We are here on the earth to prove our worthiness and to learn to trust in the Lord. Jesus Christ is the hope and light of the world. We must have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Life doesn't come without trials. Question what you hear in the world and put an exclamation mark after what you hear from the Prophet. Our reward for remaining faithful in spite of our trials will be more than we can imagine or deserve.

The youth sang a song about the Savior. It was beautiful. We have more youth than we have ever had.

Brother Bartels was called as the new Elder's Quorum counselor. James was very happy as he suggested his name.

We had burgers/patty melts for lunch. Quite delicious. Afterwards we took naps.

James helped me marinate steak, onions, and peppers. I am making steak fajitas for dinner. James helped me and then he made some limeade with the leftover limes we had.

We took some limeade and went and visited the Tignor's, Barbara and T-Bo. James is their ministering brother. They both liked the limeade, especially Barbara. I told her about getting fresh limeades after school at the Show Low Drugstore where the Dominoes Pizza is now. We stayed about an hour and a half. T-Bo told us his conversion story which we were grateful to hear. It helps us understand him more. We are going to the temple with them on Wednesday. It will be T-Bo's second time and he wants James to be with him to help him. It was raining a little when we got outside.

Jared Ammon was waiting for us when we got home. We immediately began fixing dinner. James cooked the steak and veggies while I heated up flour and corn tortillas. The fajitas were delicious. The guacamole I bought was too hot though.

James did the dishes and then we went in the bedroom where I worked on my blog and listened to "Teaching with Power."

I got an email from our stake president, President Beeler about next week's stake conference. He wants us to ponder these two questions this week in preparation for the conference:

1.) How do I use sacrament meeting to further my covenant relationship with the Savior?

2.) What teachings about the sacrament have been meaningful in my discipleship?

Charlie Mae

Paula Johnson

Since President Nelson became the Prophet:

Love this!

Mogollon is the Payson team on their way

home from Mayer, Arizona.

Saturday, September 9, 2023: Happy 99th President Nelson! J brings me brkfst, "Unlocking the Power of Faith", Celeste Quinn & Si Silverado, my prayer

Guayaquil, Ecuador

58th operating temple

Dedicated: 1 Aug 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon Reading

Helaman 1:1-17

Book of Mormon 100 Favorite

1 Nephi 3:7

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Come Follow Me

Family Scripture Study

April General Conference

"He Could Heal Me"! by Elder Peter F. Meurs

Unlocking the Power of Faith

"My faith empowers me with hope for the future and fills my mind and heart with charity, the pure love of Christ, for myself and others." - Garth Allred

Happy 99th Birthday Dear President Nelson!

I took a more leisurely approach to getting up this morning. After all, it is Saturday! James brought me breakfast: Toast, a protein shake and some strawberries and blueberries. I added a few pistachios to the mix.

I read from the book, "Unlocking the Power of Faith" by Garth Allred. Here is something I found in the book that I love:

"Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is in and through all things. It is through His power that the worlds are and were created and all things are maintained. It is through Him that all things have their being. He is the Light, and the Life of the world. He is God's Almighty Son. He has descended below all things so that He might comprehend all things. He is the vine; we are the branches. Even as a branch is able to bear fruit because it is connected to and receives nourishment through the vine, even so you can be healed of you loneliness, pain, sorrow, or crippled body through the power of Jesus Christ, the true vine of our Heavenly Father."

I have come up with names for my car and for James's truck. My car is Celeste Quin. Quin comes from Equinox. Celeste because it feels like a celestial vehicle after my last car. James's truck is Si (pronounced sigh) Silverado.

James was panicking this morning because he couldn't find the ticket he got yesterday. He said he had looked everywhere. I asked if he had said a prayer. He said no, he hadn't so we prayed. I was the voice. After the prayer was over I asked James if he had looked in his wallet. He said no he hadn't but it was an 8x10 paper and he was sure he wouldn't have put it in his wallet. He looked anyway, and there it was folded up where he keeps his paper money. A direct answer to prayer. I offered gratitude and I am sure James did too. He was so happy!

I had a green chili burro midmorning. Yummy! If I were a Hobbit I would say that my second breakfast was delicious!

I got a text from Cher, Brian Maxwell's wife. Brian is the youngest son of my brother Harold and his wife Vickie. Here is the text:

Hey family! Hope you are doing well. We want to give you this information before you hear it from the rumor mill. You know how it is when dramatic news starts traveling. Things tend to get confused.

You are important to us and we want you to know from us before it hits the social media.

Brian has had blood in his urine for a little while and we've been trying to figure out why. He recently got an ultrasound done and it showed a mass in his bladder. His right kidney is also enlarged a little. So they did a scope into his bladder and saw that he has one large mass (5cm, the size of a lime) and multiple small tumors in his bladder.

We are going to Mesa this morning to have a CT scan done of Brian's entire abdomen and pelvic area. Surgery is scheduled on the 21st, in Show Low, to scrape out and flush the bladder tumors. Depending on how deep into the wall of the bladder they have grown, or if they are into the surrounding muscles, will determine how much tissue and/or organs need to be removed. While they're in there, they will look into his kidneys, inject him with medicines and of course, send out all the tissue removed for biopsies. We most likely won't know if the C word is part of the whole equation until the end of the month. The we'll just have to go from there.

Please keep positive thoughts and prayers flowing in Brian's direction. He can sure use them right now!

Just to clarify that it is not all dark and sad, there is a possibility that the tumors are completely benign. Also, his x-rays came out perfectly clear and his bloodwork only has 3 things that are slightly out of range. White cells and red cells are within normal ranges. We are going to keep positive thoughts going in the direction that he will just get all the tumors flushed out and there will be no further complications.

I pray for Harold's family on a daily basis but now my prayers will be more specific towards Brian.

James made two trips to town today because he burned out the capacitor on the pump for the sprinklers. Jared Ammon went with him once and I went with him once. I also made a trip to Dollar General.

This evening I watched part of a new Hallmark Movies & Mystery movie, "Guiding Emily." This one is so good, starring Sarah Drew who goes blind and how she learns how to deal with her loss and how she acquires a guide dog.