Tuesday, May 7, 2023: Happy Bday Autumn! Tom takes over J's electric blanket, Deer Valley airport call, Kim doing better today, BLT's for lunch, EQ Pres Mtg - temple session & clng on Thursday

 

Ascuncion, Paraguay

112th operating temple

Dedicated: 19 May 2002

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 8:1-12

Come Follow Me

Mosiah 7:14-33

Jesus Christ has the power to deliver me.

April General Conference

"Be Still and Know That I Am God" by Elder David A. Bednar

' We can be still and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are His children, and Jesus Christ is our Savior.'

D&C 109:9

That you incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that you outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High-

I was up at 6 a.m. this morning. Tom loves James's small electric blanket. Today it was all rumpled up on the bed. He just looked at it until I came over and spread it out for him.

Yes, he's asleep!

James got a call from the Deer Valley airport project. He says that James is low bidder on the concrete work but it's been awhile since he submitted his bid. Would he submit another one? Also there are three phases to this project and it is going to take three years. This could be a fantastic job for us. We are also hoping that they will want him as the general contractor on the job. We are grateful James is still able to run his business. He as a good reputation and the jobs just keep coming. The Lord has truly blessed us.

I spoke with Dennis today. I'm coming over to his house on a visit Thursday while Jenifer is still there. It is also Denise's day off. 

Kim seems to be doing a little better today. At least her attitude was better. I told her that Emily says, "Everyday better."

I made BLT's for lunch with a side of cucumber slices. 

Panera potato soup for dinner and a frozen dinner for James after his presidency meeting. 

We started a new book, "The Best Mistake" by Traci Hunter Abramson. I'm also reading Jim and Katherine by the same author. 

I also finished listening to "Unshaken."

Happy Birthday Autumn!

Slide Rock in Sedona

He is asleep

Monday, May 6, 2024: JA coming up, Blog, Scriptures & Prayers, Kim's response, Dennis's response, James tries to ride Apollo, Luna instead, Safeway for Owen's cake, & Mother's Day gift, Wlmrt, Tractor Supply, Tom & I, "The Best Mistake", "Unshaken"

 

Campinas, Brazil

111th operating temple

Dedicated: 17 May 2002

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 7:14-33

Come Follow Me

Mosiah 7-10

"In the Strength of the Lord"

April General Conference

"All Will Be Well Because of Temple Covenants" President Henry B. Eyring

'There is nothing more important than honoring the covenants you have made or may make in the temple.'

I wanted to get up at five this morning but it didn't happen. I think it was because I was awake so much at night.

I spent the morning working on my blog. I also had prayer and scriptures with James. I asked Kim how she was doing and got a response that wasn't very positive. She says she is in a dark place, losing faith and hope. I texted Dennis and told him what she said and this is how he responded:

At first you think the whole world is crashing down on you but things will work out, believe me! I needed to hear this, now I just need to convince Kim.

I'm going to go see Dennis and Jenifer either on Wednesday or Thursday. Jenifer is going home on Friday. 

James said he was going to go out and ride Apollo/Harry this afternoon. He saddled both horses. He rode Apollo first but he couldn't get him to do anything except go backwards. He would not go forward so James got on Luna and led Apollo around with a rope. He is going to need a lot of training but at least he is gentle.

We went to town this evening. I thought tomorrow was Owen Peeler's birthday. I was going to make him a cake. His favorite is German chocolate and my German chocolate cake recipe is very complicated so I decided we would go into town and buy one for him.

Our first stop was at Safeway.  I like their bakery better than Walmart's. They had a German chocolate cake in their case that looked beautiful. We waited for someone to come and wait on us. There was a father there with his daughter who was having her sixth birthday waiting too. We waited a good fifteen minutes before anyone came. The father's wife and James both had asked for assistance and they even announced it over the intercom but still it was over fifteen minutes. The guy who came was very apologetic. We were both very nice to him. He gave the little girl a cookie and she was very excited.

While I was getting the cake for Brother Peeler James had picked out a Mother's day card and Amazon gift card for his Mom. Our time in Safeway was well spent. 

We went on to Walmart where James had a couple of prescriptions to pickup. I bought a few groceries including a 1/2 notebook to put President Nelson's talks in. I am going back and studying all of his major talks since he became Prophet, including The Everlasting Covenant. I was proud of myself for not getting any snacks or candy or cookies to eat on the way home. 

We stopped at Tractor Supply so James could look at some new fencing material for our fence around our property. The electric fence "string" just isn't working because there is always something wrong with the electricity. He found Luna and Harry/Apollo out of the fence today. 

I went in because he said it was going to take over fifteen minutes. I had already waited fifteen minutes for Owen's cake and I didn't want to wait any more.

Although Tractor Supply didn't have the fencing James wanted, we did find a curry brush for the horses and I found a new coloring book called "Graceful Gardens." Again, I did not succumb to all of the tasty treats available near the checkout stand.

We listened to our new book, "The Best Mistake" on the way home.

We stopped by Owen Peeler's to drop off his cake. I honestly thought his birthday was tomorrow. Later I learned it wasn't until Wednesday.

It was around 7:30 when we knocked on his door. After a couple of knocks Owen called, "come in, but I'm not dressed." James came in and told him we had a cake for him and that I was with him. We both said Happy Birthday. In spite of the fact that he was in his underwear with a blanket wrapped around him, he invited us in to sit down and visit. We declined and told him we had a cake for him. He said thank you. James sat the cake down on the table and we said goodbye. It was a little weird. I kept thinking we should have included a card. Oh well, I guess it's the thought that counts. In the past I have made a cake for him. I apologized that this one wasn't homemade.

Jared Ammon texted me today. He wants to come up next week and stay for 3 weeks or so. He asked to bring a girl friend but we haven't decided on that yet. 

James had all of his steps and I still needed to walk. He went upstairs and when he came back down he found me sitting on the recliner with Tom on my lap. He took Tom and went to bed while I stayed up another hour walking. I listened to the rest of "Follow Him" and started "Unshaken." I was finished around 11.

Our lilac bush ten years ago

Yes, I'm giving it a try

Sunday, May 5, 2024: Up @ 6:30 listened to Elder Gerard's conference talk & loved it!, Rdy to go to Dennis' 70th bday party @ the Olive Mill, Church with Darrel's family, lunch, text Brian Kim is asleep, home to Vernon

 

Monterrey, Mexico

110th operating temple

Dedicated: 28 Apr 2002

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 7

Come Follow Me

Review Mosiah 4-6

April General Conference

"Integrity: A Christlike Attribute" by Elder Jack N. Gerard

Here are some notes I took on Elder Gerard's talk:

* Living a life of integrity requires us to be true to God, to each other, and to our divine identity.

* Because you love God, you are true to Him at all times.

* We do not lower our standards or behavior to impress or to be accepted by others.

* Integrity, being true to God, will increasingly set us apart from the world.

* Christian kindness is not a substitute for integrity.

* Be true to our divine identity.

* Lying is contrary to the nature of our spirits, our divine identity.

I was up by 6:30 this morning. James and I read Mosiah chapter 7 and I listened to Elder Gerard's talk. About 9:20 we left for Dennis' surprise 70th birthday party at the Olive Mill restaurant in Queen Creek. We took Darrel's directions instead of the ones on MapQuest and we drove right there. It's very close to where Darrel works.

South on Signal Butte, left on Queen Creek , right on Meridian and then it is on the right. 

There are olive orchards all around the restaurant. We met Tasha, Monte, and Madison. Madison said she was here on a field trip once where they showed them how they make the olive oil. 

No one else was there when we got there and we weren't sure where we were supposed to go. Vickie and Harold showed up and Vickie asked to speak with the even planner who came over to talk to us. She said there was only one birthday party scheduled for today and she didn't know anything about Dennis's. She told us we were free to set up a place for our group. We went outside in the seating area under some olive trees and James and Madison scooted a couple of picnic tables together. Zack helped too. 

Everyone can go in the store/restaurant and order whatever they want to eat. James and I did not order anything. The food looked delicious, homemade pizza crust and sandwich bread. These are the people who settled in before Dennis and Denise, Jenifer, Sammy, and Jenifer's friend Susie arrived: Harold, Vickie, Monte, Tasha, Kaitlyn, Madison, Zack and his girlfriend, Brian, Cher, Jeffrey, Kyle, Stacy, Marlee and Kyle's youngest daughter, I can't remember her name.

Dennis's friend Jeff Caruthers and his wife Barbara were also there. Most people had been at Colby's wedding & reception last night at the vineyard in Florence. Here is a picture I took when Dennis arrived:

Happy Birthday!

I think he was surprised.

Denise's daughter Rachel was here too. She looked like she had lost a lot of weight and I told her how good she looked. She teaches school and lives in the Prescott valley.

We spoke with Kyle for awhile. He told us how much he girls love horses. The two younger ones are barrel racers. One of them just won $400. She is 14 and her sister is 12. Bridelle, Kyle's oldest daughter wasn't here. He said she has a condition where her eyes don't focus together so she wants to be an optometrist. Kyle told an interesting story about when one of his daughters, I'm not sure which one, wanted a horse. They weren't keen on just going out and buying a horse. They had her do research on what it takes to take care of a horse. She was willing to do whatever it took to get a horse so they finally agreed. 

Tasha and Monte now live in Mesa off of Crismon and Southern. Tasha teaches at the  ALA in Mesa. ALA stands for Arizona Leadership Academy. She said one of her friends who teaches there knows Michael Gonzales. Her name is Natalie Bartlett. I texted Michael and asked him if he knew her. He said yes, she is my cousin. Come to find out, she is Devin Johnson's daughter, Natalie. Bartlett is her married name. It's a small world.

Before leaving I spoke with Dennis for a few minutes about Kim's condition. He said that is what happened to him those many years ago. He had optic nervitis. Dennis sees spots and has very limited vision. He cannot drive and he is legally blind but he manages so well you would not know he has a problem first meeting him. He has such a great attitude. I am wondering if this is going to happen to Kim. I am anxious to talk to Dennis more in order to be able to help Kim. I will call him next week.

We left around 11:15 to go back to Darrel & Trina's so James could get ready for church. I was already ready. Darrel, Trina, Addy, Ruby, and Lola walked to church. Rowan drove his car because he has to leave early to go to work. 

We sat in the first row of the overflow right in front of Trina's parents. Our row looked like this: James, Karen, Rowan, Lola, Darrel, Trina, Addy, Ruby. 

Rowan told me he told his boss he needed Sundays off so he could go to church. He told him his church was at noon. His boss schedules him in the afternoon but a little too close to church time. He wants to go to church and he wants to bless the sacrament again. My talk with him was so encouraging and I didn't ask anything, he just told me!

He is a great kid.

Matt Bingham, who grew up in our ward, I was his Sunday School teacher, is in their bishopric. He has gray hair now. He is around Darrel or Jared's age. He loved my brownies that I brought to church every week. One time his mother asked me for my recipe. I told her it was actually Duncan Hines recipe.

We wanted to talk to Matt but didn't really get a chance to.

Today was fast and testimony meeting. I felt the Spirit in their meeting although I knew no one who bore their testimony.

We attended Sunday School with Darrel & Trina. Addy doesn't normally attend this ward, she goes to a YSA ward. She decided she was going to go home and make cookies for everyone. Oh my, her cookies were delicious!

The Sunday School class was good. The teacher was a younger guy. He had a tatoo sleeve on one arm, a short-sleeve white shirt and tie, dress pants, and white tennis shoes. He was very humble and a good teacher, a returned missionary. We got in to quite a discussion about helping the poor. Trina says her dad hands out $20 bills to people on the street. James tells me to get $5 bills to handout but you can't buy much with $5 anymore. 

Back at home we ate Trina's cookies. James and I shared a tuna sandwich and I had some fruit. Ruby was sad because her favorite food is chips & salsa and they are all out. Lola says she just wants a burrito. Rowan was gone. Trina asked if they wanted her to fix dinner right now. She is going to make tacos. Addy said, "but it's only 2:30." I told her that's when old people start thinking about dinner.

We called Brian to see if we could go see Kim on our way out of town but he said she was sleeping and he didn't want to wake her up. I am very concerned about her and so is Brian. He says she won't be comforted. 

We went home the Globe way. I slept for awhile but was awake when we got to Salt River Canyon. James was driving rather erratic and I complained so he pulled over to the side of the road and ask me to drive. He was extremely tired. I got us home safely.

When I got home I sent a text to Sheri:

Brian says Kim has old traumas she has never addressed. Do you know what he means?

She did know and proceeded to tell me. I was pretty shocked at what Sheri told me. She said it happened to her too but she has dealt with it through counseling and the gospel but Kim never has. Now that I have this information I am not sure what I should do about it. It happened 30 or 40 years ago. It is going to take time for me to process this. I did tell James. I'm sorry, but I can't share it on here.

It was very windy today and tonight. Tom came in, was happy to see us and have us feed him and pet him. He slept on James's electric blanket at the end of our bed. It's good to be home.

 These are a few of my favorite people and pets:

Scarlett

Addy & Ruby

Lola and her new phone

Charlie

Tom on his "throne"

 

 

Saturday, May 4, 2024: James goes to dump & then Tignor's, I did laundry, cleaned wood floor, "Branching Out", leave for Deer Valley Ruby's state track meet, stay at Darrel & Trina's

 

Lubbock, Texas

109th operating temple

Dedicated: 21 Apr 2002

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 6

Come Follow Me

Mosiah 5:5-15

I take upon myself the name of Christ as I make covenants with Him.

April General Conference

"Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ" by Elder Ulisses Soares

James went to the dump for us and the Crane's this morning and then he stopped by the Tignor's to help T-Bo install a storm door.  T-Bo didn't have all of the tools and materials needed so they will have to continue another time. I stayed home and did laundry and cleaned up all of the dusty footprints on the wood floor. 

I started working on my blog then I felt tired, so I decided I would take a 30 minute nap. Instead of napping I turned on a Hallmark movie I hadn't seen, "Branching Out" and began watching it. It was one of those movies that draws you in and you can't stop watching. By the time it was over it was time for me to get ready to go to the valley. We left somewhere between 1 and 1:15. I said goodbye to my kitty until tomorrow evening. 

We have a low tire. It is the same tire that went flat a week or so ago. It is only about 10 lbs. low but low enough for the light to come on. 

We tried to get some air at Maverick but they only allow up to 32 lbs. in your tire and ours takes 39. James was upset he had to pay $2 for air. He stopped at Auto Zone for a can of air which put it up to around 30 lbs. He said this would get us to the valley.

We stopped in Payson for gas and so James could get something to eat at Culver's. He got a fish sandwich and a vanilla waffle cone. I got a mini Oreo shake, or whatever they call it.

When we got to Shea Blvd. we turned right and went through Scottsdale to catch the 101 and then the 202 west. We are going to Ruby's stake track meet in Deer Valley on 51st Avenue and Beardsley. 

We paid $33.50 to get in. If I had looked at my phone Darrel had sent me a family link so I wouldn't have to pay. Oh well, I guess I just donated to the AIA. 

We got there just in time to see Ruby run the 1600. We joined her fan club, Darrel, Trina, and Trina's parents Suzy and Bob. Ruby got 10th. She is doing very well for a Freshman and we look forward to the next three years of her track career.

 Ruby ran at 5:20 and she runs again at 7:20, the 800. Darrel & Trina let us use their stadium seats. Of course James couldn't sit still. He got up and walked. He moved the car closer. Bob ended up sitting in his seat. 

Ruby got 5th in the 800. Trina's dad got a great picture of her running but I didn't ask him to send it to me so this will have to do:

Ruby's in the black with the white stripe

down her back. 

The temperature was in the 90's but we were

in the shade and it seemed much cooler. 

In fact, it was really nice.

Ruby's school, Eastmark, is a small school. It is in Division 3. Division 2 schools were here too. Joshua's team is in Division 1 and they had state at Red Mountain High School. 

On the way back to the east valley we stopped in Scottsdale at Chikfila and I got four chicken tenders with Chikfila sauce. James got a chicken sandwich. I shared a chicken tender with him. They were so yummy!

We stopped at the Fry's near Darrel & Trina's for a few items. 

We visited with Addy, Ruby, Lola, and Darrel before going to bed.

Trina was taking a shower and Rowan was gone. Here is some of the new: Lola got her birthday present a little early, an iphone. Addy got her hair cut and it looks great! Ruby is glad that track is over. Rowan went to prom with his new girlfriend, McKenna. He calls her Kenna.

Trina is training for an Olympic Triathlon.

Kim is home from the hospital. Sheri went to see her and is very concerned. Kim is very distraught. I am with her right now but it might be good if you guys had time to come and see her. I'm really worried about her mental state. She hasn't gotten any sleep and she has an overwhelming sense of terror. 

When the track meet was over we texted Brian but Kim was asleep by then so we told him we would come over tomorrow afternoon before going back home.

Snowflake High School

Senior Prom 1966

Michelle Davis & Loren Hatch

were Queen and King

Attendants:

Gerilee Hale and Charlie Hendrickson

and

Karen Maxwell & Curtis Konkle

Snowflake High School

Rowan & McKenna's Prom Date

Trina said McKenna is Rowan's

girlfriend

The caption on this picture said:

Somewhere in Arizona. What?

No cactus?

Friday, May 3, 2024: Temple w/the Tignors', Eva's chili relleno, Borden Ranch Rd., "The Orchids of Ashthorne Hall", Kim back in hospital for more tests, basement bedrm setup

 

Snowflake, Arizona

108th operating temple

Dedicated: 3 Mar 2002

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 5:5-15

Come Follow Me

Mosiah 5:1-5

The Spirit of the Lord can cause a mighty change in my heart.

April General Conference

"Pillars and Rays" by Elder Alexander Dushku

'We too can have our own pillar of light - one ray

at a time.

We attended the Snowflake temple today with Terry (T-Bo) and Barbara Tignor. We arrived at their house at 9:30 at which time we transferred to their car. Terry is driving. There was quite a bit of traffic on the road to Snowflake but we arrived in plenty of time, at 10:30.  I think it's great we attended the Snowflake temple on the day it came up in the rotation of dedicated temples!

I had a family name and I had tried to print one off for James before we left home but something is wrong with the printer connection and I couldn't. He said it was okay maybe one of those names they hand out in the temple was waiting for him to do his work.

Our session was a little over half full. Again, James and I participated in the prayer circle. I can pretty much count on it when I go with him. Charlie Patterson, a friend from high school, was helping at the veil as a temple worker. He was not a member in high school. It's always nice to see him at the temple.

We all had to wait for T-Bo in the great room. He had to wait for his locker for a very long time. James told him we would go to lunch and bring him back something, which of course, was a joke. 

Here is what we ordered at Eva's: loaded nachos with extra hot sauce and jalapeno's was T-Bo's order, Barbara had a tostado made with a large friend flour tortilla, (she loves refried beans), James had a chili relleno with chicken and a side of beans, he loves refried beans too, and I had a chili relleno with green sauce. We were hungry and the food was delicious because there was no leftovers. James and I paid the bill and T-Bo left a $20 tip. 

T-Bo drove us home on the Borden Ranch road which goes past the old Dag's Reservoir which is now called White Mountain Lake. It looked pretty low to me. I wasn't impressed.

We finally got home about an hour later than normal, around 3:30. Nap time and then walk time and listen to "The Orchids of Ashthorne Hall."

Brian took Kim to the ER last night. He says she is not doing well and to please say prayers. He then asked James this question:

Jim, she was blessed with healing, what am I doing wrong???

This was James's answer:

First of all you aren't doing anything wrong if you are praying and trying to exercise faith. Healing comes for the most part because of the faith of the person receiving the blessing, according to the Lord's will. United faith, however, can pay a large part. Don't discourage her by telling her that she needs to exercise more faith, or that fear and anxiety pushes faith away, but encourage her to trust in the Lord. From personal experience I know that can be very difficult when you are racked with pain, and fearful. Please let her know that we are praying for her often and let her know how much she is loved. I do believe that the Lord wants her to be healed, but I also know healing comes after the trial of our faith. I understand, I think, how hard it is for you when the person you love the most is suffering. I've gone through that with Karen several times. I want you to know the Lord is with you even when we don't understand His timing.

Brian - I'm just scared for her. She is back getting a CT scan right now.

Friday, 6:38 a.m. - They re-admitted her. They ordered another MRI and there's talk of a spinal tap to check for pressure of fluid in her brain. They put her on an antiviral IV med in case it's a virus causing this.

Saturday morning I texted: How is Kim today?

Brian: She is still very tired. Her MRI was all good. Her headaches have eased. She still has blurry vision. The left eye has gotten slightly better but not where she wants it. They've gotten her blood pressure and sugars under control. Not sure what they are planning for today.

I asked, what about her thyroid?

Brian: I know that they are giving her a thyroid med. I'm not sure what those numbers look like. We meet with a new primary care on Monday and that is one of the things we are going to address.

Me: "Oh good! Please tell her how much we love her! We are getting her room ready so she can come up and stay whenever she wants. 

Brian: You're so sweet. I know she wants to come up. I also know she has severe anxiety about it. But it would do her good. 

Me: We will take good care of her. 

Brian: I know you will!! I do know she's not ready right now. Her body is so tired. She needs to get some energy back.

On another thread Kim had the lumbar puncture around 10 a.m. on Friday. At 1:00 Brian reported:

She feels horrible. She is able to sit up now after laying flat for two hours after the spinal tap. Lots of tests done and now we are waiting for the results. Her vision is not any better. Spots in one eye and blurring in both. Got results from lumbar. No elevated cranial pressure. She has an MRI and temporal angiogram coming up. 

Brian said this about the neurologist: The neurologist said it's a diagnosis by elimination. The best doctor I've ever met in my life. We are blessed to have him!!! Dr. Salvatore. 

Friday 7:14 PM Kim just got back from the MRI. She is TIRED. She had a muscle relaxer and some anxiety meds. Still no answers, but we have ruled out a lot of things. She NEEDS to spend a month at the cabin recuperating and recharging. I think her adrenals are shot.

Saturday 1:31 PM

Kim is home. Thank you ALL for the prayers. We love y'all so much!!

She is very tired. Her body has been through the wringer. 

Autumn got her birthday card today although her birthday isn't until the 7th. She sent me a thank you!

James had me come downstairs and see how he arranged the furniture downstairs as it is different than it was. He made it so we could connect the television that is down there. It's fine, but we need to get some new throw pillows for the couch and some rugs for the floor.

Thompson Trail in the White Mountains

near Greer

Time goes by too fast

Dream patio

And I thought Tom was a handfull

James brought me breakfast