Friday, October 17, 2014

"The direct, personal channel of communication to our

Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost is based

on worthiness and is so essential that we are

commanded to renew our covenants by partaking

of the sacrament each Sabbath day."

-Elder Dallin H. Oaks

The plan was to go to the temple today.  We got all ready only for James to discover that his temple recommend was missing.  We said a prayer, and searched for it, but to no avail.  He says Heavenly Father doesn't want him to go.  I told him that wasn't true, that it was Satan who didn't want him to go.  He washed his wallet when he was in Chandler and took out his recommend to dry and put it on the air hockey table downstairs.  I told him that was probably where it was.  

We went to town to pick up my prescriptions that I forgot yesterday.  We also went to Sonic and had lunch and then took lunch to Darrel since we missed him at breakfast this morning.  He left early.

  On the way to Walmart we noticed that "Meet the Mormon's" was playing at the Show Low theater so we stopped on our way back and went to the 1:45 showing.  We loved it!  I would recommend it to everyone, both members and nonmembers alike.

My favorite story in the movie was about the missionary mom.

This is what the sky looked like on our way home.  I thought for sure we would get a good rain, but we didn't.

ACR 3261

While James was taking a nap I made some cast iron skillet cornbread and a meatloaf and talked to Sheri on the phone for about an hour.  I also had to stop and chase cows away.  

James and I enjoyed dinner together and then read from our book.  We did not watch any TV today.  James texted Alex trying to encourage him to get his patriarchal blessing. 

 Rowan was a little upset today.  His teacher says he is

intellectually inclined, so she gave him extra schoolwork.

Trina says he has his dad's brain and killer looks.

I love this baby!

It was a sad day for Arizona.  Gay marriage is made legal.  Jared Ammon and Paul were having quite a debate on Facebook.  Jared Ammon posted:

"It looks like AZ is becoming one of those socially progressive states that believes in human rights."  I take it from some other things he posted that he believes it is the right of people to marry whomever they want.

 I happened to read Elder Christofferson's conference address today and I posted this quote directly from his talk:

" A God who makes no demands is the functional equivalent of a God who does not exist.  A world without God, the living God who establishes moral laws to govern and perfect His children, is also a

world without ultimate truth or justice.  It is a world where moral relativism reigns supreme.  If it were not for the reality of fixed and immutable truths, the gift of agency would be meaningless since we

would never be able to foresee and intend the consequences of our actions."

Jared did not respond to my comment or to Paul's when he mentioned marriage being between a man, woman, and God.

 

 

Thursday, October 16, 2014

"The love the Savior described is an active love.  It is not

manifested through large and heroic deeds,

but rather through simple acts of

kindness and service."

-Elder M. Russell Ballard

The Phoenix temple

James and I made a big breakfast for Darrel this morning.  We had hashbrowns with green chilies, sausage, and eggs.  It was quite tasty.

After Darrel left James and I had prayer and then we read from our book, "Longing for Home."  

While James was at his doctor's appointment with Dr. Lesueur I went shopping at Walmart.  We are feeding the missionaries on Saturday and Harold, Vickie, Dennis and Denise on Sunday.  I also bought a humidifier, earbuds for James, a mini food processor, and gifts for Vickie and Joyce Malone, so my bill was very high.  

It was a beautiful day today with the high around 70 and plenty of sunshine.  

I took these pictures off of Facebook:

 Our friend Jerry Lamb showing off

his garden in Queen Creek.

Trina's mom posted this picture of Ruby.

Ruby said:

"Grandma, I will play my guitar and you

put money in the bucket."

 This is so true!

This afternoon I worked on my blog and James and I watched Sue Thomas, our favorite TV show.

 

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

I love this!

I had breakfast with Darrel this morning and he told me about their trip home last Friday night.  There was a wreck near Rye and some guy said he knew a shortcut so Darrel and Trina both followed him off the highway onto a dirt road.  It turned out to be a nightmare.  Darrel got his rental car stuck twice and Trina and Addy were both crying. After waiting on the highway for over an hour and then taking this "shortcut" which took 1 1/2 hours to go three miles, they didn't get home until 1:30am.  

  This is the playhouse I want James to build up here.  We might even make it a little guest house for the kids.

 I got more of Kathy Crane's jalapeno jelly.  I guess you

could say we now have our year's supply.

 It's driving me crazy that I can't chase these cows away.

They are really taking advantage of the Razr being 

out of commission.

Alice Wilhelm took this picture from my car on the way to

Show Low this evening.  We stopped at Maverick and got treats and gas and then went on to Snowflake to the corn maze.

Diana and Arlee McNeil and I were the only leaders and we stuck together in the maze.  Without Arlee I'm not sure Diana and I would have made it out.  He had a better since of direction than we did because he could see over the top of the corn.  I tried to take a picture but it was a little too dark.

 I paid money to get lost in a cornfield.

 Alice, Trenda, Shelly, Kyah, and Jordyn

LeeAnn and Kilee rode with Makenzi and they

all went to eat at El Cupido's instead of going 

through the maze.

Jace and Ty, Spencer and Noah and Talon were the young men who went.  All I can say is Ty and Kyah make a very cute twosome!

James was home when I got back.  He came home for his doctor's appointment tomorrow and brought burros with him.  

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Today I am posting trees and flowers.

"In the blink of an eye, everything can change.

So forgive often and love with all your heart.

You never know when you may not have

that chance again."

James left for the valley this morning.  He still has laringitis.  He needs a cortizone shot but I don't think Dr. Moffat will give him one.  He tried to make an appointment with Dr. Wilson in Chandler but he's filled up for two weeks so I made him one with Dr. Lesuer up here on Thursday.  Dr. Lesuer is Trina's brother-in-law's brother.

 People are posting flowers on Facebook.

I will be posting a few of my favorites on here.

The cows are back and I can't chase them because the Razr is out of engine oil until James gets back.  It's like they are taunting me.

This one is called a bat flower.  I love it because it

is so unique.

Today I did a little cleaning and paid some bills.  I listened to "The Voice" while working on my computer.  I also cleaned out the refrigerator and made dinner for Darrel.

This one is a magnolia.  There are 

lots of different kinds of magnolias.

Castle was weird.  An invisibility suit, really?  This is crazy but I think James left the water running outside because I can hear it in some part of the house.  I will have to check tomorrow.

I think this was taken in Greer.

  

 

Monday, October 13, 2014

"Brothers and sisters, indeed we have great reason to rejoice.

If life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time

to refocus on what matters most."

-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Happy Birthday to Kevin

 43 years old today.

James and I went on a Razr ride to the top of Green's Peak to take pictures of the fall leaves.  

 On the way home we were excited because we saw seven deer.  Little did we know what awaited us when we got home.

James took these pictures from our backporch.  He was out there for about an hour and the elk would have stayed longer if I hadn't shut the backdoor and scared them away.

What a fun day for pictures!  This is one of the reasons we love living here.  

For dinner we drove into town to Aliberto's because I felt like mexican food.  We watched two episodes of Castle together but I made the mistake of watching DWTS instead of doing something with James.  I won't make that mistake again.

 

Sunday, October 12, 2014

In preparation for my lesson this morning I read two articles that really touched me.  The first one: "The Way to Christlike Love" by Brother Allen Bergin.  This article was in an Ensign from 1982.  The other: "The Merciful Obtain Mercy" by President Uchtdorf from a conference address given in 2012.  Here is a quote from Brother Bergen's talk:

 "Jesus Christ taught that his capacity to love and to redeem the human race depended first on a harmonious relationship with his Father.  It was as though this relationship was essential for gaining the capacity to redeem and bless the rest of humanity.  The Lord revealed that his perfected relationship with the Father consisted of two ingredients: love and obedience (see John 17).  When combined and harmonized, these appeared to produce an alloy stronger than either ingredient alone.  They seemed to be the keys by which Father and Son became perfectly united.  The question struck me: Did the Savior obtain his power to love completely, and thus to redeem us, by virtue of submission to his Father, a submission that was loving and voluntary?  Do we likewise gain the capacity to love and participate in the redemptive process as we voluntarily and lovingly submit ourselves to the will of the Savior and our Father?  It seems that this is exactly what the Lord taught.  OUr unity with them is a result of obedience and love; and this oneness with a higher power in turn enables us to love more effectively and become one with each other."

This talk is amazing and this quote is only a sampling!

From President Uchtdorf's talk:

"When we feel hurt, angry, or envious, it is quite easy to judge other people, often assigning dark motives to their actions in order to justify our own feelings of resentment.  Of course, we know this is wrong.  The doctrine is clear.  We all depend on the Savior; none of us can be saved without Him.  Christ's Atonement is infinite and eternal.  Forgiveness for our sins comes with conditions.  We must repent, and we must be willing to forgive others.  Jesus taught: 'Forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not...stands condemned before the Lord; for there remained in him the greater sin' and 'Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.'"

My handouts:

Tyler Hunsaker and the Chafin's were the speaker's in sacrament meeting.  The Chafin's spoke about their handicapped grandson Braylin and what a blessing he is in their lives.  Kim, Brian, Joseph, and Alex left after sacrament meeting.  

This afternoon we played Five Crowns while football was on TV.  Normally James and I do not watch TV on Sunday or play games.  

Before Kim and Brian left I had to take a picture.  We will see them again at Thanksgiving time.

So long, farewell!

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Kim and Brian made a delicious breakfast this morning. Biscuits, gravy, and potatoes, eggs and green chilies.  Oh yes, and bacon.

Kim and Joe made our favorite pumpkin dessert.  It was gone by the end of the day.

 Pumpkin delight!

Alex challenged Joe to the match game.

 Alex is still the reigning champ.

Kim and Brian went for a ride up the mountain and took these pictures:

 

 Beautiful!

James, ready to shoot some elk.

The other day James ran into someone at the post office and knocked out his tail light.  Today we went into town so he could get a new one.  It rained a little in Show Low.  I missed Leland Nickolaus's funeral today.  He was almost 98 years old.  I used to visit with him and shop in his store as a teenager in Show Low.

Brian cooked burgers for dinner.  James and I had already eaten while we were in town.

We enjoyed playing Five Crowns, and Kim, Brian, Joe, and Alex played Hearts.  I worked on my lesson and James and I read and watched Sue Thomas.  All in all in was a good day.

In other news

Terry & Cathi are in Saguache, Colorado,

Cathi's hometown.  Terry helped judge the fourth annual

chocolate contest.

 The state fair.

When I was young I remember going to

the fair with my mom and brothers every year.