More on the frog

This cartoon was in the paper some time ago and I actually started to blog about it then but couldn't get things to work right so here it is. I still don't like eating my frogs but feel so much better when I get them done first thing in the morning.

Tagged by Kellie

5 things I was doing 5 years ago
1. Working on the bookmobile
2. Meeting Mike for the first time--he was already a goner for Kate (Her too.
3. Laughing at John's funnies--still am
4. Enjoying the nursery calling
5. Still trying to learn to cook for 4 people instead of 13.
That was hard. I can hardly remember what happened 5 days ago let alone 5 years.

5 Things on my to do list for today.
1. Mail the application for Dad's birth certificate
2. Mail the book I sold
3. Stop at school to see if any of their books on sell fit my needs
4. Make some phone calls I don't want to make.
5. Go to town and do a gazillion things with no money and little time.

5 things I would do with a million dollars
1. Travel to see all my kids
2. Travel to see all my kids
3. Travel with all my kids
4. Travel with all my kids and grandkids
5. Buy a little house that is warm


5 Places I have lived
1. Monticello, Utah
2. Logan, Utah
3. Wellsville, Utah
4. Lewistown, Utah
5. Arimo, Idaho

5 jobs I have held
1. Telephone operator--"Number please"
2. Lab assistant
3. Vista Volunteer
4. Bookmobile Dragon
5. Cashier

5 people I tag

There aren't enough other people I blog with that haven't already been tagged but any of you that want to please do.

Singing with angels

Three weeks ago there was an announcement in our bulletin at church that our stake was being invited to sing with the other stake for the Forgotten Carols. The other stake has put it on for the last several years and it has just gotten bigger and better every year. I told dad that I thought he should go sing with them and it ended up that we are both going. There are others from our ward doing it as well so we have a good carpool to go to Inkom on sunday evening. I feel like I am singing with angels. Many of the people have done this before so it isn't as if we are just beginners and I must admit that we sound wonderful.

Two years ago I went to it the first time they did it in our performing arts center at the school. I was so impressed. It was just as good as the professionals that do it every year with Michael McLean. It seemed even better to me because I knew so many of the talented people that performed in it. Dale Belnap, Brian Burke, Carol Barker and many other friends from my bookmobile days.

We will be performing The Forgotten Carols on November 20 & 21 if anyone would like to come. I can get tickets for the Friday night performance. The tickets are free but you have to have one to get in. This has become a really big thing in our area and it is hard to get tickets towards the performance dates. They have packed crowds both nights. If you would like to see it just let me know.

Once again slave labor

When we did the storage room several weeks ago, Dad said that maybe he would take the duct work from the furnace out to make more room. I agreed it would be nice but didn't really expect it to happen so fast. The very next week he tore some of the ductwork out and made the biggest mess There was black soot everywhere. I wanted to get the shelves out and everything cleaned but he wanted to do more of the ductwork. On Columbus day he didn't have to work but I did. He took the rest of the ductwork out and made an even bigger mess. when I got home from work I took all the stuff out of the room again and with the help of the Shelton boys brought some sheetrock and the old blackboard downstairs and we put it up on the walls of the storage room. I then spent parts of the next three days washing off every can, bottle, shelf and bucket and then put it all back together.


Dad would really like to take out the whole furnace but that is an even bigger job and I don't want the mess again. It would make that room a great storage room but I am satisfied with it the way it is. The wheat grinder is actually inside the furnace in the space dad emptied.

Treasures ( junk) from the dryer

So, the dryer was making a horrible grinding noise and after several times of reminding dad that it was on his to-do list but not on Saturday when I can actually use the dryer, he finally took it apart to find out what was wrong. I expected to find all those missing socks but they must have wasted away to lint. Instead here is what he found.
Kellie student body card 1993-94
Jim lunch card grade 11
Jake Middle school card 1995-1996
Kate Middle school student body card 98-99 8th grade
Jared middle school student body card 2002-2003
Evan Fullmer Preston library card
7 pennies that have slightly melted from the heat and one good quarter.
Now we know where all those cards went.

The dryer makes less of a noise but still doesn't sound very happy about working. It must be mine ;) Maybe John still has a card melted in there somewhere.

From the Newsletter

This picture and article were in the newsletter that I get about every month. Way to go John. We know you are the best.
Marine funny

Soon after being transferred to a new duty station, my Marine husband called home one evening to tell me he would be late. "Dirty magazines were discovered in the platoon quarters, " he said, " and the whole squad is being disciplined."

I launched into a tirade, arguing that Marines should not be penalized for something so trivial.

My husband interrupted, "Honey, when I said 'dirty magazines' I meant the clips from their rifles hadn't been cleaned."

Keep it clean John.

Atta Boy John!!!

I received this letter (Dad said "He has only one parent?) about John's promotion. Way to go John.

6 hours of slave labor

On Saturday dad and I completely changed the furnace room/storage room around. I needed more shelf space so I could really use the small room more effectively. I started moving all the stuff out of the room while Dad did the dishes (yes, without being asked he did the dishes). He then helped me move out the old shelves and put in the new. He moved the lights that John had put in so they were in more convenient places and gave good suggestions on the shelves. My room is now much better and it also made it possible for me to move all the cans out of the cupboard by the bathroom and just use it for crackers, chips, snacks and such. We were both pretty beat by the time we were through and dad's comment was "I suppose you want to do this cleaning and organizing in every room in the house" (He saw my list).

I am so grateful for dad's help. He certainly makes it easier.

It's Finally Done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My project that was going to take four days and dad wasn't going to know about until it was all done is finally done--well almost. I need to clean the carpet and get a black garbage can but that will come. Notice doors on all the cupboards.

The new refrigerator that Kimber and LeRoy got us. I love it and it was Kimber's idea for the black to complement the colors.

After my neighbor Willie Lish got involved it became a more professional job but took more time because it became his schedule we worked around. It is so totally worth it as you can see from the pictures. I must admit that under the sink was all my idea and my work. Dad cut the boards but I did the rest including stuffing insulation in every possible place I could under there to maybe keep the pipes from freezing.

Of course, this now makes the rest of my house really need a make over but maybe just a good cleaning will suffice.

More of the Story

While Kells and Shawn took the kids to lunch and to show off to his co-workers I had about 2 hours to see Colonial Williamsburg. I just took off and walked down Duke of Glouchester Street--otherwise known as Dog street and saw what I could see. I enjoyed the atmosphere and even though I couldn't go into the original buildings because I didn't pay the exorbitant fee of $37 I was able to get some good pictues. My favorite part was the drum and fife corp of young people. I somehow didn't get pictures of the church except the sign and it was another favorite because there was a cemetary behind it. The sign is from the church. The capital building is the next one with the arched doorways. The next one is the original guardhouse and then the Govenors mansion. My favorite is the kids. After Kellie and Shawn picked me up we took the kids to a really cool hands on museum. There were all kinds of animals, fish and birds and many thinks they could do. It was rainy and cold so the outside exhibits were done in a real hurry but we still enjoyed them. We really saw some awesome things. This turtle had a deformed flipper. Eagles that had been hurt so couldn't fly. We also saw wolves, deer, beaver, foxes, and lots of sealife. There were areas where we could look at skeletons of animals, tracks, learn how different shells were formed and other hands on thinks to do. Brendan really seemed to enjoy that part. The kids liked the playroom about the best though. There was a cave that they took all the foxes and fish into and had a whole story going about the animals and needing to eat. I love the imagination of children.
We then went to Applebees for dinner and then to our hotel. Because it was early when Shawn and Kells dropped us off because they had the reception at 7:00 I let the kids watch cartoons for awhile before putting them to bed. They decided to sleep in the beds instead of on the floor this time and were very good to go to sleep. I watched tv but I was probably asleep by 10:00. I guess I am getting too old to stay up and watch tv just because it is there. It was a good day with lots of fun things to do and see.

The rest of the story tomorrow--or at least more of the story.

To Virginia and back

I spent the best week in a long time (I think since staying with Kates boys) just relaxing and having fun. I first rode the shuttle from Pocatello to SLC and was just a bit nervous because we were supposed to get to Salt Lake at 3:30 and it was 4:20 when we finally got there and my flight was at 4:50. All because the driver waited for over a half hour for a guy to show up for the shuttle. I got to the gate just as the last call for boarding but then we sat in the plane for about 45 minutes before we actually took off. I flew to Virginia which is about a 3 and 1/2 hour flight which I love. I had a book and because the flight wasn't full I had a whole row to myself right behind first class so there was more leg room. I got to Virginia at about 11:15 but by the time we actually got off the plane and I got my luggage it was midnight so about 12:30 when we got to Kellies. We stayed up and talked until 2:00 and then decided to keep Brendan home from school and go to a park that Kellie knew of that is past the temple so that we could come back and see the temple as it appears in front of you as you are going down the freeway.

There was a great climbing wall at the park that Andie was determined she was going to climb. She would get to the top but wouldn't go over and let Kellie help her. We then went for ice cream and found this great carousel so took the kids for a ride

We then headed back home in time to avoid the 5:00 traffic and all of a sudden the temple is right in front. John was right and it is awesome to see. It would be great to see at night

It was a very fun day just playing with the kids and visiting. We stayed up and watched the "Cutting Edge 2" movie and I can tell you to not waste your time with it.

Friday morning we got all packed up and ready to go to Williamsburg. I am so thankful for mapquest that tells us exactly how to get places. It took us about 4 hours to drive down there with a nice break for a picnic lunch. When we got to Williamsburg we went to the visitors center but decided it was too much walking with 3 kids and too expensive for our time frame. We went and drove around the town and saw some of the buildings and then just ended up in the modern part of town where we waited for Shawn. There is no place better than a bookstore to wait for someone and Kells was lucky enough to find a copy of Celia Garth which she wants to do for a book group. We then went to Chili's for dinner (with a minor stop to get Brendan a cheeseburger from Wendy's). Then on to the hotel where we got the kids set up in their pillow pit for bed. We had a nice big suite with two double beds and also a couch but they wanted to sleep on the floor. We played "Bang" with the kids before bed and then after getting them into their beds Shawn and Kellie left. I can't stay in a hotel room without watching tv so found some trading spaces to watch but fell asleep before I saw how they finished up.Saturday I got the kids up(or rather they got me up) and after getting ready we went for our continental breakfast which the kids really seemed to enjoy. There were two old ladies there who were getting such a kick out of Andie as she chattered away. Shawn got there before long and we took the kids to a park to play while we waited for time for him to take the kids to lunch where they were meeting Kellie. There was a merry go round of sorts that Shawn got going very fast and the kids loved.

To be continued...

A new back or same back no problems.

After seeing the chiropractor for several appointments both in Rexburg and Pocatello my back is finally feeling good. I even went to a place while I was in Salt Lake and used their Migun massage bed which also seemed to help. I went to the chiro in Rexburg on Thursday the 3rd and felt completely normal again. Of course then I helped Kimber and the kids with a very big moving project and was a bit sore after that but still not bad. I saw the chiro in Pocatello on the 9th just before I flew to Kells so my back was in great shape when I got there. I found that walking all the places we did didn't hurt my back but standing really did. The day we went to D.C. to the Archives was the hardest day because we took about an hour reading all the documents. It is so good to feel normal again and not hurt all the time. I am going to keep up with appointments on a more regular basis and not let it get so bad. Life is much better when you don't hurt.

This has been a very busy month. I was able to be there when Hyrum was born on March 23 which was such a beautiful experience. I know Kimber doesn't think it went fast enough but it sure seemed to me that it did. He came so fast and is so darn adorable. I loved the whole atmosphere of a home birth. Rilda is such a kindred spirit and just brings a calming influence with her. She has such a love and admiration for Kimber and it all came through in her taking care of Kim and the baby.

I was also able to go to Salt Lake and spend a few days with Kara, James and Max the next week. Kara is a natural mother and Max is so adorable. I loved seeing James being a daddy. He even told Kara she was a sloppy swaddler because they taught him how to do it in the hospital and he is very good at it. Max is such a calm baby but coming from such calm parents what else could he be.

Getting the Tag done

Kellie tagged me but I have been having too much fun with new grandsons to do it but I have a few minutes before work with nothing much to do-haha.



A. Post The Rules (Are there any??)

B. Answer the Questions about yourself

C. After posting, tag 5 people by going to their blog and leaving a comment.



1. What were you doing 10 years ago?? Ten years ago I still had 4 kids at home which is probably the biggest change to now. I was working on the Bookmobile which I loved.

2. 5 Things on my To-Do List Today...-

Get well check-done

Send invoice on things I sold(had to go to the Post office to learn shipping amount--done
Renew books-done
Call Dr. office about insurance-they are gone to lunch
Work--at 2:00

3. What snacks I enjoy....jicama, whoppers, hot tamales and licorice.

4. What would I do if I were to suddenly be a Billionaire?
Get all of my kids and families together at a resort where we could all play, spend time visiting, be together and apart.
Buy a new house,
pay off everyones mortgage
Travel, travel travel--even more than I do now.

5. 3 Bad Habits...
I am the worlds worst or best procrastinator
I don't make phone calls when I should which sometimes makes for messes.
I hate to go to bed. It is such a waste of time.

6. 5 Places I've lived
Monticello, Utah
Logan, Utah
Wellsville, Utah
Lewiston, Utah
Arimo, Idaho

7. 5 Jobs I've had..
Telephone Operator
Secretary
Bookmobile
Vista Volunteer
Cashier
Incredible Mom to incredible kids

8. 5 Things People don't Know About Me...-

Kellie must have gotten her dislike of vaccuuming from me. I would rather mop floors.

I have had some interesting surgeries.

I had a four year full tuition scholarship that I kept for 4 years--Two quarters short of finishing college. Biggest regret of my life.

I helped start and danced in the original Foreign Dance club at Utah State University.

Everyone on my blog list has already been tagged so I can't tag anyone. My life is so limited-sigh.

Last weeks lesson

Our lesson last week in our class was on Faith. We talked about the four levels of faith. Every level has the same components. They are a desire, action and then knowledge and we all have trials in each level. We start out with a feeling or desire to know something or gain a testimony of a principle and then as we take action we gain the knowledge. The first level is that of the investigator. Then comes conversion and testimony followed by Power Faith which is doing Gods will such as Nephi building the ship even though he had never done anything like it before . It is know ing what God wants done and doing it. This level is where we should really try to be each day as we work towards the fourth level which is Calling and election. It is hard to convey the feelings and the spirit I feel in each of these classes in just giving a synopsis of the lesson. This class always gives me such a boost.

Grandpa Jemmett

Grandpa Jemmett died this morning. He has been in a care facility and finally just wore out. He had made his wishes very clear as to not having a funeral but just a "celebration of his life". They are just having a get together where anyone who wants to can tell a story about Grandpa. Please send me any memories you might have of him. He was the best kind of neighbor anyone could want. I am sorry that I didn't make more effort to visit him but when I did he was so understanding. He always ask about you kids especially the older ones down to Kellie. I guess we were more neighborly when you guys were younger. He always told wonderful stories.

Another catch-up post

Korben crawling through the baby chair.
Korben's very favorite pasttime. He loves this "piggie" book
At the kiddie park which both of the boys loved. I even went down the black slide.
Just before leaving for the airport.
Landon eating breakfast.

After reading Kate's blog about the cruise I can tell you that while she got to have that kind of fun I got to bond with some wonderful little boys. While it was a whole "going back in time"week and I am so glad I had my kids while I was young, I am grateful that I got the opportunity to spend that time with the boys. They were such good boys the whole week. We had a few moments of unhappiness but for the most part it was just a positive time for me. I so remember looking forward to naptime and nighttime when all the kids would be in bed so there was some "me" time. Kate and Mike have such a good tv/movie set-up that I spend nearly every evening catching up on the tv shows I have missed or don't get at home and watched some movies. It was fun to have Landon there for the four days and get to know him as well. The time I had the three of them when Autumn was gone and before James got there was a deja vu moment because they are just the same distant apart as my first three kids and I looked at having a two year old, one year old and four month old and I must have been crazy. Of course I was much younger then. I especially loved disposable diapers and wonder how I managed without. Count your blessings.

I also got to spend some time with Joyce Call and even though we didn't do anything fantastic we always have a good time visiting. We did go to Claimjumpers for lunch which was wonderful. Thanks to Jessica for watching the boys so I could have the time out.

Since getting home I have just tried to catch up on laundry(while Jared does his own laundry Dad obviously has too many clothes because he hadn't washed while I was gone and still had things in his closet to wear), work, talk to my kids, go to the chiropractor and do the "time and talents" thing.(Relief society). Our German exchange student go here Wed. night but I haven't seen much of him. They were gone when I got home from work and he is still asleep now. Thank heavens he didn't bring chocolate. He brought a lot of gummie things which I am okay without. I have now lost 17 pounds and want to keep going which with German chocolate in the house is very hard to do.

Some very exciting news!!!! With our tax refund we were able to pay off one more of the medical bills. Woot Woot!!! I love seeing the debt get paid off. I know that those things keep coming up but it sure felt good to pay off that one.

Adventure of the week

It all started with a trip to Salt Lake, dinner at a very poor China Gourmet and then to the airport to check in. I should have checked the flights to see the status of the one I was flying on but didn't so left Dad at the security gates to get to my gate and found out that my flight was going to be 45 minutes late so I sat (of course had a book) and waited. Finally got into Portland about 9:30 and called Mike to let him know and Kate came and got me.

Saturday it was fun to watch them pack, shop, make lists, unpack, repack and such. Poor little Korben was sick which didn't make it any easier for Kate to leave. Jake took them to the airport and then spent the day with me and Jessica came over and spent most of the afternoon after her Relief Society thing.

I put Korben to bed about 8:00 and he woke up at 3:30 feeling good and wanting juice. He went right back to sleep but Logan woke up at 4:30 but it only took giving him a bottle and he went back to sleep and they both slept until 9:00. Sunday we didn't go to church because it was stake conference and I didn't want to have two hours with no nursery. Bad me--I use the excuse that Korben hadn't eaten anything on Saturday that stayed down so I wanted to see how food settled with him. Sounds logical doesn't it?

They are both really good little boys and play really well during the day. Korben is really good about entertaining himself and Logan is just a happy baby. They sleep well at night which gives me my evenings. Last night I had them both in bed by 8:00 and they both slept until 10:00. Logan woke up at 6 but by the time I got his bottle heated a little and back up to him he was asleep again.

According to Kate's scales I have lost 2 more pounds and I think they are right because when I first got here I weighed just what the scales at home say and now I am consistently two pounds less. It has to be all the running up and down stairs. How is it that you think you have planned and think you have everything you need on the right floor but still make a hundred trips up and down in a day?

I remember now how important adult conversation is when you are the mother of little children. I have called Dad every night and he gets through listening before I get through talking if you know what I mean. Today Kellie , Josh and Cami called as well as me talking to Dad for a few minutes two different times so I have used up lots of my 20,000 words for the day. It gave me the energy to get some things done just by feeling like an adult again. I love these two little boys but it sure is a change from my usual days.

Jared's new suit

Jared has been wanting a suit for a long time. He has never owned a suit but has always just worn dress pants and a white shirt to church. Saturday after the baby shower we went on to Orem to the Missionary Mall and bought him a suit. He was so excited that he had to text all his friends after we bought it. Sunday he didn't want to take it off but we tried to avoid getting the skunk smell on it and had him hang it back in his garment bag(didn't work) He even wore it to school on Tuesday when he had to do a presentation (hoping for extra credit to bring his A- to an A)

Doesn't he look sharp!!!

How to get rid of skunk smell

Last Friday evening we heard lots of squealing and noise and then got the terrible odor of skunk. We don't know if the skunk got trapped under the house or was having babies (which happens at this time of year) or what but it was not just a mild out of doors smell but a fill the whole house stink. Saturday when Jared and I went to the baby shower we could still smell it on ourselves and unfortunately others could smell it too. On Sunday we apologized to the ward members about the odor on us and everyone had their own skunk stories to tell. Fast forward to Thursday with the smell still in our house and everything else we own even after trying OUST which is a great odor cover up but not really a get rid of odor spray and washing and cleaning what we could. I was telling the chiropractor about our experience mostly to explain the whiff of skunk that still surrounded me and he said that happened to them and the solution is rent a ozone machine like the ones they use on cars to get the cigarette odor out. Our home teacher happens to own a car dealership so I called him and he brought it home to us last night and I think we are finally getting rid of the smell. I have run it in each room and I think it is working. Even the room that had been closed off and really reeked smells better.

This is one of those tips that should go into your handy file of "how to get things done better"

And it came to pass-- very quickly

Where does the time go? I looked back and it has been a long time since I posted. I have no excuse except---I am lazy I guess. I really enjoy reading everyone elses blogs but think my life is so mundane that no one would want to read mine.

So a recap of the last week and a half is in order. Here goes

The best thing that happened is that I went to Rexburg to Kimber's chiropractor and I feel that he will really be able to get my back to heal instead of just giving it a temporary fix. He is going to find me someone to go to in Pocatello so I don't have to drive so far but after I went again today I think I would just as soon stay with him. I haven't felt this good in months.

On the way home from Rexburg last Thursday I stopped at Dad's work where I always weigh in. I have really been trying to watch what I eat and do some exercises but I hadn't been on the scales for a couple of weeks so I was pleasantly surprised to get on the scales and I have lost 15 pounds (okay 14 lbs and 9 oz). Woot Woot!!! I only have about 20 more to go and I will be where I would like to be.

Last Friday night we had the second half of our pride lesson. We talked about the four faces of pride. We looked up lots of scriptures and found that the four faces are

1. Conspicuous consumption---where it isn't so much having "stuff" as it is wanting more and bigger than the next guy.

2. Class distinctions where we talked about the "old timers and the newcomers, the farmers against the non-farmers and so forth. The teacher told of an experience where he went to a funeral of a man who had lived in the town for 40 years and the speaker said "Even though he had only lived here 40 years we considered him one of us". Definite classes.

3. Contention. The teacher brought out the point that some of us need contention just like someone else needs a cigarette. We are addicted to contention. It really gave me something to think about. Do I do and say things just to get a rise out of someone?

4. Patriotism gone bad. We become anti-enemy not Kingdom of God. Are we a little too proud of where we live and all we have been given? We really need to show our gratitude and rely on the Lord and not our own strength.

My short summary doesn't do justice to the things I really learned from the lesson and the spirit that was there. I wish I could bottle the whole experience and send it out to all of you.

I'm off to bed and will try to catch up the rest of the week tomorrow along with all the other things I have to do to get ready to go to Kates.

My cup runneth over.

Boring and then not so boring

I like Kara haven't posted this week because nothing was going on and then Thursday night hit and I haven't had time since then to post. Thursday at 4:15 p.m. I was at work when we several cars pulled into the station and the people informed us that the road had just been closed. In the next four hours I did not sit down once but just ran the cash register as fast as I could. Our parking lot became so full that trucks were parking on the sides of the road. At first some tried to make it north by going on the old highway but there was soon an accident on it which closed that road. I had called Dad as soon as we heard of the closure and he said they had just told him to go home to try and make it before the roads were all closed but he didn't make it so took the old road home and made it as far as McCammon where he was stopped because of the accidents and spent until 8:30. The buses couldn't get through and it took until almost 8:00 to get all the school kids home. They would send a bus out following a snowplow to get the kids home. They even made kids like Jared who had driven to school stay because of the conditions. It wasn't because of more snow but because the wind was blowing so badly that trucks were blown over and the total whiteout conditions. We ended up getting the church and the school open for people to go to which eased the crowding somewhat at the station. Needless to say we had a very good night money wise at work. It was great to hear how people pulled food together to feed the people at the church.

On Friday I was going to write about all the excitement but the tower for our internet was so iced over that we had no service for most of the day so I just did tax stuff until it came back but by then it was almost time to go to our seminary class.

Our class was on Pride this week and what a great lesson. We used the talk given by Pres. Benson back in 1989. Everyone of us should read and study that talk over and over to help us be mindful of the things that can be our downfall. Some of the things that he listed as caused by pride are: disobedience, selfishness, coveting, contention, unrighteous dominion, divorse spouse abuse, enmity and so forth. It really gave me something to think about and this week as our assignment we are supposed to keep a journal of the times we feel we have let our pride get the better of us. One of the quotes from the talk said "God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble." Also "Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion." At first it was easy to think of the things others are doing wrong but then to realize some of the shortcomings that I have in this area gave me reason to think. We will do the other half of the lesson on Friday so I am not going to SLC until Saturday morning now.

Saturday we left about 10:00 for Idaho Falls and the funeral of Aunt Glenna who was the last of the 17 children born to William and Fannie Fullmer. It was a good day visiting with cousins that we have know and some that Dad hadn't seen in a long time. After the luncheon we went and did a session at the IF temple. It was a good day and we couldn't even be sad at the funeral because Aunt Glenna was 90. We could only be sad for those left behind.

Today was a good day because we had such good speakers in Sacrament meeting speaking on the Priesthood and the calling of a new Prophet and then being able to go to the Rexburg Temple dedication. It was a very fulfilling day. "My cup runneth over"

Just what I needed

On Friday evening we went to the Seminary for a Book of Mormon class that one of the seminary teaches is teaching. He started out the class by dividing us into five groups and as a group we were to come up with things that we won't miss during the millenium. We then compared our lists and we all had things such as death, sickness, pain, loneliness, disasters, cruelty, abuse and many other kinds of trials we face. He then taught us that there are 3 types of trials or tribulations. 1. self-caused such as sin 2. Mortality such as cancer or accidents and 3. God caused which we could only come up with callings in this category. In Moses 3:2 the last part of the verse says that God called it all good. Everything on the earth is good if we look at it as a way to get us to turn to God. Br. Laga then told us a story about a shepherd breaking the leg on one of his lambs because the lamb wouldn't follow him and he had to carry the lamb everywhere but now the lamb totally depended on him and he compared it to the Lord giving us trials so that we would turn to him. He then took the story of the brother of Jared and showed us how after not praying for 4 years that he finally turned to the Lord. He was given the instructions on how to build the barges but there were three things left out. How to steer, how to get air and how to have light. He had to turn to the Lord for answers. It was such a good lesson. These are the quotes that he used

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God. And it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven" Orson F. Whitney

"How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!" Neal A Maxwell

As I have been struggling with some of the things going on in my life it really helped me to quit wishing life would be easier and instead trust more and lean more on He who can help me through all things.

I can hardly wait for next Friday.

A Hit at our house

I also made Kimber's pizza pockets last night for supper. I took Kimber's suggestion of combining all the ingredients to make it easier and I used it all--pepperoni, sausage, cb, onions, peppers, pineapple and olives. Even in Jared's sober mood he liked them and Dad really liked them as well and was glad he got some for lunch today. I was so proud of myself for actually making a meal that took some preparation instead of just a throw together instant thingy. I think I will make these and have them frozen for some of those nights when I don't want to fix anything.(Which is about every night)

Okay, Okay already

I finally did it!!!!! Here is the first post of many to come. Maybe now you won't find me repeating myself so much because I can just type it once and each of you can read it and then I will know that I don't have to tell that info again to anyone. Of course, that would have to mean that I even remembered to write it--these senior moments are becoming more like senior hours.

This has been one big week. We started out a week ago on Monday looking for a new bed because the Chiropractor says that sleeping in a waterbed is definitely not good for my back. Of course the one I wanted is $6700 so totally out of the question. On Wednesday our waterheater went out so the bed was totally put on the back burner and all we could concentrate on was getting a new waterheater. After a week boiling water and taking sponge bathes, on Tuesday LeRoy got our new water heater installed. It is still a tankless one but is electric and while it doesn't have the best water pressure it sure beats boiling water. My back has continued to get worse until I am now sleeping on the couch trying to keep the pain level down. I ordered a memory foam topper which came today and we will see if that helps any. I see the chiropractor tomorrow so hopefully he can get me aligned again and then I will be able to keep things aligned by sleeping on a better bed. I hope before long we can get an adjustable bed because that is what really felt good.

Today is Jared's 18th birthday and I have really had some weepy moments. It is hard to think of my baby being that old and soon leaving me. Enjoy the moments with your kids because it is only the blink of an eye and they are gone. Thank heavans I have such a good relationship with my kids and can talk to them at any time.