Week of March 30, 2013

Sunday

Happy Birthday, Gabe.  My Google calendar was wrong.  I didn't think it was until Tuesday, so I missed calling to sing to him.  I guess at 1 year old he didn't know, but we felt bad, so Happy Birthday.  These one year old's continue to grow so fast.  

It was a beautiful day.  I worked all afternoon on an activity for the Young Men Young Women.

Monday

It was a quiet day and I got extra reading time.  I also did more house cleaning in our bathroom.

Dad and I watched Le Miserables for FHE.  That movie is so powerful.  We both cried again at the end.  What a movie on Justice, Mercy, and Redemption.

Tuesday

We went to see Virginia Potter.  She is in the McKay Dee hospital.  Her sodium level went way down and she has several other health issues.  We reminisced of days gone by.  It was good to see her, but I'm concerned for her.  She still has at least another week there.

On the way home we stopped and went to the temple to do sealings with Aunt Margaret.  It was good to do sealings again.  That night I went to the Relief Society birthday party. 

Brigham City temple from the car.

Wednesday

Dad is making cookies again.  We have to keep giving them away.  They were very good.  It was a sugar cookie with an experimental frosting.  Very tasty: 1/4 c. butter, 1/2 c. banana, 1 t. lime juice, and 1 t. vanilla with 3 cups powdered sugar.  The cookies had ww flour, but still, not good to have around.

 Thursday

Quilted in the morning, listened to kids read at noon, and babysat Jessica Wright Jenson's kids.  She recently had surgery on her knee.  Caleb came down to play with her oldest girl that is his age.  Then she has twins Ben's age.  It was a gorgeous day and we spent a lot of time outside.  

Luke and Landon Jenson

 

I made experimental suckers by putting a jelly bean in the middle and then M & M's on the top.  They were for the Riverside Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.  They turned out pretty good and looked fun.

That night we canned pork.  We did 18 pints worth.  The meat was only $1.38/pound.  

It feels good to have some for sweet pork burritos and other quick meals.  

No wonder I was tired Thursday night.

Friday

We went to the Family History library until 1 and then came home to do some pork with Colleen.  We did 21 quarts for them and then 7 more quarts for us.  Monday we will can with David and do him some.  Anyone want some? Call me.  It's on sale until Tuesday.

 That night Dad went over and got Mike so he would be here for the Easter Egg hunt (really it was so he could rototill the garden, but that was a good prework activity.

Saturday

We helped Tammy and Glen Lee pass out Easter treats from the papers in the eggs.  The eggs I did were good for 2 suckers, 1 to eat and 1 to share.

Noelle after it was all over

Mike and the Easter Bunny.  Who needs a girl?

Mike and his loot after it was over.  Tammy Capener goes to so much work.  She had filled 2,000 eggs.

Work time! I can't believe how much we got done in just a short amount of time.  It really helped.

Cierra and the clean patio!

Finally after sweeping and doing all the boring part, Noelle finally got to spray the basketball court!

Yeah! Chris fixed the steps up to the castle and repaired the board in the back that had fallen over.

Time to cook hot dogs over Grandpa's fire!

Lunch time outside and it is still March, but it was such a beautiful day!

Zander's first cookout at Grandma's - not too happy.

Mike rototilled the whole garden.  Caleb loved following behind with his dump truck.

It's been a good week.  It's late and Ellen and Mike are out watching Le Mis.  It is a good movie to see on the eve of Easter.  If we were all left to justice alone, what a sad state we would be in.  I'm so thankful for the mercy and grace we all have through Christ's atonement.  In my studying of the Book of Mormon I have been looking up words in Webster's 1828 dictionary.  It has added a lot of meaning to my reading.  Here is the definition for Justice and Mercy:

Justice - “The virtue which consists in giving to everyone what is his due” exactly Javert

Mercy - -“That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant.  In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy.  That which comes nearest to it is grace. . . Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being.” Jean Val Jean was completely changed when the Priest gave him his life back to him when he didn't turn him in. He bought his soul and only asked him to serve God and his fellow man. 

Christ has done the same for us.  He has given us back our life that we have lost through the sins we all commit, and all He asks is that we serve God and our fellow men.

I love you all.  Very Much.

 

Week of March 17, 2013

Sunday

I don't always write about birthdays, but Happy Birthday Max and Kaden! They our are St. Patrick's Day boys.  I missed talking to both of them, so I hope they listened to our birthday song on the answering machines.  

It was a wonderful Sunday, and to top it off we went to Marri's special 12th birthday gathering to welcome her to Young Womanhood.  Here are the pictures:

It was great to just sit around in the living room and visit about being a woman.  I didn't take a picture of the food, but it was wonderful.  We had turkey steaks, rice, sushi that Sarah made that I actually really liked, crackers, and pumpkin roll for dessert.  Thanks, Emily!

Noelle, Marri, Emily, and her sister Sarah

 Sophie, Marri, and Noelle when it was over and they could go play!

 Cecily and Mallory in matching dresses that are also like Kirsten's

Cecily and Mallory playing

 Time to say good-bye

 Monday

I always say I will remember, and I should know better by now that if I don't take a picture I don't remember.  For FHE we looked up the family history of Sister Meyer (the one from Hawaii that gave me all my clothes) to see if we could extend her line.  We hadn't been able to find anything to this date, but then it opened up and we connected in and extended way back for her.  We are going to Salt Lake 

Tuesday

We went to Salt Lake to the Family History Library to help Sister Meyer.  We really had a good time and then went to lunch with her and Elder Meyer and back to the library.  They go home after conference, so we won't see them until we go to Hawaii!  We forgot to get pictures, but we stopped at Aunt Janet's on the way home and then also Uncle David's.  (The one with the donkey)  It was good to see them both. 

We got home just in time to hear Ellen on the radio.  She was invited to read a couple of her stories on Aggie radio.  She will send us a link when she has one to hear it again.  It was fun to listen to her on radio!  This is the computer so I would remember what day she was on. You will all be old one day.

Wednesday thru Friday

As you all know, Colleen went in on Wednesday to get the two stints taken out that were put in last Wednesday.  They thought they would be in and out, but it didn't work out that way.  The one stint was very difficult to get out and it irritated the pancreas too much.  She didn't come home until Saturday morning.  I have learned a lot about the pancreas and have new respect for it.  Still on Friday she could not even tolerate water in her stomach without the pancreas flaring up.  It took Eileen and I (who are the mothers of 20 children) to take care of things, although Eileen did the most.  Little Zander is very determined that he would not take a bottle. We had had some luck, but it was Dad that got him to take his first bottle of 2 oz. late Thursday afternoon.  After that, he decided if that was all there was, he would drink it. Here are a few pictures:

Eileen giving Zander his milk from a cup.  That was more successful at first than a bottle.

 Mallory making Zander happy. 

 Noelle stayed home from school on Thursday to help us out, and she was a big help.  

He knows his siblings!

 Wednesday night I took the kids to Riverside Corner for Wacky Wednesday ice cream.

Josh, Mallory, Noelle, neighbor friend Sarah, and Caleb

Also Wednesday night Dad and I went and cleaned the temple from 9:00 p.m. to shortly after midnight. It is wonderful to clean the temple and contemplate life.  I put Colleen's name in the prayer roll.

 Friday night with dad before he goes back down to Salt Lake to be with Colleen

Saturday

We get the good news that Colleen will be coming home.  I cooked a bunch of vegetables so there would be some broth for her and made some jello.  It was sure good to have her home.

Chris, Caleb, Colleen holding Zander and Noelle in the background.

In the afternoon, Dad and I went to Logan to go to the temple with Mike and Ellen.  We sure have a lot of names to do if anyone wants some, PLEASE let me know.

When we got home I made Navajo Tacos and had Chris's family come down to eat so Colleen wouldn't smell the food cooking.  We played scum and they went home.

It's been an up and down week, but filled with blessings.  We have so much to be thankful for.

This weekend is Easter and I look forward to celebrating and thinking about His life and the gift of the Atonement, which if we did not have we would have and be nothing.

We are having children/grandchildren come Friday night, going to the Easter egg hunt Saturday morning, and helping us out with yard work until about 2 or 2:30 and having a cookout (I hope).  Anyone is invited to come because, "Many hands make light work." We really could use some help as we are one year older than last year and this is a big yard!

Week of March 10, 2013

Sunday

Ellen and Mike were at home because of spring break.  We had a very late night on Saturday night, so Ellen and Mike decided to go to the singles ward that started 2 hours later than our ward.

We had turkey steaks to celebrate the fact they were home.  Chris' family came over and we played Scum and I was the King (twice).  We had 'Charlie Food' for dinner, but Colleen wasn't feeling really well, so she didn't stay long. Then dad and I went to the Family History meeting.

And, of course, dad made cookies for all:)

Monday

Dad and I helped Brenda Godfrey and Sandy Orme with Family History for a couple of hours. Then after lunch the weather was good and we had Mike and Ellen home, so all the locals can feel relief because we cleaned the chicken coop.  I'm sure the chickens enjoyed the fresh, clean straw. 

Dad, Mom, Mike

Ellen and Mike dumping the contents of the coop on the garden. It's spring break, so Mike refused to wear long pants all week.

Caleb came to play while Josh did math.

Monday night dad and I went for a walk and stopped in at Chris's. Colleen was still not feeling well.

 We got the call from Tammy Monday night that things did not look good with the adoption.  LDS Social Services is no longer part of the adoption, but it has gone to the Child Protection Agency.  It was heart-breaking news.  It will take a miracle for it to go through now.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning I had a hard time keeping focused on my morning studies.  I felt like I needed to go to the temple.  I woke up dad and we also asked Mike and Ellen if they wanted to come, so the four of us went through the 9:30 session at the Logan Temple.  It was a beautiful experience.  I believe in miracles and that it is all in the hands of a very loving father.  My heart has really gone out to the grandparents of little Seth.  They truly have suffered much.

We came home so I could go and listen to kids read at Fielding School, Mike and Ellen did homework, and then we turned around and went back to Logan to see the movie, "Oz, the Great and Powerful".  I was actually surprised that I liked it.  There was a good message and it seemed like a true 'Oz' book.

We left Ellen and Mike in Logan and came home.  We hadn't been home too long before we got the text from Chris asking if we could go down and help Cierra with the kids because he had Colleen in the hospital.  After the scan and they saw her gallbladder filled with stones and some escaping into the pancreas  they transported her to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake.  Chris brought Zander over to me and then he went down also.

I spent the day at Chris's and Eileen came down also.  We said between the 2 of us we raised 20 kids, but it took both of us to take care of the six.  Not that they are difficult kids to watch, but

this is what Zander thinks of a bottle:

Needless to say, he missed his mommy. Colleen was truly blessed.  Everyone was amazed she wasn't doubled over in pain.  At 7:00 a.m. they removed 30 stones and put a stint in her pancreas that has to be removed this Wednesday.  She was home by 10:00 that night.  She was very blessed, as it could have been very dangerous if it wasn't caught in time.  

This was the day we were all going to the temple, so Dad went to Logan to babysit Ben and Zach while Joe & Tesha and Ellen and Mike all went to the temple.

Thursday

I spent a little time with Colleen, but her mother was there so I went to the church to quilt and then I was going over to listen to kids reads, but Camille Hirschi said she would take my place.  We were going to take Ellen and Mike to a Chinese place to eat on Wednesday, but since I wasn't there they waited.  We ate lunch and then returned to duties.

Friday
We went to the Family History Library and had another busy day.  I love teaching about Family Trees and helping people do their Family History.  We ran over and got Tesha & boys to come and stay the rest of the time until Joe gets home from New Hampshire.  

Saturday
It was such a gorgeous day!  There was a little breeze, but not bad.  We all went out to work outside.  Tesha and I got the tramp mat back on, so when you come it is jumping time!  Then we worked for a while and decided to clean out the shed.  I'm not sure when the last time we did such a good cleaning.
Ben carrying out the old paint (which none of it was good) 

This was part way through, so it is not even everything.

Sorting the different areas of things.

All clean! (Except for some further shelf cleaning, but it was time to get ready for the temple.

We did over 60 names, all on Ellen Rigby Capener's parents.  I can't believe how many people there are needing their work done.  Temple work truly shows how much Heavenly Father loves all of His children, no matter what time period they lived in.  It was especially good to have Chris and Rob to baptize their kids and I handed out towels.  It was wonderful to have Marrie there.  Now Cierra doesn't seem so lonely.

Marri, Rob, Mike, Chris, Front-Noelle, Cierra, Josh, Grandma in front of Logan Temple

Uncle Mike with happy cousins!

Tesha watching for Joe.  His plane was late leaving New Hampshire and he ended up come about 

1:30 a.m. instead of 10:30. p.m.

We have been very blessed this week.  There is still hope for little Seth to be in Pete's family, so we need to continue our prayers.  It is in Heavenly Father's hands and He has free agency & human beings to work with, but miracles can happen.  Colleen will go into the hospital this week to get the stints out.  I often feel that I seem to be asking Heavenly Father for so many things, but He has blessed me with so many children, so that is the way it goes I guess.
I want you all to know that I love my Father in Heaven very much.  I felt so much peace in the temple this week accompanied by so much love for Him, our Savior, all of our family, and my fellow men.

Week of March 3, 2013

Sunday

It was the last day of our Family Trees class today.  I have enjoyed the class, but we are not going to have any more in the near future.  We can accomplish more in a one-hour home visit than we can in four weeks of classes.  It was a beautiful Fast Sunday today.  Maybe that is a sign of old age.  I enjoy fasting. 

Monday-Tuesday

We had a busy 2 days with visits to homes doing Family History.  We visited the Coleman's on Monday afternoon, Sandy Orme on Tuesday morning and Ron & Jessica Jenson at 9:00 Tuesday night.  Ron has a sister that lives 5 minutes away from the University in New Hampshire that Joe & Tesha are considering.  It will be good to actually talk to someone that lives there.

This is a picture of our Family Home Evening refreshments.  I'm sure you boys all feel bad that we never had them when you lived at home.  They are spinach smoothies with bananas, oranges, and apricots.  They were very good.

Wednesday

I went to the temple while Dad did some research for his father's history.  We did some shopping and went to Best Buy and got Ellen's hard drive.  It took some experimenting, but dad was able to get the documents retrieved they had gotten. She is very happy to have her laptop back.

Thursday

I had a good day with a lot of variety.  I quilted in the morning with the ladies in our ward, went to Fielding School and read with kids for an hour, worked on a quilt at home, and took dinner to new neighbors that have been here for almost 3 months.

Friday

We had a very busy day at the FH center.  We are teaching a class on Family Trees and then I helped Sandy Orme at.  We came home and dad went to the Robbins' home to help with Family History.  Then Joe & Tesha came and we had Chris's family down to celebrate Ben's 3rd birthday.  We really did have a good time.

Hair cutting time!

 Cake decorating time!

 Ben's cake

Ben loved blowing out the candles.

 Gifts from Caleb and Noelle

 Playing Scum

 Ready to watch Wreck-It Ralph on the magic wall.

 Zander and Grandma spent some time 'visiting' with each other.  He really smiles cute, but I had a hard time catching it on the camera.

 This is to let John & Stacey know how much we use the coat rack they gave us for Christmas.

 Noelle had Zander really giggling!

 Saturday

I had made granola Friday night, so we had it for breakfast while we were waiting for the German Pancakes to cook.  Zach really got into it!

 Maybe doubling the recipe was just a bit too much for this pan, but it was really good!

In the after noon we, Ellen, Mike, dad and I, and Noelle and Mallory all went to see "Singin in the Rain" at the Old Barn.  They did a very good job and it was a fun afternoon.
Since Mike was on 'Spring Break' from USU, he is wearing shorts.

Dad, Ellen, Noelle, me, Mike

It is now 12:30 a.m. (that is with the clock changed) and everyone in out watching Wreck-It Ralph.  When I'm done I imagine I'll join them.  I thought I lost a lot of sleep when you were all young!

I've loved my extra study time I am getting.  I have been looking up words in the 1828 Dictionary and it has added a lot of insight to my reading. (I have 3 pages of definitions so far.) I was reading in Jacob 4:6 "and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken. . . Here is the definition of hope: 

“a desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety. . . . To place confidence in; to trust in with confident expectation of good."

This is why hope is so intertwined with faith, and why I feel such a peace with my hope and faith in Jesus Christ.  I want you all to know how happy I am.

I Can See Everything so Clear!

  

Robert called us this week and was so excited because he can see everything so clear now that he has glasses.  May we 'see clear' as we put our hope and faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement that sustains us from day to day.