Week of December 1 - 7, 2019

Highlights:

Spiritual

We had a good Sunday with great church meetings, and Dad was asked to speak with a high councilman in another ward on December 15 so he started working on his talk.  I attended choir practice in the afternoon.

Phoenix Temple is on two week maintenance shut down so no temple visits for us.

Continue to listen to a General Conference talk and read the Book of Mormon daily.

I have indexed 21468 records and reviewed 64873 records. 

Family

The Wilkins Family

This was another long week full of challenges and blessings for the Wilkins family. First, on Sunday, Josh's tenth birthday was celebrated. Happy Birthday, Josh!

The next day, they took him to the doctor, who recommended hospitalization for testing.

Allison shared:
"We are pretty sure he just missed the constant stream of cute nurses offering to bring him Gatorade. 😂

Also, yes, my life is in shambles. But we are okay! God is good.

So. Josh hasn't been himself for a few weeks. Complaining of hip pain, leg pain, etc. Sunday night he woke up screaming in pain and couldn't walk. We brought him to his pediatrician yesterday, who sent him to the ER for bloodwork. He was admitted last night for further testing.

They have determined he has a bump on his spine (most likely born with it) and it's manifesting problems now because he is growing. He has to use a walker to get around and have regular physical therapy but he will be okay.

I'm dying inside at the thought of this crazy-athletic kid having to use a walker to just get around. ☹️ But, God is good and though the timing is rough (really??? right now??? with Mike out of work???) we know everything will be okay."

He called on Wednesday night and had attended cub scouts and seemed happy. I am sure it still hurts a lot, but at least the cause is known.

Allison and Grace were able to share a Youth Christmas Caroling event.

The Ethan Rice Family

Ethan and Cameo powered through and arrived at their house early Sunday morning. Thus, a whole day at home to celebrate Wade. Happy 3rd Birthday, Wadey!!!

The Doran Rice Family

We went to see Doran and Amber's lovely new house on Sunday evening. It is so big and everything is beautiful!

Morgan

Morgan will begin a new job next week at UPS. He will take the bus to get to and from but it will give him some income for a couple of weeks.

Kayty

Kayty had a two day work week and spent the rest of her burning up vacation time watching movies and doing a puzzle. 

The Nathan Rice Family

Lots of sickness remains at this house, but still there are smiles and happy times.

Nathan is enjoying many parties and celebrations at work. (Honeywell Space is very good to their employees!!!) Friday, Nathan took Jessica to the doctor and she was diagnosed with an eye and an ear infection, so the girls got to spend the afternoon with me so Nathan could work half the day. We had fun painting ornaments, playing on swings, and enjoying the Christmas decorations. Nathan is busy creating a Gingerbread house cubicle conversion. It's not legal to take pictures at this sight, but perhaps the leadership will allow so his mom can see his creation. 

Dad's Garden

Dad's new seeds were planted this week and the seeds are sprouting now. He continues to harvest key limes and then squeeze juice. Spinach is doing well in his garden. Carrots are popping up everywhere the seeds flew. Now to hope the quail don't find them too. 

Other highlights

Its the BEST time of year to jog! I saw my first house of Christmas lights last Monday, and this week it got even better. 

I began following a very brave, faithful young woman on Instagram, who has been fighting with every fiber of her being, just to stay alive for her daughter. She shared the following:

"Tonight I sat at the kitchen counter reading “Wildly Optimistic” by Al Carraway…I came to this paragraph and began to sob. I don’t think I could have written it better myself…”Sometimes we don’t know the what or the why behind things, but we do always know the who. Embrace the unexpected knowing who is guiding you, a God who is always good. A God who has helped us before, who will help us again. A God who has comforted and saved and guided before, who will do it again. A God who solely exists to bring us to the better and to make us better. And seeing Him through one hard or unexpected time, and seeing the blessings that come from that, will make it easier to trust Him the next time. And then the next. And then you’ll find yourself on the ride of your life; a ride you were always intended to take. And then times will come when we will find ourselves feeling at ease among trials, because from consistently trying to trust, we will have experienced time and time again that we are being led to the greater things. Then time will come when the smiles are real. And the happiness is real. Regardless of our situations. Times will come when the scary and the hard and the unexpected turn to exciting, thrilling, new adventures that come with peace, with our knowledge that we are in motion to the best fit blessings.”

Not so good that our pool filter died but grateful we had the 300 dollars to replace it.

Attended Neck and Nog at the Dibb's house on Friday and a party next door on Saturday (lots of terribly loud Iranian music, no one talking to us but our neighbors to the south, lots of people, no place to sit, but pretty good Iranian food.)

Just thought I would share my Thanksgiving Assessment and Plan for 2019 and 2020

I hang this horizontally on the cupboard door and go day by day, task by task.

Thursday one Week Prior

Complete non-fresh grocery shopping

Friday

Turkey (2019 Winco 21 lb)

                Bag

                Oven

                Drippings in Jar (2019 2 quarts)

                Boil Bones

                Broth in jar (2019 4 quarts)

Carefully preserve sliced meat and freeze or refrigerate in broth

Roast Sugar Pumpkins

                Remove stem

                Poke holes

                Place on baking sheet

Create slim Jim cheese ball heads

Do not use melted white chocolate

Create Cookie Peanut Butter Ball heads

Saturday

Make Gravy

                (Recipe for 2019 –

                7 T fat – 3 turkey +4 butter

                7 T flour

                5 c broth

                Bag (2019 made 5 batches

                And used 4 at dinner)

                Freeze

Thaw smoking turkey and grilling turkey

Make cranberry sauce

  

Monday

Puree cranberries and mix with sugar for

                Cranberry salad (6:30 am)

Cheese Balls (6:40 am – made 2)

                Create

                Wrap and refrigerate

Make Ranch Dip  (7:10 am)

Cut celery and carrots and place in water (7:45 am)

Peanut Butter Ball (7:25 am)

                Create 

                Chill

Wrap and Refrigerate

Shop for rolls and pumpkin pie at Costco (9:30 am)

Fresh fruit purchases

Veggie purchases (cucumbers, bell peppers

Thaw dinner turkey         (2019 did not roast a turkey on Thanksgiving Day but might have been nice)

Tuesday

Chill water bottles   (2019 used small black fridge)

Thaw roast turkey

Smoke Turkey

                Remove, clean and season

                Put on smoker

Baking

                Pumpkin Pies

Cupcakes etc (2019 Wade’s birthday cupcakes)

Cut up any other vegetables

Create turkey face -veggie

Create turkey face-fruit

  

Wednesday

Pull all tubs, crockpots and serving pieces from hut

Set up Tables

Wash off chairs

Place serving dishes with photo example out

                Have items ready to go

Wash and separate fruit

                Sliced grapes, strawberries

Make homemade mushroom sauce

Wednesday Night

Place Tablecloths and décor

Prepare serving table with crockpots

Stuffing                               

                Mashed Potatoes

                Gravy

Macaroni and Cheese

Green bean casserole

Platters - label

                Veggie Tray

                Fruit Tray

                Apple Peanut Butter Tray

Dishes - label

                Cranberry Salad Bowl    

                Roll Bowl

                Cranberry Sauce dish and plate

Leave places for Cauliflower and cheese and sweet potatoes.

Drain pineapple and put crushed with cranberry puree and chunks separate

Slice cucumbers and 5 apples (drained pineapple juice in with apples)

Thursday (Thanksgiving)

Tables  

                Tables and chairs ready

                Set and decorate tables

Stuffing   (2019 made 3 types of stuffing

2020 Use 2 bags of herbed and 2 bags corn bread + add turkey bits to give more flavor)

                Prepare

                Crockpot on low

Gravy    (2019 used 4 of 6 gallon bags)

                (2020 use quart freezer bags)

                Crockpot on low

Turkey                 

                Rinse

                Season/Fill with Veggies

                Bag

                Bake

                Let Sit    Slice       Platter

Smoked Turkey

                Whole (16 pound in 2019)

Lite smoker

Rub applied to meat

Put turkey on (breast up whole in 2019)

(2020 either breast down or butterflied)

Cooked for 7 hours

Slice and Platter

Grilled Turkey (11 pound in 2019)

                Butterflied turkey

                Rubbed with meat rub

                Grilled for 4 hours

                Slice and platter

Mashed Potatoes (17 pounds 2019)

                Place cream/butter on stove

                Peel Potatoes (10:00 am)

                Chop

                Boil a lot

                Drain (in strainer)

                Rice

                Crockpot

Macaroni and Cheese

Velveeta Mac and Cheese (four boxes in 2019)

Boil Pasta            Add Sauce

Thin with cream/butter mix

Crockpot

Green Bean Casserole

                Warm Frozen Green Beans

                Add homemade mushroom sauce

                Put in crockpot

                Top with onions

Salad Prep

                Cranberry

Whip Cream/add marshmallows

Add cranberry/pineapple mixture and stir

Bowl

                Turkey Veggie Tray (use picture)

                                Veggies on silver platter

                                Dip in bowl

                                Bell Pepper face

                Turkey Cheese Ball (use picture)

                                Ball roll in nuts

                                Place on plate

Pretzel feathers, slim Jim head, Ritz crackers around

Fruit Turkey Platter (use picture)

                                Arrange fruit

                                Pear face

(2019 had no pumpkin so placed on platter)

(2020 – buy pumpkin to display skewered fruit)

                Peanut Butter Ball Turkey

Roll in mini chocolate chips

                                Apple Slices in tail

Place with lots of apples around it

               

Olives and Pickles in 3 section tray

Cranberry sauce in bowl and on plate

Butter on Plates