Week of May 17 - 23, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

Sunday was good. The broadcast of "Music and The Spoken World" was full of lovely music, and we were able to view three talks on BYU tv including President Nelson's first talk he gave after being sustained in Solemn Assembly as President of the Church. He has always emphasized the importance of seeking guidance from the Holy Ghost and how important it is to hear what the Lord wants us to do. 

Sunday visits included one from Dorrie as well as Nathan, Jessica, and the girls. 

This week, I completed my second time listening daily to General Conference talks and began my third time through. I continue to study the Book of Mormon daily with both the Come Follow Me lessons as well as my own reading. 

I have indexed 9132 records and reviewed 45182 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family

We Marco Polo'd the Wilkins Family on Sunday. They are doing well. Adam recovered from his throat ailment and is completing his school work this week. He has improved his math grade, which he is thankful for. This was the last week for Grace, Joshua, and Samuel. Tuesday was a final parade with families decorating cars and driving through the school parking lot and waving goodbye. 

Last Zoom meetings. And then Virtual Graduations!!!

And that same evening...

Allison shared this on their last day of school:

These 4. I can't even express my profound gratitude and awe. It. Has. Been. A. Year.

It started in August with me getting a 3rd part-time job to bring in some extra money. Which meant more responsibility for these guys. They stepped up to help without a complaint.

Our world crashed in October when Mike lost his job. I increased my work hours a lot to bring in some money to make up (a little bit) for Mike's job loss, we cut out every extra entertainment/hobby/fun expense and asked them to step up even more. And they did it all. They never once whined about how much they lost through it all or the extra work. They handled it all with grace and class and faith. I know it was hard on them, but they did it anyway.

When Josh was in the hospital in December, Adam and Grace took incredible care of Sam on top of their other home and school responsibilities during those days and following weeks of doctors appointments and physical therapy sessions.

There were some really, really hard dark days there. Days where the only reason I got out of bed was because I knew these 4 needed me. They became my reason for going on in all of the hardship of working and not sleeping and not knowing day after day.

And just when job stuff was looking up and light gleamed, the pandemic stuff hit. And they left the security of schools and friends and teachers to finish the year at home.

It has been a year like no other.

Throughout it all, though, these 4 have been amazing. They have prayed and fasted and sacrificed and worked hard. They have grown and laughed and learned. They teach me every day what life is really about, and I am so amazed and proud.

Happy Summer! We did it!

The Ethan Rice Family

Ethan and Cameo and the kids had a good week and are spending the weekend in their travel trailer fishing and getting away from the house. Work is keeping up for both Ethan and Cameo and the kids are now adjusting to summer break. We so enjoyed watching her recital via Zoom on Saturday morning

The Doran Rice Family

Doran and Amber and family finished school this week and headed up North Friday for a work training for Doran and for some cool family camping. Unfortunately, the road was awful and they lost two tires on their vehicle. They were blessed with a good Samaritan who helped them get some air in until they could get to town for the repairs. Doran called on Friday night to let us know how they were doing and they hoped to have a good rest of the weekend. However, by the time tire three popped, they gave up and returned home. 

Morgan

No news from Morgan this week. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good work week. She was disappointed her concert in California scheduled for July was canceled. She also saw a horrible twitter display by Harry Styles, so all her merchandise she has gathered for years was sold on Poshmark. 

The Nathan Rice Family

Jessica had been sick all week and had a Covid19 test taken. They were hoping to get the results so they could still go to Jessica's mom's trailer in Young, but no results were shared till after the holiday. So sad. Nathan spent the week working and devising something to help haul the canoe from vehicle to body of water. 

Dad's Garden

Tomato picking continues daily. I canned 10 quarts and 1 pint on Saturday. More and more basil is thriving which is great news. 

We have picked 356 tomatoes and lots of cherry tomatoes so far this year. 

Other highlights

We worked on moving a little more gravel on Monday. We ended up getting more in the back yard and in the front yard at the end of the driveway. 

With bulk trash pickup this week, Dad got a lot of stuff raked up and I helped him bag it and haul it to the pile. Trees were also trimmed. He spent a lot of time testing and repairing the drip watering system. 

We took dinner to the Sister Missionaries this week. 

We lost someone we hadn't seen in years this week. Phil Hazlett had some health problems for years, and passed away. We contributed to a plant purchase and I made a salad with fresh cherry tomatoes on is for the funeral luncheon. 

We are still waiting for the car part for Dad's jeep to arrive. 

Week of May 10 - 16, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

Sunday was good. It is difficult to try to keep any sort of Sunday routine with just the three of us. Choir broadcast was turned off early and our day was spent reading and studying and counting the time until we could go to bed. The sisters in the ward were invited to drive by the house of the Allen Family to receive a Mother's Day treat, but I didn't want to, so I stayed home. Later, Joanna Call brought me my treat which was very kind that she even noticed being that all were in cars driving by. 

No temple continues but next week our temple in Phoenix can open for sealing husband to wife of those previously endowed. 

I continue to study the Book of Mormon and Come Follow Me daily and listen to at least one General Conference talk each day. 

I have indexed 8751 records and reviewed 42,960 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family

I so enjoyed Mother's Day Marco Polo with the Wilkins family!! I got to see and speak with most and they are doing well. Mike is working steadily and staying healthy. Allison continues to keep the kids going with their schoolwork while doing computer work for the church as well. She continues her Couch to 5k workouts and Adam has joined her in her running. Adam was sick with strep on Sunday and so was in bed resting. He continues to work on grade improvement as long as he can. The other three are doing well on their remaining days in their elementary school year.

 Sam received a special visit from his wonderful Kindergarten teacher. 

The Ethan Rice Family

The Ethan Rice family is doing well. They had a good camping trip last weekend and I spoke with them on Mother's Day via Marco Polo. Kaylee's school days are also winding down. She shared this 

She sure loves her teacher! I am so thankful for the good teachers that our grandkids have loved as they have taught them this year. 

Ethan spent Saturday working on a new deck out in their back yard to level their pool. He said Home Depot was as crowded as ever and he even had to wait to get in the parking lot. The pressure treated wood he wanted was flying off the rack and he had to even go to another Home Depot to get all the supplies. It came out so nice and the kids love to be able to swim!!!

The Doran Rice Family

Doran was my first Mother's Day call on Sunday morning and we had such a great conversation. Work is hot now for Doran, and on Friday he began getting an ear infection which he is now applying drops for. Amber continues to work from home and will continue to do so for the next few months. It works well for them and saves them a lot of money. Kids are finishing up school and loving their days in their pool. We enjoyed a Saturday visit from them and they had a good time swimming. 

Morgan

Morgan is working and doing well.

Kayty

Kayty had a good work week and on Friday, since all concerts are canceled due to Covid19, she had her own Nial Horan Concert in our living room

The Nathan Rice Family

Nathan and Jessica and the girls visited and brought flowers on Sunday. They also came by on Tuesday to play while Nathan completed a project. 

Friday, while Jessica prepared for a presentation, the girls came to play. We built a city with the playschool zoo, the barbie house, the Mickey and Minnie Mouses and the Hot Wheels in the playroom. We had a good and very noisy time. 

Dad's Garden

Tomatoes are doing well! I canned 9 quarts on Wednesday. Picking continues each day. 

Tomato total so far (excluding cherry tomatoes) 225

I also harvested some nice basil each day for Dad's caprese salads. 

Other highlights

Daily morning hauling of loads of granite continues throughout the week. We completed the back yard and continue to complete small replacements where old stuff has worn away over the years. We also fill in low spots in our driveway/road. The weather has been cool and it is much easier hauling 1/4 minus granite. 

Ken Clement came to check our a/c out on Wednesday. Annual cleaning and check up went well and I even got a visit from his wife, Apryl the next day when he left his hat here. 

On Thursday, we received a surprise brief visit from Sharynn and Camilla who were transporting Becca's kids Nhiya and Jay up to Utah for a visit. Sharynn had to opportunity to visit Mom the night before and I am sure that made her so happy. 

Not so highlights

Honeywell began meetings on Monday to introduce the Reduction of jobs. Announced was a five percent reduction in each quarter, beginning in May. Voluntary reductions had to be submitted by Wednesday. Also on Friday, as Dad was working for a company, he asked to be able to see his friend, Randy Greeson. However, Randy had been reduced the day before. So very sad. He is alone and has savings so he plans on living simply, hopefully delivering pizzas, and making it a couple of more years till he can get Medicare. this time is just awful for so many losing jobs!

Week of May 3 - 9, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

This Sunday was another Fast Sunday and we were emailed recorded testimonies from those who chose to. Our stake president was the first testimony and he was very uplifting and encouraging. Our stake has had only two people affected by Covid19 and they are recovering well. It was nice to hear a few testimonies, even from those who don't get up in Sacrament Meeting when we are at church. Sunday included scripture study, Music and the Spoken Word, some talks on BYU tv, reading scriptures and conference talks, and quiet.

No temple again this week.

I continue to listen to a Conference Talk every morning and studying my Book of Mormon and Come Follow Me every morning.

I have indexed 8493 records and reviewed 52530 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family

I so enjoyed talking with Allison, Grace, and the rest of the family via Marco Polo on Sunday night. Mike was getting ready to head out to work. He is doing well and is on the Covid19 team while working full time. Schooling continues and is going well. They are still waiting for news from Amazon as to if and when he will convert to permanent. Allison is great and takes time for herself by doing the Couch to 5k workout as well as Fitness Blender. She has made and shared some amazing recipes. Adam is working hard increasing his school grades, and last week he took the whole oven door apart and cleaned it. I might be a ton jealous. Grace is doing well and loving coloring her hair crazy colors. She has also participated in a few Zoom meetings with Young Women leaders. Joshua hit the one year anniversary of his fall and skull fracture and seems to be doing well. Sam is becoming quite the artist and colored a wonderful picture of Joseph Smith. Their current TV obsession is watching some guy who gets stung by various insects and determines pain of sting on a range. Last week, their Air Conditioning went out but they called their regular a/c guy who was able to just replace the motor, something they had money in savings for, which is a blessing.  They are all healthy and doing well while staying home.

The Ethan Rice Family

We had a few great Facetime conversations this week. Wade has a new pirate ship made from a big box and has had quite a few adventures. Ethan got some cool LED lights from Amazon and added them to Wade's riding dump truck and Kaylee's scooter. Ethan has been helpful in locating a possible new rear end for Dad's car this week too. Cameo shared a school homework project of Kaylee's: creating animal fact cards. She did a great job and I learned a lot!

 I received these for Mother's Day on Thursday from Ethan and Cam via Wade and Liz.

It was the best treat to see other people. They headed out of town Friday night. They had wanted to go camping but every site was taken, so they stayed in their trailer at the location it is stored at. 

The Doran Rice Family

Kelsie's week started with a greeting from church friends.

The week included work, home school, Zoom meetings and caring for family and pets.

Morgan

Morgan worked part of the week, and then he and his friend went camping and fishing, using our canoe.

Kayty

Kayty worked hard all week and managed to keep up her daily goals. She called her endocrinologist to reschedule her appointment, and was told the doctor she saw one month ago had quit the practice! I was just devastated. She had such a good relationship with this doctor and was testing her blood glucose daily. Now she has to search out another doctor. So disappointing. Plus she only got one month of meds so she is now back to the black market 

The Nathan Rice Family

Nathan and Jessica and the girls had a good week. Work is going well for Nathan. Jessica is thinking about working for VIP kids teaching from their home. They stopped by and tried out their feet in the pool on Monday and came by on Saturday to swim. I was having so much fun that I forgot to take any pics.  

Dad's Garden

We are now keeping the tomato count, not including the cherry tomatoes. Total picked as of this week is 89. Basil has been growing and I have made a few caprese salads for Dad this week. 

Other highlights

Early Monday, Dad headed under his jeep to see how bad the damage was to the rear end. It ended up being worse than he hoped, so he determined the rear end needed to be totally replaced. He spent the next day calling junkyards with no success.

Tuesday was Cinco de Mayo and we celebrated with fajitas for dinner.

A huge load of gravel was delivered Wednesday and we began hauling wheelbarrow load by wheelbarrow load to the back yard. Much will also be used on the road in front of ours and the neighbor's houses. Others have purchased new road material in the past and we felt it was our turn to do the same.

Thursday I went to Sam's Club and actually saw smiling faces and happy people. Then, at the gas pump, the kind man behind me offered me a sanitizing wipe to clean the handles. To be honest, this Pandemic has brought few opportunities to see or witness much service. I have seen Allison and her family do kind things including a gift for a high school senior who won't have a graduation ceremony. We have loaned things to people at church who needed them and then had to ask over a month later kindly if they were finished with them. We offered vegetables many times, but only a few people dared to come to our back yard. No checking on anyone. Many seem to just be concerned about their own health and staying away from anyone else that might harm them. Even late at night, Dee talked to a friend who's church members had shamed for a Facebook post. Can you even imagine? So this day, I tried to put into my memory the wonderful happy faces, seeing Wade and Liz, and the very kind man with the sanitizing wipe.

Thursday, the bed I had ordered for the playroom (one of the few goals I will get completed this year, arrived and Dee and Kayty helped me get it put together. Kayty was such great help by separating out the various hardware screws, washers, etc. 

Week of April 26 - May 2, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

Sunday began early with a Kayty rescue. I couldn't go back to sleep so I indexed. I got ready for Sunday with a dress and curled hair. We watched Music and The Spoken Word and then sat to watch BYU talks. However, this week, instead of General Authorities speaking, there were talks by school staff directed at students. So, we ended up having our quick and quite Sacrament ordinance and then going on with the day. Talks were read, scriptures were studied. Sundays are very very quiet and we end up reading and studying until we can justify going to bed. One thing we did do was take a tomato to a single sister in our ward, and then we drove by the temple. People were parked looking at the temple or were walking outside the fence. Eyes met with one mom and her two little kids and you could just see the looks of longing to be back in our temple and in our church building. It has been hard to be so alone and out of contact with ward members.

No temple visits continue.

I enjoy my Come Follow Me study every morning and when that is complete for the week, I continue reading on my own in the Book of Mormon. I also love listening to General Conference talks every morning and learn even more on the second time through.

 I contacted my ministering sisters the week, I texted and emailed them.

I have indexed  8082 records and reviewed 41601 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

The Wilkins Family is managing to do well. Mike continues to work long hours and studies in between. They enjoyed watching a meteor shower and a comet appearance last week. Most of their days are spent doing school work, doing puzzles and playing games, plus creating the best food. Allison was blessed with some extra money so she purchased a new dishwasher, which is a blessed luxury now that the whole family is home more. She has also been doing some painting in the master bathroom. Adam sadly broke his glasses and new frames replaced the ones he really liked. Sam is still a great Pokemon fan and he is also beginning to play the piano, sharing a rendition of Hot Cross Buns for us on Marco Polo. Grace is auditioning again for LVA, this time playing her viola. She shared a lovely song that she plans on playing for that audition. Joshua is doing well and is as busy as ever.

The Ethan Rice Family

Ethan, Cameo, Kaylee, and Wade had a good week. Sadly I had to cancel my flight to see Kaylee's dance recital...or rather postpone the flight. While Georgia is lifting the quarantine, it seemed just not a good time to travel and my flights were being changed so much it became crazy. Ethan is doing well working from home and is feeling totally better after his severe ear infection. Cameo continues to keep up with kids and mom duties, even helping Kaylee make stovetop cookies late one Friday night. Wade gave Papa an extensive FaceTime tour of the house late the other night. Kaylee texts me sometimes during the day. They were able to get some leaky roof repairs completed on Saturday. Ethan was also a great help as Dad was working on his jeep. 

The Doran Rice Family

Doran, Amber, Kelsie, and Kooper had a busy week. Doran's company did not have enough work for him, so he had to take Friday off. The kids enjoyed time with him and they came out later for a visit and to play with cousins.

They worked more on their paver project.

Morgan

Morgan is doing well and continues to work.

Kayty

Kayty had a good work week. She even received the nicest card full of kindness and compliments from her boss. She stayed home Saturday (though she refers to home as work now) and completed some projects to help her pit aka room be more organized.

The Nathan Rice Family

Ellie spiked a fever Sunday morning and was very sick most of the week. She was tested for Strep, Influenza and even Covid19 and all were negative but the 104 fever continued through the week until she seemed to feel better on Thursday morning. We were able to play with the girls, even Emma, on Friday evening for a little bit while they got away to get something to eat. We had so much fun!!

Dad's Garden

We hit our first 90-degree day last week, and four days later, we hit our first 100-degree day. Blossoms do not turn into fruit at those high temperatures, so with over 100 degree days in the forecast, we realized there would not be abundance to can in our tomato harvest. Some plants have blossoms but no fruit, and that most likely will not change now. Tomatoes are being enjoyed as they come in. More basil was planted thanks to a gift from a friend, Brent Hall. 

Other highlights

This was Dad's first week in a month back with all his coworkers. It was nice to be back as a team, though the future is very uncertain. With flights down to nothing, contracts have been pushed out months and there is no certainty as to what they will do. Dad did have plenty of work to do all week since one supplier is very busy. They did announce a layoff on Friday, though how many will be reduced is yet to be seen. 

I spoke with Nano a few times this week. She is well, but terribly confused. Her language skills continue to decline and she becomes frustrated as she tries to explain something and forgets the words she wants to use.

Dad's co-worker, Mark Mientel, came over to get one of our masks. He was so friendly, shook hands, hugged us goodbye, and made us feel more human than anyone else has outside of the family.

I spent a lot of time going through the freezer in the sewing room and doing an inventory. I then added some cheese frozen in meal size bags to keep there in case this happens again. While I am emptying the back porch refrigerator, I am taking note of foods that last well and then determining what to buy. I have found that romaine hearts left in there bag last much longer than the cut-up salad. While I have had plenty of food during this pandemic, lettuce and salad was always a concern. The updated inventory is laminated and taped to the outside of the freezer.

Dad's vehicle rear-end lost all fluid on the way to an appointment at a supplier on Friday. I had to drop everything, pick him up in my car and take him to the supplier, and then sit for a long inspection of numerous parts. He worked on the car Saturday morning but it quickly became too hot to continue. 

This isolation due to this pandemic continues. Our greatest blessing has been from our children. The ones out of state have been so good, checking on us via phone, facetime and Marco Polo. The ones in town have come by and visited and kept in such good touch that we have never felt alone or isolated. It is difficult with no church and seeing no church members, so our kids have been a superhero. Police have stated that they have found many older people dead in their homes, not from Covid 19 but from families who make sure they are home and safe, but never see or say anything to them. Loneliness is real