An urgent message was sent out that night needing 200 more ushers for Tuesday, and I signed Dee up for a late shift. He finished his day at WalMart...he treats all the sister missionary ushers to Smarties throughout his shift, and he needed more.
All I needed was a bath...a bed...and some Ibuprofen.
Tuesday - I managed a run and came back to brush the pool and pick limes.
Dee couldn't find Smarties at WalMart, and, since Smarties are the candy you give to teenagers when they come to trick or treat I knew they must have just put them in an odd spot in the store. I drove over and they had done that! I returned home and saw a surprise pumpkin that Dee had gotten for me last night, but I was just too tired then to even notice.
I spent my day drinking...and drinking...and cleaning, dusting, and vacuuming....and drinking. Dee and I visited Jessica's mom to see their awesome garden. You should have seen the beautiful peppers growing! We picked up some surprise paint Dee had ordered to paint my chairs...Allison and Gracie would LOVE the color!
We had some lunch/dinner at New Asian Kitchen, and headed home to rest, premeditate, and get ready for another shift at the temple. We served as building ushers, again, although new leadership means new situations and it went a lot better, though I was dead after four tours through the temple. it is wonderful to be able to go through and notice new things each and every time. The artwork is absolutely breathtaking, and I already have a favorite painting. (I cannot describe it well, but the Savior is standing with his arms outstretched, and at his feet are those who are wounded, reaching for him, holding his robes...and the utter peace on the face of the bleeding wounded man just stirs my soul. Truly, we all can come to the Savior and repent, and receive the peace of forgiveness) Dee also followed tours. You start right by each other in the line, but you get totally separated. I was with 8 other ushers carpooling there, and I was the last one at the car.
After returning to the church building, he got a favorite Subway sub and we headed home.
Wednesday - I tried to wake up...really I did. My body was willing, but my feet were weak...and sore! You know, I sure wished I could walk those tours in my running shoes. Four hours of standing and walking would be a piece of cake! I baked 5 loaves of bread, four for visiting and one for us, and did my vacuuming and laundry. We ran some errands, though the heat was a bother. It's hard to look at Christmas trees while you shop and remotely enjoy them when you are sweating!
We served as temple ushers again that evening. It is just the BEST feeling to be there, to be in there. I had hoped to see Ethan and Cam, but following tours is no easy task to try to see someone, and neither Dee nor I were able to see them. They did have a good time, though.
Thursday - Woke up and got a run in, then watered the flower bed and picked nearly 50 key limes. Jessica's dad, Ron, came by and a friend of his with a tow trailer hauled Nate's truck to the Hudson's house to be covered and stored.
It was kind of sad seeing it drive away...it's been here for years. It will be safe and protected now, so it's better for him.
I vacuumed, dusted, laundered and got my visiting teaching bread/jelly/handouts prepared. I got dressed and dropped off two of those to two of the sisters I visit and headed to the dentist. Good cleaning=happy. One cavity=not so happy. I went home, ate and made Dee lunch, ran a few errands, he attempted to prime his truck, but the primer was lumpy.
I talked to Nate and texted for a long time with Morgan, and then Dad ended his day talking to Nate and Doran on the phone. We had gone to Home Depot pretty late to pick up more paint primer to use the next day.
Friday- I so enjoyed running, a temple spire lit (which I determined probably was an agreement with the neighbors during the open house time, so maybe it won't be lit after November...I will miss it!), coolish weather (forecast was for 95 degrees and it started the day warmer), a trail right by a temple to jog on...what progress from when I would turn the corner on to Pinnacle Peak and check for a time when most traffic had gone by and then I would speed run in the dirt, so I wouldn't get hit by a car. I feel so thankful! I headed to Safeway, watered and then picked 81 key limes! I worked and worked, with emails back and forth, and finally achieved getting Dee signed up on sign up genius as a temple tour guide three times next week.
A few house chores and then Dee and I went to a community yard sale. It was slow at first but we ended up finding some goodies.
I went home and worked on birthday cards: for Allison, Amber, and my two visiting teaching sisters with birthdays coming up. I will be so glad when this year is done and I can go back to Dollar Tree birthday cards. It was a goal I set and I am going to complete it, but it is way more work than I had anticipated. (thus the breaking down into smaller groups. Josh, Ethan, and Kaylee, yours are still in the works.)
I did a little cleaning while Dee primed the interior of the panel truck. It was 96 degrees out, so it really was not inspiring! We got dj stuff loaded in the jeep...no small task when it hasn't been used very much...and headed to our Trunk or Treat. We were set up in one corner of the parking lot, near the tables with the crock pots of chili. Cars, trucks and minivans were parked a ways away, and the tables were located at the other side of the parking lot. Thus, we only saw people when they were in line to get food. We spent the rest of the night entertaining the kids so the parents could visit.
I really had forgotten all that we have sacrificed so that Dad could play dances and I could be a stay at home mom. At weddings and parties, we work while everyone else has fun. Dad was gone every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night while kids were little, and always on New Years' Eve and Valentines Day. He tried very hard to be with us for trick or treating. I am really glad that everyone had a blast last night. They looked like they enjoyed it. Us...not so much. We played and kept the kids busy while they cleaned up, and then we shut down and they left while we cleaned up.
I don't wish the life of a dj on ANY of my kids...especially their wives!
Saturday - Up and run, brush pool, water flower bed (and noticed I have quite a crop of poisonous mushrooms growing that I needed to remove), picked limes and poked by lime tree, a few chores and out the door for yard sales. I didn't find anything, though Dee got a couple of small things...
He worked in the garden, dug weeds all over the yard while I dusted and vacuumed, and got a bit of a sunburn in the 96 degree weather. We took a quick trip out to the post office and WinCo for the weeks needs and then headed home to get dressed and ready for temple ushering. I ended up being a tour follower for two English speaking and one Spanish speaking tour. Dee followed two tours and helped a wheelchair through one tour. Never gets old or boring and I love just studying the paintings as I walk through. Even congested waits are never a problem for me. We found out later that 12,700 visited the temple during the whole day.
We came home to no Kayty, but all the lights in the house on and her costumes out so she went to a party with friends.
Sunday - My sleeping in was interrupted by my waking up! I finally followed Dee's lead and didn't fight it any longer. He checked the garden and I worked doing quiet morning things, watered my flowerbed and just got a few limes that had fallen off the tree. It has proven very difficult to be able to schedule home teaching and visiting teaching with so many people helping with the temple open house, but our Home Teachers managed to come by for a few minutes in the morning.
Fast and Testimony meeting was awesome, as usual. There were testimonies born of wondrous experiences while serving at the temple by many people, and precious children and teens sharing their feelings about the Gospel. I helped in the nursery during the last hour. We stopped by Dorrie's on the way home, ate, did some of Dee's home teaching, and prepared for the next week.
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| Little Candy Corn Pots I made this weekend |
One thing this week that I have come to understand is that I have not paid enough attention to how hard so many people work to make things come out well. This temple open house is one example. There were months of planning and meetings and training, and then those who serve at an open house, well, there is NO easy job there. Those who serve in the temple stand...in one spot...for hours. The same goes for greeters and parking lot attendants and even those who open doors and walk. These jobs are not difficult, but they can push you to your limits of physical strength. The same goes for motherhood and fatherhood. We 'think' we know how much, or rather, how little, someone does and yet even the person that takes care of a pool works hard, even when he is attending a wedding reception or on vacation. I am going to pay more attention to making sure everyone who I encounter is appreciated for the work they do.
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