Week of February 16 - 22, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

We had a lovely Sunday. One member of our bishopric was released and a new one was called to serve. (It's a funny kind of thing because Dad doesn't really care, but he continues to hold the record for the only adult male over 30 in our ward who has never served in a bishopric.) Sacrament meeting included stake speakers sharing messages about the atonement of Jesus Christ. Sunday school was also very good.

I completed some temple ordinances on Tuesday morning. Dad attended a session at the temple on Wednesday night.

Family

The Wilkins Family

On Monday night, Allison and the kids (Mike had done classwork all day and was taking a nap before work, so he missed the hike).  Marco Polo'd us as they hiked Red Rock Park (entry is free on holidays, which is awesome!) They had an awesome hike. The weather was great. Grace loves hiking and had a great time watching a group rock climb and she really wants to do that. Right now, she is trying to hike 1300 miles before June. (Mormon pioneers walked 1300 miles as they came to the Salt Lake Valley to settle.) Sam was a pretty good hiker too and hiked very high up! He did get tired and Adam was kind enough to stay with him while the rest climbed on. Sam even slipped and fell, and some very rude people laughed at him, but he had a great time and enjoyed being with Adam. Josh had a great hike and enjoyed a sub sandwich earlier during their President's Day break from school. Sam shared that he had a great Valentine's Day party at school last week. Their classroom aid made them a Valentine treat and his teacher made rainbow crayons for the kids. The Wilkins Family celebrated Valentine's Day on Sunday night. Josh is now in his gifted classes at school and really likes them.

I have enjoyed reading Isaiah in 2nd Nephi using the Come Follow Me lessons as well as a scripture study ap on my phone. I continue to read on my own daily in the Book of Mormon when the week's church study is done, and I am also continuing to listen to General Conference talks daily.

I have indexed 3006 records and reviewed 22116 records so far this year.

The Ethan Rice Family

Kaylee quickly called me on Monday night asking Papa and Grammy's favorite colors. The family received some sad news that Cameo's Great Uncle Cort was in the hospital with pneumonia and a possible lung mass. He lives at the Ranch that Dad and the boys have hunted at near Wickenburg and he is in his 90's. He has lived a strong and hard-working life and we pray for a healthy outcome. 

The Doran Rice Family

Dad spoke with Doran and the family on Sunday. Doran was assessing some damage repairs he needed to do. They are doing well and are busy with kids and life. They were joined on a weekend campout by Nathan and Jessica and the girls.

Morgan

Morgan worked at his new job this week and likes it.

Kayty

Kayty enjoyed her Monday birthday trip to Camp Verde to see the zoo. She had a good time, but her trip was cut short due to needing to ship an item for Poshmark. So, she used a vacation day during this slower time at work and returned on Friday.

The Nathan Rice Family

Anna came by (with family help) on Sunday to quickly drop off a special valentine and treat from her and Ellie and Emma.

I loved the sweet hugs I have missed and got to enjoy a special treat when I returned from my jog the next morning during scripture study time.

 He also came to the door late Thursday night to pick up some things we had found in the Music room. 

Dad's Garden

Garden is loving the weather and I picked 2 pounds of snow peas on Friday. We are hoping the tomatoes do well. We still have a ton of citrus too.

Other highlights

Dad stepped into high gear on cleaning out things this week. He even got into the attic...and I don't think he has been up there in six years or more. He has taken two large loads of stuff to the thrift store, and we filled the garbage can with so much stuff that I couldn't even move it down the road. I spent Thursday afternoon shredding papers from old court stuff ( lots of papers for the money the kids got from Grampa Rice that we had to file and pay taxes on every year till they cashed in their accounts) plus years of old income tax forms. Social Security numbers were on everything so I had to be careful nothing for Dad or I plus any of you kids could be discerned. We have also learned that some of our equipment that cost us so much money 25 years ago has been replaced by new and much cheaper models (ie photography equipment, DJ lighting equipment, etc.) We have listed to sell what we can and what we can't sell will be donated. It's quite miraculous for Dad to be on the tossing binge he is on, but it is only a benefit if we ever decide to move, or if something happens to us. You kids now have been relieved of days of cleanout. Dad even powered through Saturday and we got the desk moved from the music room to his office, including tons of files and lots of stuff, moved stuff out to the music room, hauled tons to the trash, visited Deseret Industries yet another time (I donate but do not shop there). Now, his office looks like an office! The couch is clear. The floor is cleaned and mopped. He has plenty of room on his desk to work too.

I visited Nano on Thursday. Nathan and family must have visited her on Sunday and she was very confused, despite her caregiver Elizabeth telling her who they were. The most difficult thing with her disease is that she thinks she is right and everyone else is wrong, lying, mean or crazy. I did get her to calm down for a bit and took her to walk around a grocery store and get a few things.

Wonderful rain on Saturday. I did get my jog in right before the rain started to fall, which was a great bonus!

Week of February 9 - 15, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

We had another wonderful Sunday. Sacrament Meeting was full of talks on the Book of Mormon and what blessings come from studying it. At the start of Relief Society, our bishop came in and spoke with us about testimony bearing. The bishopric has prayerfully decided that select ward members will be asked to share their testimonies each Fast and Testimony meeting, as well as in other meetings. He said the bishopric is responsible for assuring the testimonies born include spiritually uplifting experiences and testimonies of Christ. He said testimony meeting was never meant to be an "open mic" time. I was thankful for their very positive and building approach to what has happened in the past. The rest of our day was spent visiting with a very nice man and his two children who love vintage speakers and will purchase Dad's Altec 19 speakers next week.

I attended a session at the temple on Tuesday morning and Dad attended a session on Wednesday evening.

I attended a Relief Society Extra Meeting Committee Meeting to plan and prepare for an upcoming dinner and speaker in March. I had to use Dad's car since my battery had not charged enough.

I love coming home from my jog every day as I sit down at my desk in the laundry room and read my Book of Mormon. I begin the week with the Come Follow Me readings each day, and when that is complete I continue reading where I left off at the end of the year. I have a new phone app that explains every verse and I also watch numerous YouTube classes on my own time that add to the lessons. I continue to listen to a General Conference talk every day too.

I have indexed 2556 records and reviewed 20,305 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

We spoke via Marco Polo with nearly everyone on Sunday. They fed the missionaries in their ward last Friday night. Mike is doing well in his classes and is going to double his efforts so he can complete them more quickly. Allison is doing well and keeping up with work and kids. Mike and Allison had both spoken in church last Sunday morning. Allison's theme was "A Perfect Brightness of Hope". Adam has had some problems with migraines and was asleep when we spoke. Grace had a wonderful time at her first Saturday night dance. She got to see some old friends and danced with a very cute boy twice. She spent last week doing crazy hairdos and had a great time trying new ways to fix her hair. She is looking forward to meeting her trek family this week. (It sure is different than when Nathan went on trek. You didn't meet your family until the morning you left.) She looked forward to Karaoke night at Young Women this week. She also shared with me her science project presentation on Cookie Spreading and testing if ingredient amount changes would affect the spreading of the cookie. Sam had a book report last week for school. He chose the Dr. Suess book "There's a Wocket in My Pocket" and Allison created an actual Wocket for Sam to carry in his pocket. Sam is quite smitten with some of the girls in his class. He says he can't even look at them because they are so cute. Allison worked with one in a reading group when she helped in Sam's class, and she said Sam is so right. Alyssa is cute. Sam also enjoyed Spanish class at school and played a word game using a basketball. This weekend they are looking forward to a couple of days off school and spending time hiking.

The Ethan Rice Family

We face-timed Ethan and family on Sunday evening. They are all doing great and Ethan will travel this week for a work retreat, and Cameo will have all the school driving duties as well as working. We spoke again on Friday and Ethan shared things about the retreat with Dad. Cameo did well but felt like she also earned a retreat. Ethan ended up surprising Kaylee at school for lunch.

The Doran Rice Family

Doran and Amber had a very eventful week. Tuesday was crazy with work plus Amber stayed home to be there when the workmen came for the initial repairs on their house as per their home builder. Amber won tickets for her and Doran to attend a future concert from a radio station. Kelsie displayed her project for the science fair.

Doran and Amber have a couple of puppies staying with them for awhile.

We saw them on Saturday and Kooper and I had fun playing Legos while we visited. Meanwhile, Kelsie is busy at school every Saturday working on stage sets for the school play.

Morgan

Morgan spent Sunday with Doran, Amber, Kelsie, and Kooper. He came for a visit on Monday and spent the afternoon and shared dinner with us before his friend Kyle came to pick him up. He is still deciding what he will do in the future and continues to find odd jobs to work.

Kayty

Kayty watched hockey games this week. Her team did not win the first two games and she was screaming for the coach to be fired. She shared the movie, The Hobbit with us Friday night. 

The Nathan Rice Family

No news from Nathan, Jessica and the girls this week.

Dad's Garden

We are picking lots of snow peas daily. I am also picking carrots for salads. Dad's spinach and chard continue to thrive and the tomato plants are looking wonderful. 

Other highlights

We shared pizza dinner with the missionaries on Monday night. One of our sisters is actually from Italy and enjoyed the brick oven pizza a lot. 

Rain on Tuesday morning actually kept me from my run. That rarely happens. We ended up getting 1 1/4 inches of rain!

We have been spending lots of time cleaning. I have gotten old years' supply food tossed. We are moving things from the 'music room' that dad uses for work in his office and putting the more recreational items out in the music room. We are also getting rid of lots of things. Dad has already sold one set of speakers to be picked up in the near future. It is a back and forth process, but it will only benefit if and when we choose to move.

My car battery was dead, again, on Thursday morning as I was heading out to visit Nano, so I called her caregiver, Elizabeth, to let her know, and I set out for a morning of shredding old documents as I cleaned out and updated the Family Preparedness Book. I also got all the paperwork together and scheduled an appointment next week to get the new travel driver's license. 

Sadly, someone I had met through the internet, a valiant woman named Kim White passed away early Friday morning, after a five year battle with terminal cancer. She was a friend of others I followed, and I so valued her amazing attitude outlook. She loved the Lord and was grateful for every single breath she could take...and valued that up to her last breath. I was sad to lose this person who had shared often the perfect advice for what I was feeling at the time. What a great blessing she was in my life and the lives of many others. While I often have the most negative feelings for social media, she was one of the good things.

Valentine's Day was low key. No Valentine cards or gifts. Grandma is so busy helping Loyd that she doesn't have time. I made Dad a nice BLT on sourdough for breakfast, a great salad with heart-shaped ham slices for lunch, and chicken parmesan for dinner. 

Week of February 2 - 8, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

We had a good Sunday, though not the most spiritual testimony meetings. Still, it was uplifting and Dad bore a wonderful testimony. Dad enjoyed helping in primary during Sunday School class. Choir practice was great as usual.

I attended a session at the temple on Tuesday morning, continuing building on my Temple Tuesday habit. Dad and I performed sealing ordinances on Wednesday and he attended sessions on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

I so look forward to coming home and studying the Come Follow Me lessons or reading on my own in the Book of Mormon right after my run. It gets me through the harder parts of my jogging trek ahead. I also love my experiences beginning my day with a General Conference talk or two before I ever see social media. It begins my day with learning and faith and hope, and even though I am almost done with my fifth time through, I learn something every single time. I completed my fifth time through General Conference talks and will begin again Sunday morning.

I have indexed 2192 records and reviewed 17933 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

The Wilkins family is doing well and had a great last week. Mike and Allison are keeping up with the extra workload and staying pretty healthy. Adam had a great seminary activity last week where he was able to construct a ship similar to what Nephi constructed out of graham crackers, thus, a Nephi's Gingerboat! Grace is doing well and anxiously awaiting results of her tryout to LVA which will come in late February or early March. Last week, Grace, Josh, and Sam participated in their school's Apex Fun Run. Sam completed 21 laps and Josh and Grace completed 36. Hooray for three great runners!! Josh and Sam have been signed up to play soccer, and Grace is contemplating playing a season of volleyball. Sam is loving school and is reading a book about sheep, learning proper nouns, and practicing the Hokey Pokey to perform at his kindergarten graduation! After numerous tests and interviews, Josh was placed in the school's gifted program. A kind friend is giving the kids piano lessons without charge, which is such a very kind thing. While tough things happen, you get the chance to witness the good in others, and then you can sometimes share that same goodness with others. Paying it forward. On Sunday, they enjoyed grilled shrimp and cheeseburgers, and some of the family enjoyed an annual game on television. Saturday included an eight-mile practice for a trek this summer, as well as Grace's first Saturday night dance.

The Ethan Rice Family

Kaylee reminded me early Sunday that it was Groundhog Day and that the Georgia groundhog had indeed seen his shadow, via Marco Polo. We spoke via facetime with Ethan and Cameo, Kaylee and Wade on Sunday. The beds Ethan is making are just beautiful and he has made great progress. On Saturday, they went to a zoo and had the best time. Wade especially liked the peacocks! He showed me his toys and all the pictures of their family. Kaylee had to get to be for school, but we briefly talked to her too. 

Cameo shared on Facebook: On Saturday, we took the kids to the Home Depot Kids Workshop and to Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary

Kaylee and her friend, Madeline, briefly FaceTimed me on Thursday afternoon. I was raining outdoors and she feared there would be a flood, but she and Madeline had lots of fun plans for play anyway. 

Friday night was the Father Daughter Princess Dance at Kaylee's school. The whole family ended up going since Cameo was helping out. It was a wonderful event!

On Saturday...
"We went on a double date today with Katie Adair & Josh Adair . We went paintballing! It was Katie & I’s first time. We had a blast!! Thank you MaryBeth Sullivan Watson & Elizabeth Johnson Smith for watching the kids. You all are SO amazing for doing that. It truly was a good time."

The Doran Rice Family

Last weekend, this family attended a Monster Truck Jam and had a great time!!

They visited on Friday evening and we found out Kelsie won second place for the whole school in the Engineering Fair. Hooray for you, Kelsie!!

Morgan

I saw Morgan on Wednesday as he called and then came over with a friend to pick up a paint sprayer so he could help paint her apartment. He has also started the process of trying to get a job at the Auto Zone Distribution Center. He shared dinner with Doran, Amber, Kelsie and Kooper and the sister missionaries on Saturday night.

Kayty

One serious low on Sunday morning. Happy Birthday on Monday morning. She took a vacation day and slept in, and we headed out to get her favorite birthday cake. However, Costco no longer has that cake. Talk about disappointment! So, we found a nice brownie platter for her at Sam's Club that she could celebrate with. She had her annual review at work this week and did very well. Her boss said she likes how Kayty always comes into work happy. Wow! She sure isn't happy when she drives away! She had fun watching her favorite hockey team this week on tv.

The Nathan Rice Family

No news from Nathan, Jessica, and family this week. They did stop to pick up mail on Saturday night and we saw a sleeping Anna and Emma in the car and got to smile at a partially awake Ellie. 

Dad's Garden

Tomato plants survived the freezing weather this week. I am picking snow peas and the carrots are still surviving. 

Family History
Alas, I was so busy, I didn't recognize the dates, but January 21st was the fortieth anniversary of Dad's proposal to me. I sat and tried to remember dates and details. I even headed to look through my journal to see what I wrote, but I did not write in the narrative style back then, so I am going to share as best I can remember.

The Spring Semester of 1979 at Phoenix College was the first time I came in contact with Doran Rice. I was sitting by my friend, Jackie Hansen, in a Doctrine and Covenants Institute Class. A question was asked by our teacher, Brother Kim Johnson, and right behind me, a voice answered that question. There was something about that voice. Not sure what it was, but I remember noticing that voice. I do remember that I noticed who it was later. I played pool at the institute with him a few times. I told the Institute Secretary, Sister Starks, that I thought he was cute, but she said he already had a girlfriend. He did come to my house once, since I had been the editor of the Institute Newspaper, the PC Pipeline, and turned over the information of that position to him since I was the Glendale Stake Vice President Rep. I do think Sister Starks put a bee in his bonnet one time, and we did go on a date. We went and saw "Superman, The Movie". It was fun and I knew he was someone very special. However, it seemed that at that time we just didn't get together. We each ended up getting engaged to other people. I got a full-time day job and started school at night in the Fall of 1979. I was taking a math class and who ended up in there but Doran. It was for one night. It was the wrong class for him at the time. But I do remember him saying to me, "You know, you are marrying the wrong person." That sentence stuck in my mind for a long time. It ended up that the person I was engaged to was not as dedicated to the church as I felt I needed and we broke up on January 9, 1980. I was done with engagements and marrying, but within a day or so, Doran called me on the phone. I told him my news and he invited me to a Young Adult fireside where Donny and Marie Osmond were speaking on January 15. We never stopped talking after that night. (I will be honest here. I did fast and pray about him and eternity, and I had received an answer) On Sunday, January 20, he took me to his house and kept asking if I liked the house. Then we went and walked around the Mesa Temple grounds. We had a wonderful time, but nothing was said, so he took me home and was sat and watched tv till very late. It was after midnight sitting on the sofa in my mom's family room when I turned and looked, and he was down on one knee by me, and said, "Suzzy Kew, will you marry me?" I immediately said yes! I had to work the next day, and was totally exhausted but so very happy that one of my co-workers figured it out. Those poor ladies at work! I broke up with one guy and was engaged to another in a few weeks. The temple scheduler was probably feeling the same thing. I did cancel the May wedding to the other guy and then called back a week or so later to schedule the April 24th wedding, but I don't think the scheduler could forget the name "Suzanne Kew".

Now here we are, forty years later. What a wild ride it has been! So many things happened that I never ever dreamed of. Hard, hard things. Difficult things. Challenging things. Faith building things. Wonderful things. Some dreams never even realized, and some better than I ever could have dreamed of. So glad I said yes!!!

Other highlights

Someone shared this on Facebook and I love it!

Dad did lots of woodcutting, stacking, restacking and cleaning up this week. Our woodpile looks awesome and the yard is getting cleaner over on that side. 

I sealed the granite counters in both bathrooms and the kitchen island this week. I also did more organizing and cleaning.

It took nearly three hours of phone calls, record amassing and printing,  form filling out, scanning and emailing but Mom had her podiatrist come and clip her toenails on Friday. The initial set up of these things is mammoth, but hopefully, once the transition is complete all will work smoothly. Scott and Jenny were again the awesome helpers and got a message to Mom as well as took her out for her favorite Mexican food.

We finally got the gift from Ethan and Cameo delivered to Wade and Liz Wallin on Saturday and had a great visit! They are doing very well and Tracker is hanging in there.

Dad and I got the rack for my laundry baskets cut and put together on Saturday. Dream come true!!

Not so highlights

Dad has had some frustrating dental problems lately. He had to get a new crown on a tooth in January. Right after that, another tooth chipped, but he and the dentist decided he could wait on yet another crown. And then Sunday morning, a filling just fell out of a tooth that was filled a year ago. He called on Sunday and left a message, and got in on Monday afternoon. He felt he should stop by Nathan and Jessicas and got to hug Ellie but they were leaving so he came home.

Sadly, the joyous Christmas tree in the window was taken down during the day on February 6th. I saw in early as I ran by, and then when I walked by that night it was gone. I guess it's ok to take your Christmas tree before Valentine's day...and I would never have one of my own up that long, but that tree brought me such joy these last couple of weeks. I am so thankful it was there!