Week of May 24 - 30, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

We had another typical Sunday. Get up, get dressed up for church. Watch Music and the Spoken Word. Watch a couple of talks on BYU tv. Have the Sacrament when Kayty gets up. Lunch. Read and study. A few calls and my favorite Weekly Wilkins Marco Polo. 

No temple again this week. Now, with the heat, this becomes very hard for Dad, as he would often spend warm evenings in the temple during the summertime. 

I continue to read the Book of Mormon daily via Come Follow Me lessons and my own reading. I also watch at least one General Conference talk each day. I love Elder Gary Stevenson's talk about building a strong foundation. He speaks about Kim White, the very wonderful lady I found on InstaGram that was such a personal inspiration in my life. "God is in the details" she would always say. 

I have indexed 9434 records and reviewed 47262 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family

The Wilkins family is doing well. Sunday church at home is good, and they have found that taking a family walk gets all the wiggles out and helps everyone get along better.  On Monday, Allison and Mike celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary and the 19th anniversary of the Wilkins family!

 Adam and Joshua helped hang some neat outdoor lights Allison had purchased on sale a long time ago on their patio so they could enjoy a special dinner. Mike is still doing well both at work and on his studies. Allison continues her typing work and enjoys more time with the kids. She runs and walks and Grace gets to go with her. They are excited to be getting some kitchen cabinets from a remodel their bishop is doing. Adam is enjoying his summer vacation and is a great help to Allison and Mike. He and Josh are now working on drywall repairs in their room which will be so nice for their home! Grace is excited to become a Las Vegas High Wildcat next year. Josh is looking happy as ever and enjoying playing Pokemon with Sam. He is doing well and Sam is as sweet as ever. 

The Ethan Rice Family

Ethan and Cameo spent their Memorial Day camping and fishing. 

They returned home Monday so Cameo could work a holiday shift. They had a good week. We were excited to receive a FaceTime call Saturday morning from them...in Florida. They had driven all night and were six miles from the SpaceX Dragon Rocket liftoff....the first time in nine years that a manned spacecraft has left from the United States to dock with the International Space Station. 

They said it was so loud! We were so glad they took that opportunity to see!

The Doran Rice Family

Doran, Amber and the kids brought the most delicious brisket Doran had prepared on Monday, and we shared a great meal.

Doran worked all over the state throughout the week and Amber continues to work from home. Kids days are spent swimming and enjoying their new home and neighborhood. They came by on Saturday afternoon for a swim, and Doran helped Dad install the new garage door opened that we had sorely needed for many years. 

Kooper and I built with Legos, and Dad came in and helped Kelsie make stovetop cookies.

Morgan

We saw Morgan for a few minutes on Monday. He and his friend were going to a swimming party and barbecue. His work has slowed a bit but he is doing well. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good work week and sold a few more things on Poshmark. 

The Nathan Rice Family

Nathan, Jessica and the girls had a good week. They took the canoe with new life preservers out to Bartlett Lake on Monday evening and had a wonderful time swimming and canoeing. News finally came on Friday that Jessica's Covid19 test was negative. We played with the girls on Friday night while Nathan and Jessica had a little date night. 

Dad's Garden

Tomatoes are slowing down, thanks to the molten 111 degree heat we had this week. Still, we have picked 402 tomatoes and many cherry tomatoes this year. We have some tomato plants that never produced and they are being torn out. 

Basil is thriving and we hope to be getting some basil walnut pesto made and frozen in the future. 

Other highlights

I messaged my ministering sisters and heard from all of them. I include a couple of friends in that and I heard back from one. 

I was led to a phone app that keeps a pantry inventory simply by scanning bar codes. Dad feels impressed to have a two years supply, so we are slowly getting paper products little by little. It doesn't work for everything (cannery items, etc) but it is a great thing to keep on hand. I often forget things that I don't use, like ketchup. 

My sheets for the playroom beds arrived and we purchased pillows and mattress protectors at WalMart. I found a deal on bed quilts and ordered two. I had hoped for blue but never could find anything reasonable, so the brown and taupe buffalo check will have to be enhanced with pillows. Room is almost done. 

Dee made progress on the jeep on Saturday morning and got some parts installed before the heat set in. 

Not so highlights

I am sad to share the widespread rioting and looting over the tragic death of a gentleman in Minnesota at the hands of what seems to be a bad police officer. Peaceful protests are within the law. But what has apparently occurred is destruction and looting. What is truly the saddest is that most churches are not meeting. We see the result of fear and lack of righteous choices. 

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!