Sunday, July 26, 2020

Week of July 19 - 25, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual
Sunday began as normal with getting ready for Sunday and posting the blog. Then the internet cut out...and ended up being out till later Monday, so we could not watch Music and the Spoken Word or any BYU Devotionals. Dorrie came by for a visit and that was nice. We studied and did what we could. Later we went to visit Doran and Amber and on the way home, Dad's jeep just stalled out, overheated, and we limped off the freeway till Nathan and Jessica came and towed us home. So thankful for their help, but it was just not the best Sunday. 

I continue to watch General Conference talks, study Come Follow Me, and read the Book of Mormon daily. 

I have indexed 12,144 records and reviewed 60,161 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family
We spoke with Allison earlier on Sunday since Mike is now not working all night during his conversion period. They got a lot done this week and I saw the house and it looks awesome! Mike stayed home with the carpet installers while Allison took the kids to Lake Mead. While they used sunscreen, it takes a day at the lake to see where you missed putting that stuff on. On their way, they stopped at Albertson's and got fried chicken, just like we used to do when they were younger. They did get to return to attending church last Sunday. The meeting was short, and only about 20 people were in attendance. 
Adam is well and hopes to get on physical therapy next week. He made Swedish hot dogs for dinner last week...something that I am not sure I would try to eat. He has had some challenges with his phone not working properly. Keeping up with your friends during this pandemic is very hard, and losing the use of your phone makes it worse!  Grace has completed selecting all her high school classes and is looking forward to going, though the decision was made at the state level to have every student attend online for the first quarter...quite the letdown! She went to the orthodontist and he added some thicker wires and bands to achieve more aggressive movement. She also was able to babysit on Saturday. Joshua is good, though he is not happy with Taco Bell, who has eliminated his favorite burrito. Sam is a learning machine and tells me all about scary sea creatures and bugs. He loved going to the lake and seeing the algae on the rocks. He is a little scientist! He is just the kindest little guy and told Allison when I was rambling on Marco Polo that I was pretty. Love that sweetheart!!! Allison still alternates between temple cleaning and indexing for the current time. They hope to get their home on the market soon. 

The Ethan Rice Family
Ethan, Cameo, Kaylee, and Wade are doing well. I was speaking via Facetime with them when Wade picked a ton of tomatoes and Kaylee harvested her first corn on the cob. Their garden looks great! Kaylee worked all week to get her room clean so they could go on a special trip, and on Friday, they headed to Savannah Georgia, and then to the beach. Kaylee was so excited to go!

The Doran Rice Family
We had a good visit on Sunday with Doran, Amber, Kelsie, and Kooper. They have been very busy making their house a home. Doran painted their gate a charcoal grey, and they are painting their interior walls a pale grey too. They had a good work week. Kelsie has been a great help around the house, until
Doran worked all over the state this week. His boss is not the most logical at scheduling so hours and hours were spent driving from place to place. Kelsie has been so helpful with pet care. 


Morgan
Morgan came for a visit on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. He is doing well and enjoying working at a brick company. 

Kayty
Kayty had a good work week, other than a few computer glitches. She is now addicted to 911 (a show) and watches till late at night.

Two major saves this week. 

The Nathan Rice Family
Nathan and Jessica and the girls had a good week. They are enjoying their new kittens, Buttercup and Georgie. They made a nice climbing house for them and the girls are totally thrilled with their new family members. They had a great time spending the night at Grammy Lorrie's house on Friday night. Work is going well for Nathan, though his sense of smell had not returned so he cannot return to the site. 

Dad's Garden
Still getting lots of basil and dad continues to prep the new garden beds. 

Other highlights
Weather actually was cooler for a few days. We could tell our air conditioner was very happy! It made for nicer jogs in the morning.

I sent cards to my ministering sisters this week and heard back from one sister. 

Christmas in July included watching "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", lots of Christmas music, finishing completely all my ornaments, and cutting out all the final nativity pieces. I had some sanded until I broke the sanding belt. 

Not so highlights
What a day we had on Monday! No internet (finally repaired in the mid-afternoon) so Kayty had to work using her phone as a hot spot, though Dad could not. Dad started the day trying to repair his car. As the initial repair of the thermostat and replacement part and gasket were installed and tested, we discovered the radiator had actually broken and was leaking. Then we were still not sure the engine had not been damaged by the excessive heat, nor were we sure the water pump wasn't gone. Dad was figuring out whether to just get rid of it. Dad worked as best he could, and received a phone call from the guy who got Dad this job and was the only Honeywell inspector left letting him know that he had gotten a position at Space (Nathan's job site) and is leaving, so Dad would be the only inspector remaining. He was leaving early for an inspection when he received the email that next week begins another no pay furlough.

Sunday, July 19, 2020

Week of July 12 - 18, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual
Sunday was good. Typical. We enjoyed Music and The Spoken Word. The BYU devotional talks were so wonderful. It was not a general authority so I was just going to turn it off, but I am so glad I watched the talk by a member of the BYU staff. 

Dad had a Zoom Stake Sunday School meeting in the morning. 

No temple again this week. 

I continue to read the Book of Mormon, studying Come Follow Me, and watching at least one General Conference talk each day.

I have indexed 11857 records and reviewed 58709 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family
School clothing shopping has begun, and Allison got some good deals this week. She and Mike are continuing to fill holes, paint and fix up the house. They are also packing as they go. They got the news that Mike was converted, pending the drug and background checks, but that should be fine. Now, they wait 30 days and then he can apply for a permanent job. Hooray!!! Such a blessing!

Adam is still healing but still having pain. He sees his doctor on the 20th and should be cleared for physical therapy and chore doing. Still with the pain etc. he has been expert at repairing drywall. 

Grace is doing good though she is sad about moving. Her pretty pink walls were painted a neutral grey but it will help in the long run. She is learning how to tape for painting and how to pack. She is excited to start back to church next week (which would be today as of publishing). She has been shopping for school clothes and they will go to an outlet mall for shoes. She has an orthodontist appointment. 

Josh is well. When Allison shops, he tends to sneak goodies into the cart. Last week, it was Hawaiian Punch drink mix. They went out for ice cream on Saturday night and Josh said it was the best night of Summer. 

Sam has been learning about more animals. The lionfish are venomous, and to remove the stinger, you use hot water. He and Allison are reading a book by Coyote Peterson about animals. They read a chapter a night. He also learned about a Giant Waterbug. They bite, not sting. He even sent Grammy a virtual hug. 

And Allison took the kids to Lake Mead for a fun day of swimming. Adam even was able to carefully participate. 






The Ethan Rice Family
Ethan and Cameo and a good work week. Kaylee and Wade enjoyed their last week of swimming lessons. Cameo went to a consignment store and got quite a few nice things for the cooler weather and for school, which now will only begin online for Kaylee in August, and won't be in person till late October. Ethan continues working on college classes online. They are hoping to camp near a beach on their next adventure. While the South is beautiful, there are few cooler escapes like we have in Phoenix. 

The Doran Rice Family
Doran and Amber, Kelsie and Kooper had a good week. Kooper enjoyed his cousins visiting on Sunday!

Doran is surviving working in the extreme heat, and Amber is enjoying her new office space at home. 

Morgan
No news from Morgan this week. 

Kayty
Kayty had a good work week and got a few overtime hours in. She took Friday off. It would have been her Louis Tomlinson Concert in California, but canceled due to COVID 19. Part of the tickets were her Christmas present and now, since the concert has not occurred, we await the refund. She had a faux concert in the living room on Saturday night. 



The Nathan Rice Family
It was a good week for this family. They visited Doran's family on Sunday and had a good time. 

They have been wanting to build garden boxes from red brick and were able to acquire quite a few...for free! I went with Jessica on Tuesday to look at some tools at a sale in Scottsdale and got to enjoy keeping the girlies smiling in the car. They added two new furry family members to their house on Tuesday evening. Two kittens now named Buttercup and Georgie. Everyone is still adjusting to each other, but they are enjoying their new friends. Jessica has been a great deal superstar for Nathan this week, and found an air compressor and a great pasta machine. 

Dad's Garden
Basil is still doing well. I picked both on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. That became 25 batches of basil walnut pesto in the freezer. He has gotten more mulch and spread it on the empty garden beds. 

Other highlights
Had a good week of walks and jogs. I also headed to Hobby Lobby again to enjoy the Pumpkin Wall of Happiness. 

Christmas in July is going well. I was able to get half my Christmas ornaments all completed and began the next half. I also watched The Santa Clause 1, 2, and 3 and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I even cleaned to Christmas Music one day. 

Dad prepped for and Doran and Nathan helped pour this concrete pad for Dad. 
















Not so highlights
I went out to walk very early Tuesday morning and found a major limb on that beautiful mesquite tree had broken off. Yes, we had lost 1/3 of the tree. It had gotten so big that the limbs were just too heavy and wind on Sunday weakened it. We worked for a while, Dad clipping and me hauling smaller branches to the pile. Dad had most of the smaller logs sawed by Tuesday evening. 






Sunday, July 12, 2020

Week of July 5 -11, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual
Our Sunday began as usual, with Music and the Spoken Word. The BYU devotional talks were already played a few weeks ago so we spent time studying our Come Follow Me messages. 

Temples remain closed.

I began my fifth time through General Conference listening this week. I also continue my daily scripture study in Come Follow Me and in the Book of Mormon. 

I have indexed 11689 records and reviewed 56604 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family
The Wilkins Family had a wonderful 4th of July. What a wonderful thing it is to sit in front of their house and watch wonderful aerial fireworks. Mike had the day off too, so they got a lot of things done. They have prayerfully decided to sell their house. The value is at the top of the market. They can pay off all their student loans and get a larger vehicle, and with Covid19 destroying Adam's senior year at high school, there is nothing keeping them in that house. They have painted and repaired and are looking at new carpeting. Already it looks wonderful! Mike can apply now to convert. If his application is accepted, he is in a converting status for 30 days. Then he can apply for jobs at Amazon. They plan to apply in Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona. Allison is doing well at work and will be working at least through the end of July. Adam is still in recovery mode, waiting for that bone to heal so he can get some physical therapy. If he does too much, he feels it! He has been playing the piano, reading and he won a Reddit award. Grace is doing well, though she misses her friends a lot. She made special 4th of July pancakes for her and Sam...red white and blue! She has been cooking and baking more. She is busy cleaning rooms and helping pack up. She loves Elle the cat and has good times with her. Josh did a lot of extra chores and has purchased his own Firestick. Sam had a rough Independence Day celebration as he gots some blisters from stepping on a sparkler. He has lately been obsessed with bugs and learning about them. 

The Ethan Rice Family
Ethan, Cameo, Kaylee, and Wade had a fun, but very warm, 4th of July camping trip with their friends. Lots of fun was had, though Kaylee suffered a bee sting. The kids started private swimming lessons this week and are loving it! 

We had fun chats on Thursday and Friday. Their garden is doing well!




The Doran Rice Family
Doran, Amber, Kelsie, and Kooper had a good week. Lots of things to do at work for Doran and Amber, summer swimming fun for Kelsie and Kooper. Doran spent his Saturday on the maintenance of a work truck. 

Morgan
No news from Morgan this week though he did make some Facebook posts. Must be busy at work. 

Kayty
Kayty had a good work week. She had overtime Thursday and Friday and worked four hours on Saturday. She continues to watch CSI as her newest obsession. 

The Nathan Rice Family
This family surprised me with a wonderful birthday cake on Sunday! It was such a nice surprise!




Nathan continues to work from home, but all are feeling well and able to go out into the world. Happy Birthday to Jessica on Thursday! On Friday, Nathan and the girls spent a date night here while Jessica did some work for her parents. The girls played with the toys in the playroom with Daddy and we all had fun swimming in the pool. 


They also visited on Saturday for a little while as Nathan worked on a machining project. 

Dad's Garden
Just keeping things alive is the goal now. Very hot temps sure take it out of our plants. 

Other highlights
Dad's workweek was super busy and totally on overload! Too few people and too much to do! 

I spoke with Nano a time or two. She is the same. 

Saturday we were asked to go down to clean up the church. The only people in there have been the missionaries and the bishop just wanted some to check it out. What a mess!!! Trash cans in bathrooms and kitchen were filled to overflowing...and many of the ones in the rest of the building. I don't know who needed to play with the nursery toys and spread them all over but someone did. It was nice to see the chapel again...

Plus to be with a bunch of the high priests from the ward was great!



Sunday, July 5, 2020

Week of June 28 - July 4, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual
We had a typical Covid19 Sunday. I took a short walk before it was blazing hot outside. After readying for church, we watched a Patriotic Music and the Spoken Word and then two BYU devotional talks. We studied our Come Follow Me lesson and read scriptures and Conference talks. Doran, Amber, Kelsie and Kooper stopped by and snacked on the pork dad had made. 


Dad called friends like Jeff Smith and Cliff Eccles. He also completed a meeting notice assignment for the Stake Sunday School. 

No temple continues.

I still listen to talks from General Conference daily and completed my fourth time through on Saturday. I also read in the Book of Mormon daily and enjoy my Come Follow Me study. 

I have indexed 11301 records and reviewed 54066 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family
The Wilkins Family is keeping up with life, which is quite an accomplishment in these crazy and unsettling times. Mike is doing well and still working towards either a position at another employer or converting to permanent Amazon. That might require a shift change and hour reduction for a month. They are prayerfully going ahead each day. He works to paint and fix up the house in his spare time. Allison is in the final stages of preparation for the temple to have it's Phase 1 opening next week, which has meant longer hours. She does get to go to Planet Fitness and work out, and that has been much safer and good for her. Their washing machine broke last week, but Mike was able to get the new part and quickly repair it.  Adam continues to rest and recover. He is still off his leg for a few more weeks, and Josh has been such a great help with him. Adam was not encouraged about the return to school plan for the Fall, so he wrote to the School Board sharing his well thought out opinion. He has used is bed rest time to read and has completed 1984 and Animal Farm. Grace is well and has been sharing on her own personal blog. She has also been getting more excited about high school. Joshua is well and is enjoying his summertime. Sam is doing well. They got a Venus Fly Trap and he is enjoying watching it eat. He caught new Pokemon last week. He liked learning about Ammon chopping off arms in the Book of Mormon. He is also learning about France this week. 

The Ethan Rice Family
Ethan, Cameo, Kaylee and Wade had a good work week and then headed out on Thursday for a fun camping trip with their friends for the Fourth of July. 

The Doran Rice Family
Doran and Amber had a good week at work, and the kids are enjoying swimming and fun in the Summertime. On Friday night, Doran, Nathan and Dad headed to Bartlett Lake for some nightime fishing. No fish, but Doran and Nathan got quite a few bites. 


On Saturday, they headed to Wickenburg to visit the Trump Store, and then stopped by here for a visit. 


They enjoyed their own fireworks in the evening. 

Morgan
Morgan called on Saturday with birthday wishes. He is doing well.

Kayty
Kayty's work from home continues. She took Tuesday off to meet her new endocrinologist and really liked her. She got her new prescriptions and meds. Her current tv obsession is CSI. 

3 major saves this week. 

The Nathan Rice Family
Nathan and Jessica continued in their recovery this week, and by Friday were able to go out into the real world. We enjoyed their visit and the girls had some fun playdough time. Nathan is able to work a few hours online and attend some meetings. We are so thankful that they made it through their illnesses!
They spent Saturday up in Flagstaff. They took a picnic lunch and played in the forest, running and screaming to their hearts delight. They also went into the town and visited a railroad museum. They enjoyed their own fireworks at home. 

Dad's Garden
Still harvesting basil and Dad spent a lot of time tearing out old plants and working compost into the garden. 

Other highlights
Started up Christmas in July on Thursday. Ornament painting has begun.



I had a very nice birthday. Though I didn't get my annual hike in because of Kayty's situation, I did enjoy calls from Mom, Nathan's family
 

and Morgan

Marco Polo from Allison and family, 

and Facetiming with Ethan and family. 

and a visit from Dorrie. 

Not so highlights
Tuesday was a very sad day for Dad as many of his co-workers were let go. The wonderful lady who trained him was fired. His coworker shared this on Facebook. 

"Yesterday was I think the hardest day I ever had at work. Being at the company 35 years I never have seen anything like what I and my colleagues experienced over the last two (2) days. Massive reductions in force due to the decline in Aerospace. Many departments hit with 50% lay off. My department we lost 4 of 6 people. I was one of the 2 left standing. I don’t understand why or how other than God’s grace. No rime or reason on who got chosen. I don’t blame my employer for all this. This is all a result of COVID-19. Things still shut down, no one flying.
While I truly respect the differing views on the national crisis in all due respect no one is going to tell me that we had the proper balanced approach to this. The massive unemployment and loss of great paying Aerospace jobs far outweighs in my view the small numbers of those who actually die from COVID-19. Let me be clear, am NOT suggesting saving jobs over lives. I AM saying that the general approach we took to this has caused far greater pain to the rest of us that could ever have been expected. Poverty is a killer as well.
It is easy for politicians and TV commenters to justify what they did as they have guaranteed incomes. Come to my side of this equation and I bet you would think different.
To be really open and honest, I lost over 76 dear work friends I have known for years. I spend a good part of the last few days not working but consoling and praying for my friends who lost their jobs. I spend a lot of time crying.
My dear FB friends. Thank you for listening. If you are a praying Christian. Please pray for God to heal our land of COVID-19"