Highlights:
Spiritual
Oh, how wonderful it was for us to attend Sacrament meeting in person. So many, many people were in attendance. We all wore masks and sat every other row, but the ward felt like it was full again! I saw Sonja Hazlett, who I hadn't seen in years. Our bishop and our stake president both spoke. I was especially inspired by President Jackson's talk. He referred to Joseph of Aramathea and Nicodemus. They were both wealthy powerful members of the Sanhedrin who had not allowed their belief in the Savior be known, and they didn't stand up for Him in public. However, Joseph was the one who went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion. He and Nicodemus anointed him and wrapped his body. They at once had only "gone through the motions" but now they were firm believers, no matter what. This has been a time where we could not "go through the motions". We could not attend church or any other activities. Everything relied on our personal choice to be "all in" for Jesus Christ. He encouraged us to evaluate our lives and use this time to prepare for the future, both temporally and spiritually. We ended with the Sacrament ordinance which was absolutely perfect. And to see so many people outside talking was just the best.
I continue listening to a General Conference talk each day. I completed reading and highlighting all General Conference talks this week. I also continued reading the Book of Morning and studying Come Follow me daily.
I have indexed 16,559 records and reviewed 102683 records so far this year.
Family
The Wilkins Family
This was a good week for the Wilkins family! Mike had a great interview with a recruiter, which should further his job prospects, plus he still has irons in the fire at Amazon. Allison tried to work as a poll worker for the election and worked two of the eleven-hour days, but it was just too grueling, and she had to do it seven days a week on top of monitoring kids' distance learning and her regular temple job. She decided it was too much time away from family. She loves seeing the kids and being with them and that is wonderful! Adam had a good week. His friend returned from Minnesota and he has been enjoying spending time working out at the gym. He has enjoyed going to CeCees Pizza with friends too. Grace is doing very well and getting good grades. Her orthodontist visit brought orange and purple rubber bands on her teeth. Joshua is working on his soccer skills, though these months of being home and not in school have given him the opportunity to work hard and regain his skills. He got his knee braces and orthotics and is adjusting to them. Sam is liking school, especially music class, and PE. He saw his kindergarten best friend at recess. Sam's soccer coach has Covid so they are seeking another one to replace him. He had a great surprise when his cousin Kooper face-timed him. They had such fun seeing each other's toys and even had a virtual nerf war.
The Ethan Rice Family
Ethan and Cameo had a busy work week. On Friday, they headed out for a brief getaway. They stopped for a yummy Mexican food dinner and then went to High Falls State Park and stayed in their travel trailer.
The Doran Rice Family
Doran and Amber had a pretty good week, though virtual schooling has lead to challenges for Amber...especially with sound sanity! Doran's boss made Doran get Covid tested since he had traveled out of state on vacation, but then had him go right to work after the testing. Made no sense! They participated in two America and Trump Support events this weekend.
Pics from Saturday...
(I thought I saw pics from Saturday ... but when I went to snatch them from Facebook, they were gone)
Morgan
Morgan is good and had a good time at the river on Saturday and brought home a new dog.
Kayty
Kayty had a good work week. She had some struggles with the new systems and spent a lot of time on the phone with the IT department.
The Nathan Rice Family
Nathan, Jessica and the girls had a good week. Jessica spent a lot of time organizing the girls toys and the system she created looks great! The girls came to play here on Friday while Jessica got some things done. We had fun playing, swinging, making music, playing playdough, and watching movies. After Anna's soccer game Saturday, she and Nathan headed out for a daddy-daughter camping trip while Jessica, Ellie and Emma enjoyed a girls' weekend at home.
Dad's Garden
Dad has struggled with roof rats all week. They have decimated what little citrus we have growing. He finally had to get some poison since they are eating the garden and carry disease.
Other highlights
This week was put up the village week. I was going to take pics at the start of each day, but I just got too busy working and forgot. I got new sheets for the backdrop and I like the starry night look. I began on Monday and finished on Thursday, which was really the fastest I have set up this large city.
We drove downtown on Wednesday and cast our ballots for President of the United States.
My take on this crazy year...not the pandemic or toilet paper shortages...is that the car has become such a symbol...of safety and freedom. You can drive up and be tested for Covid19 in your car, you can drive up to any retail establishment and have your ordered products loaded into it; you can protest lock downs; you can trunk or treat; and you can participate in a parade supporting police officers, fire fighters and your presidential candidate. We did so on Saturday afternoon...a trump train.
People were cheering along the road all the way. Someone we knew got a picture of our car...
It was great to do something positive and to see bright smiling happy faces everywhere...no masks!
