Week of November 22-29, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

We enjoyed another wonderful Sunday meeting at church. The Cusicks, who moved in during the Covid shut down, each spoke to us. We also had two sisters sing a lovely song. We enjoyed taking Alice to church, and she was excited about house sitting for the stake president while their family spends the week in Hawaii. The missionaries paid a nice visit to us on Sunday evening. 

Temples remain closed for the work for the dead. 

I continue my morning foundation of listening to at least one General Conference talk, studying Come Follow Me, and reading in the Book of Mormon. 

I have indexed 18065 records and reviewed 116909 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family

As I spoke with the Wilkins family on Sunday night, they were decorating their Christmas tree. She made "Sick Soup" for the family to help Sam's cold. Its spicy, full of garlic and vitamin C and makes everyone feel better. Their governor has increased restrictions due to Covid, though it has not interfered with much yet for them. They have plans for a hike on Thanksgiving Day as well as their favorite things to eat. Mike brines their turkey and grills it.  They are hoping to use their Christmas money to get a fence put up and get a dog. Allison had a challenging work week last week, with lots of deep cleaning. She continues her writing job.  Mike will be working 60 hours this week, which will be used to fix up the cars. Adam has a couple of really good teachers at school who are working to help the kids that are having a difficult time with this online thing, which is a huge blessing. Otherwise, he is doing well. He really enjoys his workouts and is really into weight lifting. Grace had an orthodontist appointment last week. Her overbite is now nearly gone. She got new rubber bands: green on top, red on the bottom. Josh enjoyed walking around the temple today (they had just opened up the grounds...ours is not yet open), though Sam ended up falling in the fountain while retrieving a pinecone...twice. Josh thought it was funny... Josh is working on his book report due next month too. 

Sam wasn't too upset about his fountain adventure. He had a good week at school and so loved going to school with his best buddy, Josh! He gets some reading tutoring after school and Josh helped him stay in class. He had a good soccer game Saturday. He and Josh get the next week off from school. He still has a book report due so they will read that. The kids were struck with colds and fevers during the week, but managed to enjoy their holiday. Allison shared some precious thoughts on gratitude throughout the week. 

Josh shared a Marco Polo message Saturday night showing me the progress of their Christmas outdoor decorating. It looked wonderful!

The Ethan Rice Family

We chatted with Ethan and his family via Facetime on Sunday night. We watched Wade play their Mousetrap game over and over. I always wanted to play mousetrap and have a game. Wade gave me a house tour, a tree tour, and even a bathroom tour. Cameo's mom was hospitalized after not recovering from Covid. Cameo was finally able to speak with her on the phone. Thanksgiving for this family was yummy.

The Doran Rice Family

Doran, Amber, Kelsie and Kooper are doing well. We enjoyed spending Thanksgiving with them and spending time on Saturday while Doran worked with Dad and Nathan on the concrete project. They did get some Black Friday shopping done and Kayty took Kelsie out to spend her good grade money on Saturday. 

Morgan

Morgan is doing well and visited on Thursday night after his girlfriend went to work. 

Kayty

Worked two days this week. She was such an awesome help with the Thanksgiving dinner. She peeled and chopped and was such a blessing to my wrist.

The Nathan Rice Family

Nathan, Jessica and family are well. Nathan had the week off. Monday, though he spent nearly eight hours helping pack up and move a ward member's garage. Later, his radiator blew up, and leading to an engine rebuild and head gasket replacement. The family would go to parks during the day, and he worked on the car at night. He baked yummy pumpkin and pecan pies for sharing at Thanksgiving. 

Dad's Garden

Garden is doing well and plants are surviving. 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was great! It was a ton of work but I so love doing it! In attendance were Dorrie, who brought her candied yams, cauliflower and cheese and pumpkin chocolate chip cake, Doran, Amber, Kelsie and Kooper who made some awesome Mexican corn on the cob, Nathan, Jessica, Anna, Ellie and Emma, who shared some awesome baked beans, and their wonderful pies, Morgan (who came later), Kayty, Dad and I. We ate roast, smoked and grilled turkey, 25 pounds of mashed potatoes, gravy, Nano's stuffing, rolls, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce, cranberry salad, a turkey veggie tray, a turkey cheeseball, turkey peanut butter ball.. 

Other highlights

Scott took Nano for Thanksgiving at his inlaws house and she did okay. She enjoyed herself and called me the next day to share. 

Most of my days this week were spent preparing for Thanksgiving. 

Prayers continue for our nation. 

Week of November 15-21, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

It was wonderful again to attend Sacrament Meeting in person, even with it being High Council Sunday. We picked up Alice and then got to sit near our regular row. Another family moved into our ward. Brother Call sang a lovely solo and then we listened to Brother Maznio speak about the qualities of Christ we need to emulate. 

Temples continue to be closed for ordinances for the dead. 

On Friday morning, President Russell M. Nelson sent a special message to the world, asking each of us to devote our thoughts to gratitude and to share thankfulness each day on our social media. He also prayed with and for each one of us. It was wonderful, but even more so as someone shared that he felt the experience of a living prophet praying with and for the people of the world reminded him of when the Savior came and prayed with the Nephites. While social media has been put on a back burner for me, I am taking time each time I pray to express gratitude for my blessings. 

I continue to read and study the Book of Mormon and Come Follow Me and listen to at least one General Conference talk daily. 

I have indexed 17686 records and reviewed 114214 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family

Mike started working at a return facility for Amazon. He works 4 10-hour days a week, so it's now full time. There is a transition period because each site seems to have its own HR, and those HR's don't communicate with each other, so this led to a difficult start off. He continues to look for a leadership position. Allison had a Sunday full of meetings. There was Young Women's meetings and a Face To Face Broadcast. Last week her friend at work brought brownies and ice cream to celebrate her birthday. So nice! This next week she is working every night for major extra cleaning. 

Adam is trying his best to get through school. He enjoys working out with a friend at the gym. He and Grace attended their first Stake Youth Committee meeting last weekend, which they really enjoyed. 

Grace and Allison are enjoying some evening walks again now that the weather is cooler. She looks forward to going to the orthodontist this week ... getting red and green holiday-colored rubber bands. 

Josh and Sam had soccer last weekend. Josh did well. It has been difficult with lots of kids not coming and coaches being ill. He must be on a growth spurt because he eats and sleeps a ton. Josh and Sam both got to attend school in person this week.

 Sam's soccer game went well and he is learning so much. He loves school and so looks forward to going. 

The family worked on their Wilkins Family Jesse Tree Ornaments and they are absolutely adorable! A beautiful rock wall with a very important message on the back from President Nelson. They have started decorating for Christmas and are having so much fun! Their challenge is that one car has its power steering failing. 

Dad shared with me Allison's moments of gratitude that she had shared on social media. They were pure and perfect and they lifted my spirit. 

The Ethan Rice Family

Cam got a wonderful treat after weeks of Ethan being out of town. She looks awesome!

Cameo has been finding many new "friends" at their Georgia home, including a baby snake, and this guy...

Cottonmouth snakes were a total make me move thing, but now scorpions too?

Kaylee had a special Thanksgiving Friendsgiving Celebration at school on Friday. She was so excited!

The Doran Rice Family

Doran, Amber, Kelsie and Kooper are doing well. They are keeping up with work and remote school as best as they can. Kooper gave Papa some suggestions in trapping catching the garden thief we have. 

Morgan

Morgan is doing well.

Kayty

Kayty worked through Wednesday and burned up vacation days on Thursday and Friday. With so much closed, no one seems to do anything but use up vacation days. 

The Nathan Rice Family

Nathan and Jessica had a busy and good week. The girls came to play here on Tuesday afternoon for awhile and we had so much fun enjoying the nice weather outdoors. They enjoyed playing at the park on Friday and had such a good time. 

Dad's Garden

Dad continues to battle with rodents. It is difficult to water and care for a vegetable, only to have it eaten up in one night before it can get to maturity. Snow peas continue to grow. Basil is still thriving with our warm weather. 

Other highlights

Politics remain very complicated. Evidence of rampant cheating. My joy is in people who have integrity and will stand up when they see something that is not right happening. 

I have been enjoying the Leonid Meteor Shower this week on my walks. 

First official Christmas lit house seen on Friday morning. 

Thanksgiving preparations are under way. I have roasted the big turkey, it is sliced, in broth, and frozen. I am now thawing the turkeys to smoke and to grill. I made rolls for our meal and they are frozen. I made all the gravy from the turkey drippings and broth from the bones I boiled and it is frozen. I also made the homemade cranberry sauce and it is in the refrigerator. 

On Saturday, the families got together. Men cast and loaded bullets...

Week of November 8 - 14, 2020

Highlights:

Spiritual

I had a special experience Sunday morning. I had been up all night off and on, checking Kate and concerned about the country's situation regarding elections. When I got up, I went out to read my scriptures, but the chapter I was on wouldn't come in on my phone, so I went to my daily scripture I receive on a special ap. The video presentation was by Elder D. Todd Christoffersen, an excerpt from a talk he gave. He shared about a business venture he had invested in, and it continued to need more and more money. Finally, he was so concerned, he knelt in prayer, pleading with Heavenly Father for help. The answer came that he should not worry about the big picture, but seek to live day by day, seeking knowledge from the Lord for his situation. He shared the Lord's Prayer: "And give us this day our daily bread." He counseled sometimes we need to let God give us our help and answers day by day. That was what I needed to hear. So, for Sunday, I stayed away from any news on Facebook or Instagram and devoted what I could to the Lord. It felt wonderful and brought me peace. 

Sunday morning church was fantastic. We picked up Alice as usual and had a great Sacrament meeting. Brother and Sister Burrow shared their experiences as senior missionaries in the Maryvale Ward. It was a surprise call for them because he still is not retired. They and three other couples plus four sets of missionaries serve this ward, in an area that is rapidly losing members. The stake I went to high school in, Phoenix West Stake is now gone. The ward has great needs including a bishop who has only been a member of the church for 4 years, new leadership training, lots of missionary discussions, serving in Primary and Young Women, lots of rides, and just great support. It was very informative and great to hear of their successes and not so successes. 

The week was more spiritually challenging but it helped to walk to the temple, even if I could only stare in the locked gates. 

I continue daily General Conference talk listening, Come Follow Me Study and Book of Mormon reading.

I have indexed 17405 records and reviewed 111546 records so far this year. 

Family

The Wilkins Family

Happy Birthday, Allison on Thursday!!! She was treated like a queen and enjoyed a pedicure with Grace. 

Last week, they enjoyed soup and stew with fresh bread for Sunday dinner. It was a cool, blustery day so it was a perfect meal. They have a new bishop, Bishop Nielsen, who is a dear neighbor of theirs. Allison worked three days last week. She continues to write and keep the kids where they need to be, when they need to be. 

Adam and Grace are on the stake youth committee. Leaders came by to let them know what their duties are. Adam is sort of struggling with this virtual school concept, as many other high schoolers are. They don't have textbooks to use.  And there are so many technical problems. Adam keeps getting kicked out of classes with so many in the house online. She called the school, asking for a hot spot, and they said perhaps the younger children don't need to go to school. Really? He did enjoy sitting with Mike and watch election coverage. He continues going to the gym and seems to enjoy that. Grace didn't end up going up to the girls' camp, since there was bad weather. She was so disappointed. They hope to go this coming Saturday, in the afternoon. She also babysat on Friday. Josh spent Sunday enjoying the outdoors in the hammock. He even slept in it all night. (Allison kept checking on him.) It even served as a virtual school classroom. He gets to return to in-person school on the 16th (two days a week.) His doctor says he is making good progress. His early week he struggled with a pretty bad bout of nausea. Sam is enjoying soccer, but there is lots to learn. He is doing well, though. There have been Covid breaks too, which makes it hard to practice skills. 

The Ethan Rice Family

This family had a busy week with work and school. They received some hard news that Grampy Wally has Covid19 but he seems to be doing ok. Ethan is enjoying a weekend at home after weeks of working seven days a week and being out of town. They went on Friday and enjoyed Asian food cooked at the table and sushi. School is going well for Kaylee and she so enjoys her time actually in person in class. 

The Doran Rice Family

Doran, Amber, Kelsie and Kooper are all well and are busy with school and work. Doran is feeling much better as well. 

Morgan

Morgan is doing well.

Kayty

On Sunday, Kayty participated in a Vote Counting Event, encouraging honesty in balloting and counting here and across the country. She loved how the events, both the driving train and the gathering at the Capitol building in Phoenix, began with a prayer. People were very nice and friendly.

Kayty had a good work week with a little overtime. She is our Black Friday movie person, but this year, with Covid, they are spreading out Black Friday, so she was up early Saturday morning to see the movies available. Very disappointing. Hardly any. She did get to sell her old cat tower and a couple of DVD series during the Yard Sale. 

The Nathan Rice Family

We enjoyed a Sunday visit and then they came on Monday and Nathan cut down the palm tree in the back yard. 

They held a big yard sale in our driveway on Saturday. We played with the kids and they got rid of many many things. 

Dad's Garden

Dad's garden is doing well. 

Other highlights

After Nathan's great help cutting down our palm tree, Dad...and after my bloodwork was done, I helped...cleaned up the yard mess. 

We worked on cleaning up more things in the yard and getting rid of more junk. 

I visited Nano on Thursday. I took her and the other two ladies some pumpkin bread to enjoy. I also took Mom's little Christmas tree and ornaments. I ended up decorating it as well. She is in good physical health and her new meds seem to be helping her. 

Dad put up an American Flag and pole in the back yard this week. He didn't know but I always wanted a flag pole in my yard. I even asked my parents for one for a few of my birthdays. Finally when I am 60.

Presidential election results still being tabulated. We are learning a lot about the Constitution of the United States during this process. The media DOES NOT determine the winner of an election. I have stopped looking at Facebook and only get on to see kids' pics or birthday announcements. I don't think we should allow ourselves or our thoughts to be influenced by any media, club, society, or group. Only Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.