Week of April 23 - 29, 2023

Spiritual

Sunday was a great  day and we enjoyed wonderful talks from youth and adults during Sacrament Meeting. The kids in my Primary class are still adjusting to being back sitting with us but every once in awhile, they seem to listen. Sunday was quiet as usual. 

Dad was able to attend the temple this week and perform initiatory ordinances. 

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study, and Come Follow Me study continues each day. 

I have indexed 7560 records and reviewed 10,368 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

There were a couple of glitches but Grace ended up having a wonderful time at her Prom. 

The Wilkins Family is doing well. Mike did some substitute teaching work at a charter school at Nellis AFB. Not much else so he continues to work on their car and seek employment. Adam is also looking for a job. Allison's teaching days are counting down and she has worked out a fun alphabet reward countdown for the kids, with a special activity corresponding with each letter of the alphabet. Bubbles were not a fun success but she is looking forward to colored pencil/pen writing to be a huge success. She is doing well in her Master's Degree program as well. Grace is busy as ever. She had her job interview last week at Chic Fil A plus she had an orientation at her new high school. She is working out being able to still be on the tennis team at her old school. She had what ended up being a good time at prom with friends and had a good weekend. Joshua hurt his wrist playing soccer but he was the star goalie in a crunch. He also had a great young men's activity Saturday that involved building forts and shooting guns. I did spy him also on the Legacy Cadence Facebook Page!

Million Minute Challenge Update!!

The school read 150,003 minutes in March! This takes us to a total of 591,638 minutes. The winners for March got to play games at a “VIP” section at recess with ice cream sundaes!

The winners are:

Kindergarten: Ellie M., Sophia S., Lucas D., Jaziyer V.

1st: Jovie P., Riley O., Liam C., Sofia H., Ibraheem B.

2nd: Calli B., Nevaeh B., Isabel D., Shiloh F., Jaxson D., Lana D.

3rd: Melanie M., Camron H., Adrien R., Olliver M., Lucas B.

4th: Bryson W., Audrey D., Vera F., Lily D., Roman A.

5th: Faith S., Mikeala M., Brynn L., Riley O., Grant R.,

6th: Adiana H., Kierra M., Lucas G., Jacob N., Keagan M.

JH: Josh W., Lanaya Y., Charliegh G., Jennifer S.

Staff Winner: Kelly Thompson

Class winner: Mrs. Marticello's class with an amazing total of 14,632 minutes!!

Sam is a bit nervous as standardized tests come next week but we are all praying for him to have peace and remember all the things he has learned. Trek for Grace and Josh is coming up soon. 

The Ethan Rice Family

Cameo wished us a Happy Anniversary on Monday. 

The Doran Rice Family

This family has finally got their house ready to put on the market. Amber has been interviewed over and over and but did not get the job in Kentucky. However she is interviewing for the position in Tennessee and that looks favorable. They stopped by so Doran could work on a project for the young men in the ward. Four people have already looked at their home so they are hopeful. 

Morgan

Morgan and Cassie came by on Saturday bringing us fresh spring water. They are relocating further north and Cassie is seeking work nearer to her. They have a new dog and are doing well. 

Kayty

Kayty had a long but pretty good work week. 

The Nathan Rice Family

I spoke for a few minutes via Facetime with Anna, Ellie and Emma. School is completed and we now have....drum roll...a second grader and a first grader!!! Congratulations Anna and Ellie and hurray for Jessica for the great first homeschool year. They are doing well and had to end our conversation to go have some ice cream. The girls called again briefly and Annie shared the make up she purchased. She had eyeliner on and she looked like she was a pro. Ellie and Emma were happily playing in the background. 

Dad's Garden

Basil is thriving! We do have a few tomatoes but it will be a very small crop. Our citrus trees still have fruit on them plus new fruit is coming on and doing well, in spite of all the wind we have had. 

 

Other highlights

Allison left a sweet birthday message for Dad. 

Monday was our 43rd wedding anniversary. We spent the day just doing stuff together. Grocery shopping. I am so thankful for the last 43 years. Would I want to do everything over again? I would marry him over and over again. But all the stuff? I wish I could have been a better mom and made better memories for the kids but I truly did the very best I could. The hard things? Once was truly enough. I am so grateful for every single day we have together. Nothing is promised. Nothing is guaranteed and life can change in a moment. Growing up with sick parents and a father who died at the beginning of my senior year in high school gave me a somber experience. I am grateful for every day and hope and pray the Lord blesses us with more days together. 

I made the seasons first three batches of basil walnut pesto. It came out great. 

Week of April 16 - 22, 2023

Spiritual

Back to the typical Sunday, though it was Fast Sunday...a bit later in the month than typical. My lesson for Primary involved teaching three and four year olds what a testimony of Jesus Christ was. I had prayed for testimonies they could relate to and testimonies of Jesus Christ and my prayers were truly answered. My lesson went as well as could be expected, being that the children had not been in primary for three weeks and many were crying in Sharing Time. We had a good time, and I hope they remember a little of what I shared. 

Dad was able to attend an endowment session at the temple on Thursday evening.  

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study, and Come Follow Me study continues each day. I completed my reading of General Conference talks as well as my first time to complete listening to Conference. 

I have indexed 7215 records and reviewed 10,239 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

I spoke via Marco Polo to Allison on Sunday. They are doing well. She is counting the days to the end of school. She continues to work on her own Masters's Degree schooling and her Primary calling. Mike is waiting for substitute teaching assignments. Adam continues to seek work. Grace is a busy lady. She had Choir Festival and enjoyed singing and learning. She had an interview for a job at Chick Fil A next week. She has prom coming up this week and her dress is darling! It will be at the Stratosphere Hotel and they will be able to have fun on all the rides. She and her friends are looking forward to this. Josh is enjoying school and soccer though he has had some rough games lately. It is sometimes amazing how old other teams' 7th and 8th graders are. Sam is loving working with Student Council and is doing well. 

The Ethan Rice Family

On Friday morning, Ethan had some minor surgery on his eye to relieve a drooping eyelid that had given him troubles. Minor except that he had to be put to sleep that anesthesia has its own recovery. His procedure went well and he was on his way home within a couple of hours. 

Happy Anniversary to Ethan and Cameo on Saturday. 

The Doran Rice Family

Amber shared some pics of their house all ready for photography and listing for sale. Amber had another interview this week too. They stopped by for a visit on Saturday. All are doing well and looking forward to a possible move. Kooper picked a couple of carrots from the garden. 

Morgan

Morgan called on Saturday and is doing well. They both are working and enjoying the beautiful weather. 

Kayty

Kayty had a pretty good week at work. She took Friday off and just caught up on things she needed to do. 

The Nathan Rice Family

The girls called on Sunday and this family is doing well. There has been a bug running through the girls so when Ellie became ill, the girls stayed home from church. They had a good week and are so excited because they will attend their neighborhood elementary school next year. We drew some pictures together before they had to go.

Dad's Garden

I harvested basil and we made some Sam Chicken for our dinner on Tuesday. It is doing very well. Still not sure about the tomatoes. 

 

Other highlights

We celebrated Dad's birthday on Friday. I made him eggs, peppers and sausage for breakfast. He and I went to WalMart to get oil and he changed the oil in both our vehicles when the weather got cooler in the Day. He had lunch with his mom and went to Harbor Freight. Kayty got him a fun card and some great gifts including Twizzlers licorice. I made him hot and sour soup and pineapple pie (though my crust is nothing compared to Nathan's last year). He got a wonderful facetime call and a round of "Happy Birthday To You" from Ethan, Cameo, Kaylee and Wade. Quiet day but we did what we could to celebrate him. From me he got a new dehydrator, a new swim suit, new sleep pants and some Reese's Pieces and pistachios. 

Week of April 9 - 15, 2023

Spiritual

We had a lovely Sunday Easter Sacrament Meeting with singing by the Primary, a young couple, and the choir, plus a lovely sister missionary reporting on her service in the Dominican Republic. I saw a few of my sweet little primary kids too. 

We were unable to attend the temple this week. Sessions were full before we could reserve our seats. 

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study, and Come Follow Me study continues each day. 

I have indexed 6831 records and reviewed 9568 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

The Wilkins Family chatted via Marco Polo. They had a good week. School for four days and then Friday off. Mike took the kids to see the new Mario Movie and they really liked it. Allison used the time to prep for the last 34 days of school. Mike now is part of Kelly Services to substitute teach school but there are no openings at this time. Adam continues to look for work. Grace has a second job interview coming up this week and is looking forward to next year at a new high school. She and Josh enjoyed Trek Prep activities and youth activities. Josh had two soccer games on Saturday. Sam is doing great and it was so fun to see his very happy smile. He enjoyed helping out with student council this week as new kindergarteners visited school. They had a great Easter weekend and enjoyed church, hunting for eggs and a yummy Easter dinner. 

The Ethan Rice Family

Cameo shared:

"We kicked off Spring Break on Friday by going to a Georgia Swarm Lacrosse Game. All the Jr Lacrosse players got a free ticket to the game. We had never been to a professional lacrosse game before. It was a new experience for sure. High energy and lots of fun. The kids were into it. I was worried Wade wouldn't be because he was completely uninterested in the high school Grizzlies game. Saturday we packed and got ready for the trip. We camped from Sunday to Sunday. The playground was right next to our campsite (and the bathrooms too!). We fished every. Single. Day. The kids were SO into fishing. The kids played at their little beach area there one day, and on Thursday we rented a pontoon boat and spent the entire day out on the lake. The boat was SO much fun! We dyed Easter eggs on Saturday. Yesterday was not the typical Easter Sunday, but I was happy to have me, Ethan, and the kids together. The Easter Bunny delivered baskets in the trailer yesterday and I devilled some eggs last night. Break went by so fast. I wish it was still break!"

The Doran Rice Family

No news from Doran and Amber this week. 

Morgan

No news from Morgan this week. 

Kayty

Kayty had a pretty good work week though her wonderful supervisor, Betty, retired. She also lost her sweet little fish on Saturday morning. He was two and lived a good life. 

The Nathan Rice Family

I received mail from the girls this week. They have been sick and sent a drawing of a very sad faced Annie. 

Dad's Garden

The heat has hit and the plants are confused. The lettuce is bolting and so it will be pulled out. Our tomato plants are covered in blossoms but no pollination occurs over 90 degrees so we are not sure if we will even get enough tomatoes to eat. The basil looks wonderful. Peas are going to seed and we have citrus trees still full of fruit but also full of new fruit from spent blossoms. 

 

Other highlights

Very quiet Easter. Devilled eggs were made as soon as we returned from church. We spent the day doing not much of anything. 

We got my new chandelier I have had since October finally put up over the kitchen table. Looks good. 

Week of April 2 - 8, 2023

Spiritual

We feel so blessed to be able to watch General Conference this weekend from the comfort of our own home. The Sunday morning session was so full of love and instruction. I have many things to work on to improve my own life. 

Dee was able to attend the temple this week. 

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study, and Come Follow Me study continues each day. It was so nice to only wait a couple of days for the new General Conference talks on the church app. 

I have indexed 6385 records and reviewed 8607 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

General Conference is full of traditions in the Wilkins family. They enjoyed watching Conference, eating homemade cinnamon rolls, and participated in their semi-annual pizza-making competition.

I Marco Polo'd Allison on Sunday. She shared that they had enjoyed Gen'l Conference. She caught me up last week. At seminary last week, Grace had a Missionary Week where they lived the missionary life while going to school. She really enjoyed it and scored high points on the activity. She also was accepted into a special high school next year where she can get concurrent high school and college credit. She is busy looking for a Summer job and preparing for the trek with Josh. Adam continues to look for work. Mike had gone through the interview and training for the Substitute teacher employment service. Josh was inducted into the Junior National Honor Society and has had two wins with his soccer team so far. Sam was busy on Saturday doing April Fools Pranks including exchanging almond milk for cow milk. He is excited to have his first student council activity next week as the new students for next year come to see the school. Allison is super busy with church, school and her schooling and is looking forward to the next 38 days being over. 

The Ethan Rice Family

Ethan, Cameo, and family spent the week, their Spring Break, at Lake Allatoona at a lovely campground. They FaceTimed us on Monday evening and shared their great campsight and their adventures. They had already caught fish and enjoyed some rain. Kaylee texted me on Friday night and shared that she had caught a catfish that day. 

The Doran Rice Family

Doran continues to recover from his bee sting attack. On Friday, there was a major allergic reaction and he was suffering from itching everywhere. They had a good week and continue to prep their house to sell if Amber gets the job in Kentucky. 

Morgan

No news from Morgan this week. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good week at work. She tried out her old laptop and it was not working so she went to Best Buy on Friday and purchased a new laptop. No apple product this time and the sale price was great. She is busy putting her music and pics on it. 

The Nathan Rice Family

I so enjoyed FaceTiming the Girls on Wednesday. They had asked for a few of my favorite recipes and I mailed them some. They have great plans! They are counting the days till the end of school. Last week, they went to an "olden times" museum. They saw historical clothing and cooking. The were amazed at the waffle iron. They were also surprised that the children wore white clothing. They were stuck indoors due to the rainy days this week but they have a big beautiful home and plenty to do. Everyone is doing well. There have been tornado warnings but they have been very blessed. They also told me they cannot play in leaves or in the backyard without a grown-up due to cottonmouth snakes. Snakes and tornados. This Rice Family is very brave!!

Dad's Garden

We harvested cabbage and lettuce this week. No tomatoes have set though we have many blossoms. 

 

Other highlights

I loved my kitchen sink faucet and Nathan got it for me when he was doing plumbing work before his mission. It has struggled for the last 18 months and we could no longer repair it so I found another one that would fit the thicker sink deck and Dad installed it Tuesday. 

Week of March 26 - April 1, 2023

Spiritual

This was our stake conference weekend with meetings on Saturday night and Sunday morning. We so enjoyed seeing so many old friends and hearing the outgoing temple president and his wife who presently live in our ward. They will return to Dewey Arizona sometime after the summer and our old bishop and stake president, Paul Sorenson, and his wife Julie will be the new temple president and matron.

We were able to attend the temple this week. I attended an endowment session on Tuesday morning, a very full one. Dad attended Thursday night. 

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study and Come Follow Me study continues each day. 

I have indexed 5819 records and reviewed 7614 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

Some pics Grace shared from her week:

 

The Ethan Rice Family

Ethan worked in town this week. 

The Doran Rice Family

Kelsie had a rough spot the last few weeks but she is now back home and the family is continuing work and school. Doran had a horrible day on Friday which included a bee-infested job site, many bee stings all over his head and face, the fire department and waiting for bees to move on before he could go home. He ended up with over 50 bee stings! He experienced swelling and a fever for a while but appears to be on the mend. 

Morgan

No news from Morgan this week. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good work week and enjoyed a company picnic on Friday afternoon. 

One major low this week. 

The Nathan Rice Family

The girls called for a few moments on Sunday night and shared their joys for the week. They sure loved the playdate and new friends!! Annie is making a cookbook of favorite recipes and the other girls are following in her footsteps so I put together a few favorite recipes and sent them their way. 

Dad's Garden

The warmer weather has taken its toll and the winter garden is going to seed. Dad still can eat some chard and carrots but that's about it. The tomato plants are looking great. 

 

Other highlights

I completed hemming and ironing my living room curtains this week. Finally. 

On Thursday, a Honeywell IT tech instead of cleaning up Dad's memory on his computer ended up taking it all down. Two days. A newer computer. And we hope it is better on Monday. He had to use his iPhone for everything and it isn't the greatest but he was able to finally attend some meetings. It has been an experience losing the old flip phone and hours getting the iPhone finally operating. The week before he could make no calls from the phone. 

Dad and I set out to shrink that granite pile in our driveway, filling and hauling wheelbarrows full around the yard.