Week of October 22 - October 28, 2023

Spiritual

We enjoyed a great Sacrament Meeting and hearing wonderful talks from our primary chorister, her husband, and one of her teenage daughters. Very great talks. The primary was okay as we did a swift primary program practice. Sunday was quiet otherwise. 

Dad was able to attend the temple this week on Friday. 

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

I have indexed 14,301 records and reviewed 21,781 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

We were able to watch Sam's primary program on Sunday morning. He did a wonderful job and all the kids sang and spoke very well. 

The Ethan Rice Family

Kaylee and Wade Facetimed with me. Wade gave me a terrifying tour of all their spooky Halloween decorations! Their house looks awesome inside and out. 

The Doran Rice Family

Doran held down the fort and took care of the kids and dogs while Amber traveled to Tucson. 

Morgan

Morgan and Cassie are busy working at a few jobs, Doing well and staying warm. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good week at work and sold some products in her jewelry business. 

The Nathan Rice Family

I Facetimed with the girls a few times this week. Ellie lost another tooth! Hooray!!! Nathan shared awesome news with Dad on Saturday morning: he shot his first Arkansas deer! Used a muzzleloader and hunted near their home. Another Hooray!

Dad's Garden

Picked more radishes for my salad. Chard is doing well and after a ton of protective wire and cloth, many other things are growing. 

 

Other highlights

I went on Monday, hung up all Mom's clothing, and put things in the drawers of her new room. I filled out a ton of paperwork (something I had not done before). She arrived late afternoon and the hospice nurse checked on her both Monday and Tuesday. She was not eating much so they ordered some supplemental nutrition as well as perhaps a pureed diet. I am sure it is such a shock to move from eating one way at one place for many years to suddenly another. I would have a tough time so I am not surprised she is. No more news for the rest of the week. 

I spent the week putting up my village. It took through Saturday but I am pleased it is up. Sadly, as I was cleaning up the styrofoam, all the power went out just in the living room. No, not the village's fault. I run lots of LED Christmas tree lights. Dad is deciding if it was a problem with his initial wiring of the room wall unit. 

Dad did a measuring presentation to his coworkers on Thursday. This was a training and many more want to attend in the future. 

Thanksgiving meal preparations are underway though on a smaller scale. 

Week of October 15 - October 21, 2023

Spiritual

We had a good Sunday. Sacrament Meeting included two youth speakers and a young woman leaving to serve a full-time mission in Kentucky. I enjoyed choir practice in the afternoon. 

Dad attended the temple this week with the stake Sunday school presidency.  

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

I have indexed 14,173 records and reviewed 21,643 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

No news from the Wilkins Family this week. 

The Ethan Rice Family

I could Facetime with Kaylee this week as she did her homework. She shared her Halloween costume and accessories with me. Wade stopped in to say hi and is doing well. 

The Doran Rice Family

Amber traveled to Las Vegas for work this week, so Doran was on Dad Duty as well as work duty. He took Kooper to the school carnival on Friday. 

Morgan

Morgan and Cassie are doing well and busy working and taking care of their four dogs. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good work week and sold a few bracelets as well. 

The Nathan Rice Family

The girls face timed with me on Friday. Annie wasn't feeling well. Apparently, an illness has been running through their home this week and she finally was the victim. Ellie lost another tooth right before our call! She is so excited. I also saw Emma and Eve. Their day was spent shopping at a mall and they were settling down to watch a movie. 

Dad's Garden

Dad's garden is doing well. Chard is almost ready to eat. Lots of radishes are growing and with our continuing heat, the basil is doing very well. 

 

Other highlights

Lots and lots of work this week as I packed up Mom's things and got her ready to move. I called her caregiver to let her know I was coming the next day and what I would need. When I arrived, she had nothing that currently fit Mom. I did my best to pack up five tops, and five nightgowns, and she only had available two pairs of pants so I ordered more from Amazon. Elizabeth seemed unclear about things. I did not want to move mom elsewhere. This was Elizabeth's decision. She wanted to return to Hungary. I wished her well after two and a half hours of bagging up tons and tons of clothing and stuff. I was exhausted. I have labeled all her clothing as best as I could and will take it to her new place on Monday. 

Our saguaro succumbed to disease and we were concerned it would fall into the wall adjoining the next community, so Dad sawed off arms on the east side to take the weight off and then cut a wedge in the west side and the cactus fell. So sad. Dad cut the pieces in smaller pieces and we are hoping it dries out so we can put a piece at a time in the trash. 

Saturday, we got the backdrop for my village put up. This year with all the stuff going on with mom, I didn't do a Halloween party and I won't have a ton of time to devote a whole week to putting it up so I will just do it a bit at a time. 

Week of October 8 - October 14, 2023

Spiritual

We attended stake conference on Sunday. There were many great messages shared in the meeting and we enjoyed being there. The rest of Sunday was quiet as usual. 

Dad 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. 

I have indexed 13,842 records and reviewed 21,507 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

We visited with Mike, Allison, Grace, Josh, and Sam on Sunday morning before they headed back home. 

The Ethan Rice Family

Monday was a day off for Kaylee and Wade and they spent the day having fun and helping out in the yard. School, sports practices, and games fill the days for the kids. Work is going well for both Ethan and Cameo. 

The Doran Rice Family

Happy Anniversary, Doran and Amber on Wednesday. 

This was Fall Break for Kooper and he enjoyed it. 

Doran spent the week prepping for a young men remote camping trip accessed only by boat. 

Morgan

Morgan is doing well.

Kayty

Kayty had a good week at work and sold a few bracelets during the week. 

The Nathan Rice Family

The girls texted and FadeTimed with me on Wednesday. Annie showed me her new phone and was so excited about everything. Later, Emma facetimed me and showed me the pumpkins that each girl picked and painted. Eve was very proud of hers. Later, Ellie got to speak before she went to bed. That girl has quite the memory! Asked about my green witch decoration and one of the nativity puzzles. She has her Dad's memory!

Dad's Garden

Garden is growing nicely, other than the snap peas, which were eaten by a small creature and needed to be replanted. 

 

Other highlights

I was contacted by Nano's hospice head and he was contacting group homes for me to choose from. I had my first visit on Tuesday. It was a very nice place, fast to get to and within budget. I sent pics to Scott and Sharynn. I still felt I needed to visit one other place. Wednesday I visited another residence, though way out of our budget. I returned to the first location and paid to hold her room. I wished that I had been given some more warning so I could look further but this seems to be a nice alternative without too many other things she doesn't need. 

Week of October 1 - October 7, 2023

Spiritual

We enjoyed watching General Conference on Sunday and felt very edified and challenged from the messages we heard. Very quiet Sundy otherwise. I have already read all the talks and am on the Sunday sessions in my daily listening/study. The next Saturday, Dad attended stake leadership meeting for stake conference. 

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

I have indexed 13,638 records and reviewed 21,146 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

Grace enjoyed celebrating Las Vegas High Homecoming with her friends. 

The family made a last minute decision to travel to Arizona for Kimball's funeral. They left late Friday, Grace and Josh spent the night here, and early Saturday they left to spend time with family and attend the funeral. 

We got some extra time as they decided to stay one more night, so Grace and Josh again bunked in the playroom.

The Ethan Rice Family

Wade is now adding soccer to his athletic skills. He played his first game on Saturday, scored his first goal, and his team won the game by five points! Congratulations Wade. 

The Doran Rice Family

Doran had to make a few trips to our house after work to get tires on his travel trailer for their ward campout they are in charge of this weekend. The rest of the family is well and doing good. 

Morgan

Morgan had car challenges this week when a street cleaner truck backed into his car. He was able to keep the radiator out of the fan but now has to fight the company or city for a settlement on his damages. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good week at work, plus had a few successful Poshmark sales. 

The Nathan Rice Family

The girls enjoyed visits from their grandparents and cousins as they celebrated Annie's baptism day on Saturday. We were so grateful to be invited to participate via FaceTime.

Also, Jessica shared the girls' school pictures for this year:

Dad's Garden

Dad's garden is doing well. His new snap peas are even coming up. We had some warmer weather this week, which was quite a shock to the plants. We already miss the colder nights. 

 

Other highlights

Fall decorations are packed up and Halloween decorations fill the house. 

I finally ordered the caramel I have wanted to order for years from orsongygi.com. Now, I am not sure what I am doing with it, since baking now will be minimal and there wont be any more cookie exchanges. But I am excited to get it. 

We discovered the Saguaro Cactus illness that has gotten over 20 older cactuses near us has hit our cactus out in front. We have to determine if it can be cured or if we need to pull that cactus over before it falls on a wall.... or on Dorans travel trailer. Sad...