Sunday, December 07, 2014
I just realized that today is the anniversary of
the Pearl Harbor attacks that started World War II. Chad and I were able to visit the Pearl
Harbor Memorial when my mom took us to Hawaii a few years ago. I can only imagine the horror the people must
have gone through and the long hard years of war that followed. I am so thankful I have not had to go through
war like that. I pray that those who are
living in countries that are at war can find peace and that I can be an
instrument in the hand of the Lord in spreading peace in my sphere of
influence.
We’ve had a fun couple of weeks. Last Monday November the 24th one
of my visiting teachers came to visit me.
I love the visiting teaching program.
I love to have my visiting teachers visit me and I love to visit others. That evening Chad gave us a good FHE lesson
about honesty. Lately, we’ve had some
trouble with one of our children telling a lot of lies. My friend told me about this great lesson
called the
Lie Monster. Chad used most of the
lesson, however, he didn’t tell a lie at the beginning of the lesson like it
suggested. Instead he told everyone to
get in the car and after we all got buckled in he said, “How would you like it
if we all went out for ice cream?” Then
he drove around the cul-de-sac and back into the garage and asked the kids if
they were disappointed that we didn’t go and came in and taught the lesson.
Tuesday, Nov. 25th Spencer had a
basketball game. His team won that
game. They are now 3 and 3 in their
season. They are improving and are fun
to watch.
Wednesday the 26th I went in to my chiropractors
office for a massage. I had been having
some bad pain that was really worrying me.
I had some really tight muscles in the upper left part of my back that I
think were causing it. The massage
helped and the pain has finally left. I
am very relieved. I get so worried about
getting cancer. I really, really worry
about it anytime I have an unusual pain.
Luckily I can usually keep myself calm enough to watch things for a week
or two to give them time to heal before I go running to the doctor. But inside I’m a nervous wreck until the pain
goes away. I’ve noticed that most of my
random pains come from tight muscles in my back or neck which come very quickly
if I don’t stay on top of my stretches and exercises. That’s why I have to go to the chiropractor so
regularly.
Thursday the 27th was Thanksgiving
Day. We had a nice Dinner at Brenda’s
and our traditional snow ball fight. I
didn’t go out shopping for any Black Friday deals on the 28th,
however that night I did buy a few things online. We had a nice day at home. That evening several of my brothers and
sisters came over to visit and to have nachos and pie and ice cream. My mom even surprised us and drove down to
join the party! It was so nice to have
her. We practiced for our act in the
Snowflake Spectacular that we’ve been asked to be a part of.
Saturday, November 29th was Tilly’s
birthday. She
is three. She is a joy. She is spunky. She opened presents then Bryant and I made
her pancakes. For lunch we took Tilly
out to eat at Chick-fil-a. We came back
home to play and put up Christmas decorations per Tilly’s request. Later that evening Tilly blew out the candles
on her donuts and then we watched the Snowflake Lobos state football game
online. It was a very exciting game, but
the Lobos came up short. It was fun to be
a Lobo football fan again.
Last Sunday I took a nap after church!!! It was SO wonderful to actually have a successful
attempt at taking a nap. I can hardly
ever fall asleep when I try to take a nap even if I’m very tired because my
mind won’t shut off. I always think of
something else to be doing. When I woke
up it was time to go to tithing settlement then we came home and sat and
relaxed in the living room with the lights on the Christmas tree. It was a nice evening.
Last Monday was laundry day as usual. I also paid bills, and watched my friend’s three
little boys while she volunteered at the school. We trade babysitting for each other so we can
both volunteer every once in a while. Spencer
gave us a FHE lesson on how the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.
Tuesday I watched Brandon and Jen’s kids for a
while. I sure loved having their little
boys here. They are so good and fun to
have around. That afternoon Spencer had
a basketball game in Mesa. They played a
team with GIANT 8th graders.
Some of the boys were a foot taller than Spencer. Spencer didn’t stand a chance on the opening
jump.
Wednesday Bryant and Karalee had their school choral
Christmas concert. I love our school’s
concerts. They are always short and
sweet, never more than an hour. I need
to write a letter to the school thanking them for that!!
Thursday I got to help in Marlee’s class for small
group time I read the kids a book about rain since it was such a rainy
day. Spencer had a basketball game that
afternoon and they beat the team that killed them a couple weeks ago!! It was a great game. That evening the laurel advisor and I took
one of our laurels out for a visit and a treat.
Friday afternoon I put together the gift I’m
giving out to neighbors and family with our Christmas card instead of goodie
plates this year. When Spencer got home
from school he and I went Christmas shopping so he could get a gift for his
cousin Jake. I got Chad a few presents
too. That evening Chad and I hired a
babysitter so we could take Spencer on our date with us since it was almost his
birthday. We went to eat at YC’s
Mongolian grill and then saw Mockingjay part 1.
Spencer loved YC’s. So did
we. The movie was pretty good.
Yesterday was Spencer’s 13th
birthday. Here is the tribute I wrote
about him on Facebook: Spencer is THIRTEEN!! Thirteen years ago I woke up in the
middle of the night because my water had broken. Chad had to get up and write a
paper for his class that was due that day before we could go to the hospital.
Luckily I was not having any pain. When Spencer was born later that afternoon
the nurses exclaimed, he has red hair! I was shocked. I have loved showing him
and his red hair off ever since then. Spencer is diligent and dependable. He has a kind heart and
loves everyone. He is the best babysitter. He helped me out with Tilly when she
was a baby and could get her to quiet down and go to sleep while I made dinner.
He has a strong testimony and loves The Lord. Having him to take care of got me
through some very sad days after my son Joseph died. He is such a joy and a
blessing to me.
To celebrate Spencer’s birthday yesterday we went to Kneaders
for a late breakfast then we came home and got ready for his party. We took several boys to the Freestone
recreation center. They climbed the rock
wall, played wallyball, racquetball and wall ball. It was FUN!!
Spencer shares a birthday with his good friend Tyson so after his party
got over he went to Tyson’s birthday party.
Today I was asked to sub gospel doctrine. It was my first time ever teaching gospel
doctrine. I was SO nervous. I’ve had several people tell me my lesson
went well though and I feel good about how it went. The lesson had a couple good activities where
I could ask other people to share experiences so that was helpful. We didn’t have any YM or YW’s today because
the stake came in and gave a presentation on JustServe.org a new initiative the
church is starting. I guess California
has piloted the program for a while and now Arizona is also getting the
opportunity to do it. The YM and YW
taught senior primary sharing time and junior primary lessons so all the adults
could attend the presentation. I’m
excited about JustServe.org. I think it
will be great.
My quote for today is from the sacrament meeting talk that Sis.
Miller, a lady who recently moved into our ward, gave last Sunday. She and her husband recently moved from northern
Nevada where they had been managing a ranch for several years. They had been temple workers in the Salt Lake
Temple and twice a month they would drive for 5 hours to Salt Lake on a Friday
afternoon. Wake up the next day at 4:30am
to work in the temple then drive 5 hours back home. After sharing this experience she said, “Don’t you love the feeling you get when you’re
doing something a little bit hard and you feel the Lord helping you and
inspiring you.” I love that!! She is
right. When you are doing something hard
the Lord is there guiding you and helping you get through it.
Love,
Mindy
No comments:
Post a Comment