Scuba!

The second day in Cabo.  I’m going to let Brian describe our next experience, and his personal favorite, in his own words.  
“First off, we had to be at the Wavebands lounge at 6:45 am.  So we missed breakfast and fireworks and dessert the night before. 
I was worried that I wouldn’t do very well at scuba diving.  I was also worried that we’d have some sexy Mexican hunk with his hands all over Marci or that it would be some el cheapo scary boat or bad equipment.  Boy was I wrong!  We went into a modern facility where we got first rate wet suits and scuba gear.  

Our instructors looked more European than Mexican.  Our instructor, Roberto, reminded me of an old friend and he actually enjoyed talking to me.  We got on a boat that could have held a lot of people, but there were only 8 of us.  As we were going to our dive sight, we learned the basics about breathing, hand signals, how to clear our regulators if they came out of our mouths, and clear our masks.  To get into the water, we just stepped off the back of the boat, and as we were bobbing around, we got more familiar with our gear.  Next we went down twelve feet and practiced some more.  

The other couple was having problems with their ears which slowed us down.  Marci and I did really well and then we went down to forty two or forty three feet and enjoyed seeing the fish and wild life.  It was stunning and surreal to be so deep for so long.  

Marci forgot and held her breath for a second on the way back and that made her feel kind of sick.  

Marci:  That's why I look a bit green around the gills in this pict!


Back to Brian:  "I felt great and did the best of anyone in my group which was cool.  I think my military training helped me do well.  I think it is one of the coolest things I have ever done.  It’s funny that the thing I was most reluctant and nervous to do and most concerned about was the one I enjoyed the most.  My second was the snorkeling which I also thought might not go well, but went great.  

Once we were back, the building also had a large aquarium tank for their dolphin encounter adventure.   We got to see a dolphin through the glass on the lower level.  Afterwards, why I don’t know, but Marci wanted to go to the mall so we walked to the mall which was like a very fancy mall in the US, and it was okay, but the walk back was a little bit long especially since I hadn’t eaten lunch or breakfast and was ready to do both.  We were kind of wimps and didn’t eat in Mexico.  I joked that we ate in the best restaurant in Cabo which was the beach blanket café back on ship.”  

Thank you very much, Brian.  Now back to me, Marci.  I just wanted to say that the dolphin came right down to our eye level and looked at us as if to say, “hi.”  I wanted to got to the mall because I was desperate to find something to buy form Matt.  As soon as we got there, though, I realized that Brian was right and there would be nothing there that Matt would want.  I didn’t want to buy Matt some useless thing when he needs so much.  I told Brian how I felt, and he suggested that he would appreciate money more than anything, so we decided that Matt’s gift would be a deposit into his account when we get home.  

Shopping in Cabo and San Jose

The next two days we were anchored in Cabo San Lucas bay.  There was no pier, so we had to take tender boats ashore.   The first day we shopped till we dropped, first in Cabo and then in San Jose, a town on the eastern side on the Baja peninsula. 


 Our San Jose trip was a paid tour and our  tour guide was very knowledgeable about the geography and history of the area and we learned a lot on the bus ride there and back.  In San Jose we visited a Catholic church and got to see a bride!

Brian bought a nice platter and a rock egg to add to Thomas’s collection.  We also bought Jon a little hand made canoe with incense and little shell candles.  For Katrina we bought a mini Mexican tea set and for Miriam we bought a cow nativity.  Don’t ask me to describe that one.  Okay, okay, you lift up the cow from it’s base, and inside is a little tiny nativity.  Weird.  We toured a church also.  We learned from our tour guide that the area’s artesian wells are running dry and they only get to have fresh running water once a week.  I can’t even imagine that!  This information helped us to feel better about getting fleeced by the vendors.  I guess.  Also that day while we were in Cabo, we bought a dress for Lily.  There were many dresses for sale, but I wanted one that was hand made, not the made in China dresses I saw hanging in every store.  Finally we found a man who had some dresses his wife and mother crocheted.  They were different than any of the other dresses we’d seen, and we bought one.  It’s so cute!

Yelapa

After snorkeling and eating lunch, we docked at Yelapa, a tiny town nestled on hills surrounded by tropical splendor.  Yelapa is only accessible by boat and is very poor.  We climbed the winding streets, and peered at the houses with their doorless doorways and glassless windows. 

Behind the houses was a beautiful stream winding down the mountain with gorgeous trees and bushes drinking from it.  The people may have been poor in money but they were rich in the beauties of nature.  

As we climbed the streets, the inhabitants of the city displayed their wares hoping we would buy something.  Sadly, Brian and I had no idea we would need cash and has brought very little, expecting to need most of it on our paid shopping excursion we had planned for the next day in Cabo San Lucas.  

When we arrived at the top of the street, a waterfall arose in misty splendor.  

We spent a wonderful time taking pictures and gazing at the falls.  When we got back to the beach we rested in the shade until it was time to board our catamaran for home.  

On the trip to the ship, the crew out did itself, providing wild and crazy entertainment.  After enjoying it for awhile, we went to the back of the boat to enjoy the scenery.  

What a wonderful experience—my very favorite of the entire vacation

Puerto Villarta

Puerto--When we disembarked in Puerto Villarta, our first port adventure, I was disappointed to look across the street and see Walmart and Sam’s Club.  We didn’t sail a thousand miles from home for that.  But our tour guide kept us moving down the street and soon we were on a catamaran at sea.

We sailed along the coast which was green, lush, tropical, and beautiful.  The ride was rough but that just made it more fun.  The crew stood on the bow singing and dancing for us and I was sure that any minute one of them would fall overboard, but they never did.

The most exciting that happened on that boat ride is when our tour guide announced that we had a whale ahead.  I was so excited.  There it was, waving its fin out of the water at us!  We sat watching its fin waving and occasionally seeing a bit of its back come out of the water.  Then our tour guide told us all to think hard in our minds to make the whale jump.  Within seconds after his suggestion, the whale jumped out of the water. That was its first and last jump, but it had jumped and we were elated.

After we passed the whale, and after some quick instructions, they stopped the boat and we got to jump off the back and go snorkeling.  Brian and I had so much fun holding hands and swimming around looking at schools of fish and reef and stuff.  We were very close to the beautiful shore and a sea cave that we wished we could explore, but it wasn’t worth the risk of getting dashed on the rocks by the waves to do it.  I did hit my knee on a rock but it didn’t hurt much even though it bled.

New Friends

We made some new friends while on board the wonder.  The people we sat with at dinner were delightful to laugh and visit with.  One couple was from Florida.  They had 2 grown children and were the only people at the table who drank at dinner.  They seemed quite well off and very refined and had been on a lot of cruises.  They were always dressed beautifully and were kind and gracious.  The other couple at the table were first time cruisers like us and were from California.  It wasn’t till the last night of the cruise that they ever mentioned having any children.  They have two adult kids, a boy and a girl, like the first couple.  The husband was quite talkative and the wife was more shy and often sea sick.  The last night she opened up and talked quite a bit about her kids.  The last two at our table were a lady and her seven year old daughter.  She was also very friendly and I found her particularly fun to talk to.  She was a bit of a mystery, however, because the only time she ever mention a husband, she referred to him not as her husband, but as the father of her daughter.  Then later she mentioned that she stays at home and hasn’t had to work for five years now.  Something she made me think that they didn’t live with her parents.  It all adds up to a mystery that will now never be solved since we will probably never see any of them again.  

One last friend that we made on board the wonder was our game playing buddy.  We teamed up with him first while playing Name That TV Theme Song.  He knew every song and we won the game and prizes which were ship journals.  The next time we teamed up with our buddy was at Name that Movie Quote where he once again knew almost all of them.  It was during this game that we found out he is a fireman and watches TV and movies at the fire house a lot.  Brian and I did know a few quotes that he did not—about 2 each, but our few contributions help push him over the top to victory.  This time we scored a baseball cap and a water bottle.  Fun stuff, Nice people.

Stormy Weather

On the way to the Mexican Riviera the weather was cold and story and the seas were rough.  On the way back, the weather was the same.  The stormy weather at sea made the beautiful weather of Mexico even more enjoyable.  Even though we had stormy seas so much of the time, we never got sea sick and we never even wore a patch or took any medication.  

We got to watch two movies while on board.  The Help we watched in the Buena Vista theatre and Toy Story 2 we watched outside on the forward funnel on a giant screen.  That was fun because we ate fruit and ice cream and drank soda while we watched it.  Did I mention the help-yourself ice cream machine?   I really enjoyed seeing Toy Story 2 again, but I didn’t like The Help as much as I’d hoped to.

Stateroom, Sweet Stateroom

Our little stateroom on the cruise was on deck five.  It was small but comfortable and we enjoyed quiet time just watching TV.  They had all these Disney movies on and also some specials like the one we enjoyed about the Sherman brothers.  At night the cleaning staff always folded a fun animal out of towels and left it on our bed with chocolate.  When it was bed time, the boat would rock us gently to sleep.

Activities and Exercise

During the day there were activities in which to participate.  Brian enjoyed listening to one of the Disney animators talk about his work on Disney movies and specials.  I enjoyed the time Brian and I played Jenga and listened to singers in the promenade lounge.

One of our very favorite things to do on board was to walk on deck and look at the ocean.  We enjoyed standing towards the bow to see the ocean.  When we were planning the cruise, I dreamed of standing on the deck with Brian and gazing out to sea like they do on the old movies, and it was every bit as enjoyable as I’d hoped.  Those old movies were made back before cruise ships had movies and pools I guess because very few people seemed to enjoy just looking out over the ocean.  Many stayed in the ship and when they did come out, it was to crowd around the pools in a mass of humanity.  Deck four was the walking deck and we would do laps around it trying to walk off a few of the calories that we put on during meals.  We also played shuffle board on deck four and that was fun too even though Brian won.  Also to burn off calories, we avoided using the elevators.  Climbing stairs up and down the ten decks to get everywhere we wanted to go gave us constant exercise.

Showtime!

After the food, my favorite part of the cruise was the evening Disney shows where they went all out to entertain us with Disney magic.  Disney characters, crew members, and dancers all performed in front of lavish sets under sparkling lights.  The music and stories were enchanting.   On two different nights, on the way back to LA, people got into fights over seating before the show.  We saw one fight and heard about the other.  I think people were getting a bit stir crazy at that point.   We would frequently see a child have a melt down, too.  Anyway, the shows were magnificent in every way.

FOOD!

The most important thing to talk about as far as the cruise ship goes, as far as I'm concerned is the food.  First, I will talk about the pizza because we had that our first day after breaking our fast.  It was delicious and always there waiting for us.  We took advantage of its convenience many times.  Next, comes the fancy food.  Every night that we wanted it, we were treated to a four course meal.   We would rotate between 3 different restaurants and ate with the same 6 other people each night and got to know them quite well.  There were two other couples and also a mom and her little girl.  We had our own special servers that rotated with us and got to know quickly our wants and needs.  Also, they were psychic.  Just kidding, but everyone at our table would joke that they were because they knew what we’d want before we’d ask for it.  The seafood was incredible, the soups were to die for.  In fact, Brian said he would give up his man card for the cold mango soup and the hot ginger carrot soup.  It’s a good thing that the portions of each course were small so that we didn’t over eat.  For breakfast and lunches we usually ate at the buffet which had tons of variety and delicious desserts although the desserts never were as good as the first time we ate there which is just as well since we definitely didn’t need more reason to eat.  We always ate our buffet out on the fantail for a magnificent view.

Embarking on the Wonder

The next day was fast Sunday.  Once a month on fast Sunday, members of the LDS church fast 2 meals or 24 hours.  Fasting helps us be closer to God, and we give the money we save from not eating to the church as fast offerings to feed the poor.  That morning, we woke up bright and early to go to church.  We attended the oldest LDS church building in Orange County and enjoyed hearing the members testify of Christ in their fast and testimony meeting.  After church we boarded the Disney wonder.  The first thing most folks did after we embarked was to get lunch at the buffet, but we were still fasting.  Instead we explored the ship, walking up and down each deck.  Since the Wonder has ten decks this kept us busy for quite awhile.  At the end of that wonderful first day, we went to bed in our little state room, happy to be on our big adventure.

Disneyland--The Beginning of our Great Adventure

On Thursday Nov 3 at 4:45 pm Brian and I kissed our kids, got in our car and headed to California.  Thus began our exciting anniversary extravaganza.  We actually planned on leaving at 3:00, but you know how it is getting out the door.  We stayed overnight in a Hampton Inn on the road and got driving again early Friday morning.  By noon, we were having a blast at Disneyland.  

We spent the rest of that Friday and all day Saturday at Disneyland and California Adventure.  It was cold and rainy, but I’d saved the day by insisting on buying rain ponchos before we entered the park..  Some highlight s of our time at Disneyland were seeing the world of color, which was wonderful, seeing the new Little Mermaid ride, seeing the re-made star tours.

  The worse  thing that happened to us in Disneyland was when we were in the Indiana Jones ride and I accidentally knocked Brian’s glasses off his face and they fell out of the vehicle.  They are now lost and gone forever.  I was so sad, I started to cry, because I knew that Brian would be miserable on our cruise without them.  I felt much better after he told me that he’d brought along his spare pair—He’d just had a feeling to bring them.  So, at one point, I had saved the day and at another point I had almost destroyed the entire vacation.  Whew! 

  

Anyway, we also got to see the “Nightmare BeforeChristmas” overlay at the Haunted Mansion which was really fun.  At Astro Blasters we saw a tribute to Elvis.  We enjoyed hearing the songs and watching people dance and have fun.  

The only real gift we bought at Disneyland was for our little grand baby, Lily.  Brian saw some stuffed baby Disney characters, each wrapped in its own little blankey and he wanted to buy one for Lily.  I thought baby Winnie the Pooh was the cutest and he did, too, so we bought it for her.  While were there they were filming the Christmas parade, but we didn’t pay much attention.  We were amazed that people would stand for hours and hours while the y shot and re-shot the scenes just for a chance to be on TV.  I decided that if I ever work for Disney, I want to be on the Story book Land ride so that I can tell stories to little kids all day long.  

Happy Halloween

Katrina as Cleopatra

Thomas The Hobbit

 

Miriam The Marine Babe

Halloween fell on a Monday this year which means it was also Family Home Evening.  On Family Home Evenings we do everything together--even on Halloween.  Since we knew that Thomas would want to go trick-or-treating, that's what we all did.  We had a great time dressing up.  Well, I should say the kids did.  I knew I'd be way too exhausted after making all their costumes to make any for Brian and me and I was right!  It was a fun night.

Turning Points

On BYUTV, a show called "Turning Point" examines the turning points in the lives of individuals; the defining moments that shape their lives

Here are a few of my turning points.

Turning point 1, Primary Songs:
As a little girl in primary, three of the songs that we used to sing especially inspired me.  I know now that the feelings I had were from the Holy Ghost, working in me.  As you click on the links and hear the songs, cannot you feel it, too?

Dare to Do Right
Dare to do right; Dare to be true.
You have a work that no other can do.
Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well,
Angels will hasten the story to tell.

Dare to do right; Dare to be true.
Other men's failures can never save you.
Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith,
Stand like a hero and battle till death.

Dare, dare, dare to do right.
Dare, dare, dare to be true.
Dare to be true.  Dare to be true.

Stand for the Right,
Our Prophet has some words for you,
And these are the words, "Be true. be true."
At work or at play, in darkness or light,
Be true, be true and stand for the right.

 Keep the Commandments
Keep the commandments, keep the commandments.
In this there is safety; in this there is peace.
He will send blessings, He will send blessings.
Words of a prophet, "Keep the commandments.
In this there is safety and peace."

These songs deeply stirred my soul and hearing them prompted me to commit in my heart to always stay true to Jesus Christ and His prophet.

Turning Point Two, Hold to the Rod:
When I was 14 years old I began attending The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' seminary.  I attended all through high school.  One year we studied the Old Testament, another year the New Testament, and another year the Doctrine and Covenants, but that first year I attended, we studied the Book of Mormon.  Early in the year we read and learned about the prophet Lehi and his vision of the tree of life.  In his vision, the tree of life represented Eternal Life, the privilege of living with God and our families forever.  Lehi dreamed that he ate the fruit of that tree and it filled him with happiness.  Some of his family came to the tree and ate the fruit, and some would not.  Lehi also saw others making their way along the strait and narrow path that lead to the tree of life.  Then there arose a mist of darkness that covered the path and many were overcome by the darkness and were lost.  Others succumbed to the mocking cries and pointing fingers of people calling from a great building that represented the pride of the world.
But an iron rod went along the path and some clung to this rod with all their might.  By doing so, they were able to keep to the path, even through temptation and mockery, and pressed forward till they reached the tree and ate it's fruit.  Lehi's son, Nephi, gave the interpretation of the vision.  He tells us that the mists of darkness are the temptations of Satan, and that the iron rod is the word of God.  Nephi tells us that if we will hold fast to the word of God, we will overcome the temptations of the devil and eventually gain Eternal Life.
When I heard this story, I realized that what I want, more than anything else, is to reach Eternal Life and partake of it's fruits of joy and love.  I thought to myself, "Read the Book of Mormon every day?  I can do that!"  I determined then to read the word of God daily in order to overcome darkness and gain eternal life.  Since that time I've tried diligently to keep this commitment.  I firmly feel that reading from the Book of Mormon every day as a teenager kept me on the right path even through the lonliest days of my adolescence.

Turning Point #3:  Praying about the Book of Mormon.
At the end of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni makes us a promise:  "And when you shall receive these things, I would exhort you to ask God, the Eternal Father in the name of Christ if these things are not true.  And if ye ask in faith with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."
As I read from the Book of Mormon daily throughout my teenage years, I would feel the Holy Ghost would quietly testify to me that the words I was reading were true.  However, though I prayed each time I came to the end of the Book of Mormon, to have a special manifestation from the Holy Ghost of the book's truthfulness, the manifestation didn't come.  This didn't weaken my faith, and I waited for the day when Moroni's promise would be fulfilled in my life. It was in springtime in 1989 when I was living back at my parents house while Brian was in basic training in the army, that I received my answer.  I was a young mother, Cassandra my oldest was a year old, and it was a fast Sunday.  Once a month we members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints fast (abstain from food and drink) and pray for 24 hours.  I find that when I fast, I have the Holy Ghost with me more abundantly on the day of my fast as well as throughout the month.  Fasting helps me to forget myself and focus on Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ.  On this particular fast Sunday, and I am convinced that it was no accident, I finished reading the Book of Mormon just as I neared the end of my fast.  I was alone in my room, and as always at the end of reading the book, I knelt to pray and asked my Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ if the words I had been reading all these years were true.  Then the Holy Ghost entered into me more strongly than I have felt before or since and filled me with such joy that it seemed to physically lift my heart in my breast.  One word, "Yes!" filled my soul.  I knew then as I had never known before that the Book of Mormon is true.  This experience cemented my faith so that I can say with conviction that I know that Jesus, of whom the Book of Mormon is a witness, is the Christ.  I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints is the fullness of His gospel restored to the earth through Joseph Smith.   I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet called by God to lead and guide this church.  I know that because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for me and for all mankind, I will gain the Eternal Life I seek if keep the commandments, repent when I sin, and remain true to my Savior, His church, His prophets, and my covenants.  This is my testimony and I give it in the name of the Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
P. S. I still read the Book of Mormon daily!

The Amazing Lily

Our amazing grand baby, Lily, rolled over last week!  That's right, you heard it here first, folks, and it's the absolute truth.  Here are pictures of the wonderful child.

Octoberfast

October is going by too fast!  Do you realize that Halloween is only 7 days away?  AAARRRGGGGHHHH!  No, I am not practicing my pirate yell for Halloween; that was a cry of frustration.
Anyway, fall break has already come and gone again.

The best part about fall break was that Jon and Matt came home to visit!  The second best part was the wonderful things we got to do.

Wednesday was Italian day with a trip to our favorite Italian restaurant for dinner.

Thursday was shopping day.  Jon bought lots of clothes, Matt bought a shirt, and Miriam bought a sweater.  Thomas and Katrina went along for the ride.  We had pizza for lunch and then Brian, Jonathan, and Thomas went shooting.  That night, Brian and I went on a long walk.

Friday was Japanese day.  First we met Brian's sister, Renee and her husband, Don, and their grandson Donny at the park.  We saw a snake, ate KFC, and had fun talking.  While some of us were talking, Brian and Don were at the toys with Thomas and Donny.  There was a Japanese woman at the toys with her kids and Brian got to speak Japanese with her which Brian loved because he went to Japan on an LDS mission thousands of years ago, and hasn't gotten to speak Japanese much since.  He was so happy to find out that he could still converse in Japanese.  Then, later that day, after Thomas left for a camp out and  Brian took Miriam driving around the lake and back,  Jonathan wanted a ride to his friend's house an hour away, so Brian and I drove him there that night.  While we were gone we tried out an amazingly authentic Japanese restaurant.  We ate sushi and tempura and Brian got to visit much of the time with our Japanese server.  Brian was in Japanese heaven.

Saturday was painting day.  We painted the upstairs bathroom.  Yay!  It looks so nice in there.

Sunday was the Sabbath; we went to church and then we drove Matt back to college; a two hour trip.  That night I had a meeting for my church calling.

So that was our fall break and now we're broke.

Oozing With Talent

Very few people know just how talented I am, so today I am going to enlighten you all.
Here is my list of amazing talents:
Let's start small--I can say the alphabet backwards.  Amazing, I know.  But wait!  There's More!
I can wiggle my wig.  (Hard to explain this one.  Maybe I should post a video!  It's kind of like wiggling your ears, but your hair wiggles instead of your ears and looks like you have a wig).  Not impressed enough yet?  Okay, how about this:
I am a champion sneezer.  While others sneeze once, maybe twice at one sneezing, I rarely sneeze less than 3 times in a row.  My average sneezes at one sneezing is 5, I often sneeze 7, and my record is 8.  When I sneeze, no need to say, "bless you" because with a talent like this, I am obviously abundantly blessed already.  Still underwhelmed?  I saved the best for last.
I can recite "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" word for word.  Okay, there it is, now I've gone too far, and you are jealous.  I am so sorry.  Just try to forget all this amazingness and return to your hum drum life.

A Week of Family

Well it's been a wonderful week.  One of the highlights was when Cassandra sent us this picture of our cute little grand daughter, Lily, watching football with her dad, Emerson.

It looks pretty intense!

 Also we got to talk to both Matt and Jon off and on this week, and it looks like they will both be home for fall break, so we are looking forward to having them here on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

The other three kids wrote a bit about what's going on with them these days, so here are their comments with my own added in.

Hi, everyone.  This is Miriam.  I'm participating in two choirs. I'm in the concert choir, and the auditioned women's choir called Sorelle Voce. We had a concert on Friday the fourteenth called the Fall Choral Showcase. It went pretty well.
Commentary from Marci:  Miriam failed to mention that her beloved, long-suffering mother spent 6 hours on Friday hemming 9" off her double-skirted choir dress, so that she would be ready to perform Friday night.  She also forgot to mention that the singing was divine and that she was beautiful.  Also, Miriam is taking driver's ed--Finally!

I don't have a picture of Miriam in her choir dress, yet.  I wanted to take one of her right now, but she just woke up and says she doesn't look good (pishaw!), so here she is in women's choir last year.

Katrina--I recently participated in a Shakespeare Competition. It was a lot of fun!  I also am involved in other drama activities like Drama Club Council. I'm in choir as well. I hope that you're doing well and I hope to see you all again soon.

Commentary from Marci:  For the Shakespeare competition, Katrina was part of an ensemble group who did a scene from Pericles.  She played the goddess Diana and did a beautiful job.  Every judge singled her out with positive comments.

Katrina is on the right.  Isn't she beautiful?

Thomas-- I am in the student council. I am also in the jazz band; we are going to have an October concert soon. In student council we are preparing for our second dance of the year. We in the student council go help the kids in the elementary school with sports and other activities. We do this once a week.  This is Thomas, signing out.
Commentary by Marci:  Thomas is a wonderful trumpet player and we cant wait to hear his first jazz band concert.  He enjoys student council, and I enjoy watching him serve others.

Brian and I have had a nice week full of work and family time. Saturday we worked hard in the yard with the kids, getting it all ready for winter.  Also on Saturday, we finally went out on a date where we ate Mexican food, and bought Brian four sweaters.

Well, that's it. Life is Beautiful!

Date Night?

Brian and I are supposed to be out on our weekly Friday night date right now, but we were so tired, we fell asleep instead.  Now we are sitting in bed, each on our own computers.  So much for togetherness!

Thought for the Day

Repenting + Forgiving = Healing

This Week

This has been quite a week.  First of all, we went from hitting 90 degrees last week to having snow this week.  Fall has officially arrived!  Knowing the bad weather was coming on Thursday, we tried to enjoy the good weather while we had it.  On Monday, we bought Jay Dogs and enjoyed them on the grass at the foot of the University.

Backyard Fun

On Tuesday, we had what was probably our last back-yard meal of the year.  Miriam and I made potato salad and chicken sandwiches .

Knowing the snow was coming, on Wednesday, Brian, Miriam, Katrina, and I drove up to see the fall colors while we still could.  It was cold and rainy, but we had fun.

  Thursday it snowed.

Katrina and Shakespeare!

Katrina left Thursday morning for Shakespeare competition, so the rest of the week was just Brian, Miriam, Thomas, and me.  Weird.  We went from having 5 kids home in the summer to having only 2 home the last part of this week.

My Parents

 Thursday was also my dad's birthday.  I spend a wonderful hour talking to him on the phone about conference, gardening, family, mountain lions, etc.  I then spent another wonderful hour talking to my mom on the phone talking about them coming here to watch the kids when we are on our cruise in November, them coming here for Thanksgiving, family, crochet, etc.  What a nice evening!

 Friday I visited my sister, Elizabeth, and we worked on our plans for a Noah's Ark puzzle.
Friday night, Brian and I went out with our good friends, Stacy and Jake, and Miriam and Thomas watched their kids which was very sweet of them.  Brian and I and Stacy and Jake had a ton of fun.

Saturday, Brian and I went to the ground breaking of the new temple, Miriam and I painted a cat and made greeting cards at Super Saturday, and Brian and Thomas went shooting.  Saturday night, Thomas went to the football game with Jonathan, who was in town visiting a friend, and we went to see a great comedy show at the university.  It was so fun!

That was our week.

Charity in My Sleep

I woke up this morning at 4:30, which is common for me.  I wasn't happy to be up so early, but still it's nice to have some time to study in the quiet.  I made a goal from yesterday's conference to again study the verse in Moroni chapter 7 verse 45 that defines charity, so I went there to read.

 After reading, I wanted to follow Elder Scott's counsel to memorize a scripture, so I tried to memorize this one.  It was cool because, I'd memorize a line or two, fall asleep, memorize more, and fall asleep again.  I say it was nice because, one, I needed more sleep, and 2, it's kind of a comfy drowsy way to memorize.  I'm not sure, however, that it's a real effective way, so lets see how I did:

"and charity suffereth long and is kind and envieth not and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, and is not puffed up, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.  Endureth all things, hopeth all things, believeth all things.

Okay, now to compare it to the real scripture:
And ^acharity suffereth long, and is ^bkind, and ^cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily^dprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.


Well, I think I meant to write "is not easily provoked" when I wrote "is not puffed up" the second time, maybe.  I forgot "thinketh no evil.  It also gets a little dicey at the end.  Well, I'm getting a bit tired.  Maybe I'll work on memorizing it some more so that I can get additional sleep...

Charity Defined

After hearing Elder Scott's conference talk on reading the scriptures yesterday, I wanted to study Moroni chapter 7 verse 5 in the Book of Mormon that defines charity.
Wow, it sure encompasses a lot of things!  It is very telling to read through each aspect of charity and evaluate my life to see where I need to improve.  I wrote down what I think each characteristic of charity means.
For "and charity suffereth long" I put the following:
Is patient--  I'm not real good at this, especially yesterday when I let my kids dip candles and they got wax on 7 dishes.  I got pretty upset, but whose fault is it really--the kids who were doing what I told them they could do, or the mom who forgot to tell them that wax doesn't wash off with soap and water???  AND who didn't supervise the candle-ing!
Waits upon the Lord  I love the scripture in Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31 that says the following:
 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; theyshall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
How am I doing on that one?  Well, life gets so hard that waiting on the Lord is pretty much how I even survive.  Still, sometimes I forget and then I'm pretty miserable.
Bears criticizm  Not so good at this one, ask Brian!
Turns the other cheek  Like when Miriam dripped dish water on my head yesterday, did I let her do it again?  Did I refrain from chasing her around the house and from wrenching the drippy thingy from her hands and dripping it on her own head?  Um...of course....not.

Any way, that's just for "suffereth long".  I did that for all of the aspects of charity.
I don't think I came out so well, but I am still trying!

Conference Sunday

It's conference Sunday.  Yay!  Four hours yesterday of listening to prophets of the Lord speak, and 4 more hours today.  It doesn't get better than this!  Except that it does because then the Ensign magazine will come in the mail and all the talks will be written in there so that we can study the words some more and live by them for the next six months, when they'll all speak again.  After listening to yesterday's conference, I made lots of goals, but my over-arching goal is to study and live by all the words I heard.

 I know that Thomas S. Monson really is a prophet of God, and that the 12 apostles are special witnesses of Christ.  They tell us what we need to know now.  And I personally need to know a lot.  In fact, I wrote down three questions before conference started that I wanted answered in my life.  So far, two of the three have been answered.  I also had other questions answered that I didn't write down.  I love the general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints!