Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Purple Mashed Potatoes
Dear Elder Raymond and Loved Ones,
I guess it's my turn to do a family letter... There's 2 weeks to cover, so hang on (you might want to print this one...so you have time to write us). I had told your siblings we could go to a movie for family night on the 5th, but I didn't realize it was the NCAA championship game. So we had an early lesson from Kimmee about the stripling warriors and faith (she did a really great job) and then watched the game, well, Dad watched the game while everyone else retreated to their quiet spaces to read their latest books! I must admit that even I watched the last part of the game though, it was such a great game with lots of drama that even kept my attention and got me yelling at the TV along with your Dad!
The following day, your Dad had off, so we drove down to Caiti's track meet and watched her zoom around the track! Bryan came with us to cheer her on! She sure loves running! She is realizing there is a huge difference between middle school athletes and high school ones though. She was dropped from the 4x4 team and replaced with a "faster" girl, but her coach has her running the 100 now in addition to the 200 and 400! She's got a lot to learn, but is doing better at each meet!
For mutual the following evening the Priests learned about insurance while I taught the girls about food and kitchen safety and how to make awesome biscuits. Personally, I think the young women had more fun AND we got to eat afterward!
The next morning (Thursday), Tosca went to the vet to have her blood rechecked and to get her shots. Her blood work is still off but she is doing well. She was NOT happy about the blood work though, she tried to bite everyone except me and the vet (she likes him, her gives her milkbones :) ). After dropping Tosca off at home from the vet, I went to the YMCA and did a spinning class (combo of biking and aerobics) for 30 minutes then decided to stretch out with a yoga class that was starting... the spinning got my heart rate up, but the yoga.... it kicked my tush! I think I was sweating more in that class than anything else I've done... go figure! Anyway, I had to laugh at myself when an hour long stretching session made me sweat! I've got a long way to go before I can even begin to keep up with your Dad! Kimmee is doing really well with her lessons. She is working on her concerto for the recital on Mother's Day; it is coming together and most of the time I can't tell if it is her or her teacher playing!
On Friday, everyone went to the orthodontist. Bryan wears his retainers (not so subtle reminder here...) and his teeth look amazing now! Caiti is upset the dr wont give her a finish date yet (what's new...) and Kimmee is in a bit of a holding pattern since she recently lost her last baby tooth and the permanent one hasn't grown in enough to bracket and finish yet. She had them put bright red bands on her lower brackets... school spirit is creeping into her life now! Caiti was invite to participate in a varsity track meet that day down in Boulder City. She finally got home at 11pm, tired, hungry, and taped up from shin splints again.
Last Sunday was a CRAZY day, wonderful but very busy! It was fast Sunday. I already wrote you about it, so some of this is old info to you, but not the rest of the fam... Caiti and Dad bore their testimonies in Sacrament Meeting. Your dad talked about how families are blessed when their children serve missions (we certainly feel abundantly blessed on a daily basis) and about how he is reading about Helaman in the Book of Mormon and feels like Helaman's times are so similar to our own and how we need to use the power of repentance. I love your Dad! In Sunday School we learned how to teach using different methods. I think asking questions is the hardest for me because people just sit and look at me. It's really hard to get them to open up and give heartfelt answers. I learned a few "tricks" though, like giving them time to reflect about the question and not expecting a quick response and rephrasing the question if no one offers input. It was a good class and really made me think about the different ways to teach others and help them apply what you are teaching. I like your suggestion of reading Preach My Gospel for more teaching help. There is wonderful advice given! The bishopric scheduled a last minute meeting right after church for all the youth leaders. I had given a family a ride to church, so I hurriedly drove them home and raced back to the meeting, walking in about 20 minutes late. No sooner had I sat down when I noticed there were several messages and texts on my phone. Normally, I ignore them when I'm in a meeting, but something told me I had better look at them this time. They were all from your Dad and Bryan. The latest text was Bryan saying "my patriarchal blessing has been rescheduled from 4:30 to 2:30, where are you?" It was 2:29. I had been in my youth meeting a total of 5 minutes, no explanations for showing up so late, and now I just stood up and walked out. The "mom hat" always trumps them all... After exchanging a couple texts and a phone call, I met the rest of the family on the Patriarch's front door step (a little frazzled and frustrated that my schedule was messed up, so I was praying hard that the spirit would calm me and help me share in this amazing experience. I love the power of prayer!) Bryan received his patriarchal blessing . It was a great experience. I'll let him tell you about it. I was really excited for him yet apprehensive at the same time... it amazes me how a patriarch can listen to the spirit so closely even when he doesn't really know the person receiving the blessing! He talked about the many gifts Bryan has been blessed with, it was great! After the blessing, the patriarch looked at dad and I and said, "you have an amazing son here, amazing!" Dad said, "yes we do! Actually, we have two amazing sons... and two amazing daughters, we are very blessed!" Did I mention how much I love your Dad???!!!
Last Monday, Dad was in charge of Family Home Evening. We played a game of Life with altered rules... in order to move, we had to give the reference to a scripture mastery scripture, Caiti skunked us all!
On Tuesday, I'm not actually sure what went on. I had a muscle in my back that sent me straight to bed, almost in tears, I drugged myself and read for most of the day.
Wednesday, Caiti had another track meet here at the high school. My back was still hurting, but I was able to get all the laundry done and made it to her meet in time to see her 1st race, the 100, she took 1st in her heat! She did really well! Dad showed up to see her last 2 races. She had a good meet but still not fast enough to qualify for regional's. She has 2 meets left she can qualify in. She's working really hard!
Dad took Friday off, so he helped me clean the office and get it ready for your Uncle Bruce to stay in. I must have thrown away 3 big trash bags of old papers and "junk". I love a clean office! Even the closet is cleaned out and we are starting to build some food storage in it! Yay! Friday night Bryan and Dad organized an impromptu BBQ at the club house for all the priests and their families. Bryan had gone out with the young men's president the night before to visit the inactive boys, some new priests, and a couple boys the missionaries are teaching. He extended a personal invitation to each one of the boys. Two of them actually showed up with their families! There was a pretty good turn out and everyone seemed to have fun. Kimmee said (with a sly grin on her face) "everything is more fun when cute boys are involved!" I think she was trying to get a reaction out of Bryan... it was successful ;)! Uncle Bruce finally arrived at the house a little after 11pm. Someone had taken his bag by mistake and he had to hang around for them to bring it back and exchange theirs for his. We didn't get to spend too much time with him that evening since he and Dad were getting up and leaving at 5:30am to go watch Leslie in a triathlon. I stayed home so I could take all your sibs to a LV Mormon Youth Orchestra and Choir rehearsal. They are doing a fireside next Sunday! Two of the songs are "Come Thou Font" and "Praise To The Man". The string section sounds heavenly (although I find myself being a little too critical of the 2 bass players they have....).
Last night, we had BBQ for dinner with purple mashed potatoes, yep... they were purple and delicious! Then we played the traditional round of up and down the river, which Uncle Bruce beat us all in! Fun times!
Today was Stake Conference. We were assigned to the 1:00 session, but went to the 9:00 session instead so Bruce could go with us before he had to leave. Bryan, Caiti and Kimmee all sang in the stake youth choir. They did a beautiful job! They brought such a sweet spirit to the meeting as they sang the prelude music. Bryan impressed us; he sang out and we could hear his clear tenor voice carrying the young men next to him. Dad and I love to see our children discover and use the talents they have been blessed with. It makes our love for you guys grow 10 fold each time!!! Lots of topics were covered; the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, Blessings that come from making and keeping covenants with the Lord, Tithing, Faith, Sacrifice, and avoiding missed opportunities. Then the Stake President got up and explained the various programs available in the stake. When he talked about Smart Night, it reminded Dad and I of finding your tutor ID from this past fall and how we chuckled when we read it...
Alec Raymond
TUTOR
Everything BUT Spanish
You should've know you'd be called to a Spanish speaking mission! Haha! :)
After Pres. Waite finished with the programs, he began by saying, "in no way is this a prophecy" then went on to tell how he feels extremely impressed to focus on emergency preparedness and doing our calling to the very best of our abilities and sustaining others in their callings. Then he said, "If you don't have your 72 hour kits by the end of June, consider yourselves warned". Then he went back to talking about callings and how the Lord will sustain us when we do what he asks of us and quoted the scripture in Doctrine & Covenants 82:10, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." It was a good conference and... I will be working on updating our 72 hour kits next week.
Well, I guess I have finished, which is a good thing since it is 10:55 and my face seems to be getting closer and closer to the keyboard. We love you very much. Thank you for your dedication in sharing the gospel, that has brought you strength, peace, and true happiness, with strangers in a language you are just beginning to grasp. It is wonderful to see how Heavenly Father blesses and protects you. You are always in our prayers.
Eternally,
Mom
I guess it's my turn to do a family letter... There's 2 weeks to cover, so hang on (you might want to print this one...so you have time to write us). I had told your siblings we could go to a movie for family night on the 5th, but I didn't realize it was the NCAA championship game. So we had an early lesson from Kimmee about the stripling warriors and faith (she did a really great job) and then watched the game, well, Dad watched the game while everyone else retreated to their quiet spaces to read their latest books! I must admit that even I watched the last part of the game though, it was such a great game with lots of drama that even kept my attention and got me yelling at the TV along with your Dad!
The following day, your Dad had off, so we drove down to Caiti's track meet and watched her zoom around the track! Bryan came with us to cheer her on! She sure loves running! She is realizing there is a huge difference between middle school athletes and high school ones though. She was dropped from the 4x4 team and replaced with a "faster" girl, but her coach has her running the 100 now in addition to the 200 and 400! She's got a lot to learn, but is doing better at each meet!
For mutual the following evening the Priests learned about insurance while I taught the girls about food and kitchen safety and how to make awesome biscuits. Personally, I think the young women had more fun AND we got to eat afterward!
The next morning (Thursday), Tosca went to the vet to have her blood rechecked and to get her shots. Her blood work is still off but she is doing well. She was NOT happy about the blood work though, she tried to bite everyone except me and the vet (she likes him, her gives her milkbones :) ). After dropping Tosca off at home from the vet, I went to the YMCA and did a spinning class (combo of biking and aerobics) for 30 minutes then decided to stretch out with a yoga class that was starting... the spinning got my heart rate up, but the yoga.... it kicked my tush! I think I was sweating more in that class than anything else I've done... go figure! Anyway, I had to laugh at myself when an hour long stretching session made me sweat! I've got a long way to go before I can even begin to keep up with your Dad! Kimmee is doing really well with her lessons. She is working on her concerto for the recital on Mother's Day; it is coming together and most of the time I can't tell if it is her or her teacher playing!
On Friday, everyone went to the orthodontist. Bryan wears his retainers (not so subtle reminder here...) and his teeth look amazing now! Caiti is upset the dr wont give her a finish date yet (what's new...) and Kimmee is in a bit of a holding pattern since she recently lost her last baby tooth and the permanent one hasn't grown in enough to bracket and finish yet. She had them put bright red bands on her lower brackets... school spirit is creeping into her life now! Caiti was invite to participate in a varsity track meet that day down in Boulder City. She finally got home at 11pm, tired, hungry, and taped up from shin splints again.
Last Sunday was a CRAZY day, wonderful but very busy! It was fast Sunday. I already wrote you about it, so some of this is old info to you, but not the rest of the fam... Caiti and Dad bore their testimonies in Sacrament Meeting. Your dad talked about how families are blessed when their children serve missions (we certainly feel abundantly blessed on a daily basis) and about how he is reading about Helaman in the Book of Mormon and feels like Helaman's times are so similar to our own and how we need to use the power of repentance. I love your Dad! In Sunday School we learned how to teach using different methods. I think asking questions is the hardest for me because people just sit and look at me. It's really hard to get them to open up and give heartfelt answers. I learned a few "tricks" though, like giving them time to reflect about the question and not expecting a quick response and rephrasing the question if no one offers input. It was a good class and really made me think about the different ways to teach others and help them apply what you are teaching. I like your suggestion of reading Preach My Gospel for more teaching help. There is wonderful advice given! The bishopric scheduled a last minute meeting right after church for all the youth leaders. I had given a family a ride to church, so I hurriedly drove them home and raced back to the meeting, walking in about 20 minutes late. No sooner had I sat down when I noticed there were several messages and texts on my phone. Normally, I ignore them when I'm in a meeting, but something told me I had better look at them this time. They were all from your Dad and Bryan. The latest text was Bryan saying "my patriarchal blessing has been rescheduled from 4:30 to 2:30, where are you?" It was 2:29. I had been in my youth meeting a total of 5 minutes, no explanations for showing up so late, and now I just stood up and walked out. The "mom hat" always trumps them all... After exchanging a couple texts and a phone call, I met the rest of the family on the Patriarch's front door step (a little frazzled and frustrated that my schedule was messed up, so I was praying hard that the spirit would calm me and help me share in this amazing experience. I love the power of prayer!) Bryan received his patriarchal blessing . It was a great experience. I'll let him tell you about it. I was really excited for him yet apprehensive at the same time... it amazes me how a patriarch can listen to the spirit so closely even when he doesn't really know the person receiving the blessing! He talked about the many gifts Bryan has been blessed with, it was great! After the blessing, the patriarch looked at dad and I and said, "you have an amazing son here, amazing!" Dad said, "yes we do! Actually, we have two amazing sons... and two amazing daughters, we are very blessed!" Did I mention how much I love your Dad???!!!
Last Monday, Dad was in charge of Family Home Evening. We played a game of Life with altered rules... in order to move, we had to give the reference to a scripture mastery scripture, Caiti skunked us all!
On Tuesday, I'm not actually sure what went on. I had a muscle in my back that sent me straight to bed, almost in tears, I drugged myself and read for most of the day.
Wednesday, Caiti had another track meet here at the high school. My back was still hurting, but I was able to get all the laundry done and made it to her meet in time to see her 1st race, the 100, she took 1st in her heat! She did really well! Dad showed up to see her last 2 races. She had a good meet but still not fast enough to qualify for regional's. She has 2 meets left she can qualify in. She's working really hard!
Dad took Friday off, so he helped me clean the office and get it ready for your Uncle Bruce to stay in. I must have thrown away 3 big trash bags of old papers and "junk". I love a clean office! Even the closet is cleaned out and we are starting to build some food storage in it! Yay! Friday night Bryan and Dad organized an impromptu BBQ at the club house for all the priests and their families. Bryan had gone out with the young men's president the night before to visit the inactive boys, some new priests, and a couple boys the missionaries are teaching. He extended a personal invitation to each one of the boys. Two of them actually showed up with their families! There was a pretty good turn out and everyone seemed to have fun. Kimmee said (with a sly grin on her face) "everything is more fun when cute boys are involved!" I think she was trying to get a reaction out of Bryan... it was successful ;)! Uncle Bruce finally arrived at the house a little after 11pm. Someone had taken his bag by mistake and he had to hang around for them to bring it back and exchange theirs for his. We didn't get to spend too much time with him that evening since he and Dad were getting up and leaving at 5:30am to go watch Leslie in a triathlon. I stayed home so I could take all your sibs to a LV Mormon Youth Orchestra and Choir rehearsal. They are doing a fireside next Sunday! Two of the songs are "Come Thou Font" and "Praise To The Man". The string section sounds heavenly (although I find myself being a little too critical of the 2 bass players they have....).
Last night, we had BBQ for dinner with purple mashed potatoes, yep... they were purple and delicious! Then we played the traditional round of up and down the river, which Uncle Bruce beat us all in! Fun times!
Today was Stake Conference. We were assigned to the 1:00 session, but went to the 9:00 session instead so Bruce could go with us before he had to leave. Bryan, Caiti and Kimmee all sang in the stake youth choir. They did a beautiful job! They brought such a sweet spirit to the meeting as they sang the prelude music. Bryan impressed us; he sang out and we could hear his clear tenor voice carrying the young men next to him. Dad and I love to see our children discover and use the talents they have been blessed with. It makes our love for you guys grow 10 fold each time!!! Lots of topics were covered; the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, Blessings that come from making and keeping covenants with the Lord, Tithing, Faith, Sacrifice, and avoiding missed opportunities. Then the Stake President got up and explained the various programs available in the stake. When he talked about Smart Night, it reminded Dad and I of finding your tutor ID from this past fall and how we chuckled when we read it...
Alec Raymond
TUTOR
Everything BUT Spanish
You should've know you'd be called to a Spanish speaking mission! Haha! :)
After Pres. Waite finished with the programs, he began by saying, "in no way is this a prophecy" then went on to tell how he feels extremely impressed to focus on emergency preparedness and doing our calling to the very best of our abilities and sustaining others in their callings. Then he said, "If you don't have your 72 hour kits by the end of June, consider yourselves warned". Then he went back to talking about callings and how the Lord will sustain us when we do what he asks of us and quoted the scripture in Doctrine & Covenants 82:10, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." It was a good conference and... I will be working on updating our 72 hour kits next week.
Well, I guess I have finished, which is a good thing since it is 10:55 and my face seems to be getting closer and closer to the keyboard. We love you very much. Thank you for your dedication in sharing the gospel, that has brought you strength, peace, and true happiness, with strangers in a language you are just beginning to grasp. It is wonderful to see how Heavenly Father blesses and protects you. You are always in our prayers.
Eternally,
Mom
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
April fool's, Easter, and War
4 April 2010
Dear Elder Raymond and loved ones,
Easter Sunday! What a beautiful sunrise this morning. The sky was clear and the sun low over Sunrise Mountain . I love being back in the west among the mountains. For some reason I thought of another Easter Sunday, years ago. I was flying east over the Atlantic ; 25,000 feet and 450 miles per hour. We were going to war. I had an F-117 stealth fighter off each of my wings. A mile in front of us was another KC-135 tanker with a pair of F-117s off his wings. Behind me, was another tanker with her “chicks.” We had just coasted out from a very dark and stormy mainland and were headed first to England and thence to the brewing conflict in Kosovo. The air was cool and calm; the sun just cresting the horizon in front of us. Contrails streamed behind the planes ahead leaving feathery trails in the sky. I knew we were all leaving contrails behind and wished I could have witnessed the scene from the surface. Even though we were going off to war, it was a very spiritual moment for me. The beauty was surreal. My thoughts turned to the Lord and my gratefulness for the beauty of the Earth.
This morning was very similar. I was going to war again. I was driving instead of flying, but going to war just the same. I use the commute to meditate, ponder and learn. Usually, I listen to the scriptures, but today I felt inclined to listen to music instead. Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy and other sacred songs filled my heart with love and gratitude for the Savior, the atonement, and His resurrection.
I’ve spent countless holidays away from the family; missed birthdays and other important events. Today was yet another. Off to war instead of spending Easter with my family and listening to the Prophet of the Lord and the other Apostles testify of Christ during General Conference. Even though I missed out on Conference, the Lord was merciful and shared an extra portion of His spirit with me on the drive. I felt the blessings of having wonderful children that love the Lord and seek to choose the right, even though I dragged you all over the country as I moved from assignment to assignment and then left you at home as I went on trip after trip.
Last Sunday was also a great day. I had to work and was going to miss church . Circumstances turned out that I was able to leave early. I left work and thought if I drove directly to the church I might catch the sacrament. I didn’t quite make it in time for the sacrament, but slid into the pew next to Mom. She was surprised to see me and I’m sure I caused quite the stir as I sat there in my flight suit with patches of the Grim Reaper on my shoulder and my call sign “Ogre” on my chest. I regarded them not. Bryan had been asked right before church to share his thoughts on the importance of General Conference. So I made it in time to hear his feelings. I sure love him! He will make a great missionary!
I also got to hear Kimmee play “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” on the violin. She was accompanied by the bishop’s wife, Sis. Piet. Naturally, she did wonderfully. After Sacrament Meeting, I slipped out, ran to the house, changed into my suit, and returned to attend Sunday School.
Monday night was Caiti’s turn to teach the FHE lesson. She did a fine job. Mom made us a new fancy-schmancy FHE chart.
Monday was also Spring Break for your giblets (“siblings” for those of you not familiar with Raymond vernacular). Tuesday and Wednesday were my days off this week. I had promised Bryan I would take him back out to Red Rock canyon and do some more hiking. So Tuesday we went for a hike. As we went through the entrance I left my military ID “hang” out of my wallet. It had the desired effect, “Are you active duty military?” “Why yes I am” I replied hopefully. We got in free. Again. Woo Hoo! It was super windy. The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for wind gusts up to 60 mph! My hat kept blowing off my head. I finally attached it to my belt loop. We took plenty of water this time and hiked back up to Calico Basin . The basin had water in it! And lots of it. I tried to talk Bryan into going for a dip. I couldn’t sway him. I considered throwing him in, but it was a little too chilly.
We packed a lunch and were going to eat it in the picnic area below where we went repelling several months ago, but it was too windy. We ate in Dora the Explorer as we watched all the tourists drive and walk by. The difference between the locals and the tourists was easily discernable. The sun dresses and open-toed sandals weren’t very conducive for scrambling up sandstone.
Tuesday evening I spoke in Stake Priesthood Leadership Training. As I mentioned last week, I had been preparing my talk for a couple of weeks and hadn’t quite arrived at the finished product. As the meeting progressed, I quickly understood why I hadn’t finished. I had missed the mark the Lord wanted me to convey. I jotted down a few notes and spoke from the cuff instead of delivering my prepared remarks. Pres. Winterton introduced the theme. Essentially, it was a “rescue” theme. He spoke about a painting of a family looking forlorn yet hopeful as a skiff launched into a stormy sea to rescue a lost sailor. A quartet sang “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy” a cappella. It got stuck in my head. I found myself humming it all week and thinking over the words “Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save.” With that background, I formulated my talk. Essentially it went like this:
In October 1856, my great-great-great grandmother struggled along with the Martin Handcart Company. She suffered all the travails of that grueling trip. She must have sat and cried as she approached that fateful crossing of the Sweetwater. Distraught. Frozen feet. Dying younger brother. And still so far to travel. President Young, hearing of their trials, sent rescuers out from General Conference. “Go and bring them in from the plains!” I can only imagine her feelings when she saw the rescuers. They carried her to Zion !
Two years ago, hurricane Ike travelled farther inland than anticipated and caused flooding as far inland as our home in Illinois . It was Sunday morning and there we stood, knee deep in water in our basement as the flood waters continued to rise. Darlene made a quick to the Relief Society president, letting her know what happened and letting her know she wouldn’t be at church that day and would be unable to teach the lesson in Relief Society. We frantically tried to carry our goods to higher ground even as the water rushed in. Our good bishop sent rescuers from to ward. My heart was full and I immediately thought of Grandma Robinson as I looked up and saw rescuers from the ward streaming down the stairs and into the water. They didn’t knock. They didn’t ask. They just came. They carried more than our belongings to safety that day. They carried my soul to safety!
Then I relayed a couple of stories about ministering to the one. I shared how blessed and privileged we were and are still to be friends with such wonderful people as the Bridenthals and Ken and see them sealed in the temple. I’m not sure if anyone else got anything out of it, but I did. Throughout my life, I have had the blessing of being uplifted by others and also of helping to lift others.
Wednesday, Mom and the rest of the family packed up and drove to Utah to see the Bowermans. They were visiting Joe and Katie. Darlene thought it was a great opportunity to see them also. Somehow it was appropriate to see them on General Conference weekend. It brought back memories of sitting in their living room watching conference together. Good friends! They drove up on Wednesday and back on Friday. It was a whirlwind trip, but very worthwhile.
I had to work and therefore stayed home. Thursday night, we held our weekly missionary coordination meeting.
Since mom and the family was away for April Fool’s day, I survived without being the victim of a short-sheeted bed, or blue milk, or getting sprayed by the kitchen sprayer, etc. Bryan and Caiti tried to get me anyway. Bryan sent me a text that read, “I lost my phone.” My initial reaction was, “AAARRRGGHH!” Then a half a second later, I realized he sent the message from his phone. I sent “good one” back to him. Caiti said she met some really cute guys from Grandma’s ward and she was going to stay up late with them. I texted back that the only men in Grandma’s ward were over 80 years old!
Saturday was General Conference. I had to work and missed everything except the Priesthood session. Your mom reminded me this was the second to last Priesthood session I would get to attend with any of my boys before their missions. Wow. I enjoyed the session, but confess I had trouble paying attention. I was tired from being at work all day. I particularly enjoyed Pres Monson’s story of the missionary who didn’t receive any letters from home and whose parents didn’t support him on his mission. Pres Monson promised him if he would write home faithfully and share his testimony with them that his parents would write him back. Several months later he ran into the missionary again. His parents were positively influenced by his letters and testimony. They started writing him. His father went back to church and his mother was preparing to be baptized.
We too are blessed because of your service to the Lord. Keep the faith. Be good and work hard. It’s all true and it’s all worth the effort!
Love,
Dad.
Dear Elder Raymond and loved ones,
Easter Sunday! What a beautiful sunrise this morning. The sky was clear and the sun low over Sunrise Mountain . I love being back in the west among the mountains. For some reason I thought of another Easter Sunday, years ago. I was flying east over the Atlantic ; 25,000 feet and 450 miles per hour. We were going to war. I had an F-117 stealth fighter off each of my wings. A mile in front of us was another KC-135 tanker with a pair of F-117s off his wings. Behind me, was another tanker with her “chicks.” We had just coasted out from a very dark and stormy mainland and were headed first to England and thence to the brewing conflict in Kosovo. The air was cool and calm; the sun just cresting the horizon in front of us. Contrails streamed behind the planes ahead leaving feathery trails in the sky. I knew we were all leaving contrails behind and wished I could have witnessed the scene from the surface. Even though we were going off to war, it was a very spiritual moment for me. The beauty was surreal. My thoughts turned to the Lord and my gratefulness for the beauty of the Earth.
This morning was very similar. I was going to war again. I was driving instead of flying, but going to war just the same. I use the commute to meditate, ponder and learn. Usually, I listen to the scriptures, but today I felt inclined to listen to music instead. Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy and other sacred songs filled my heart with love and gratitude for the Savior, the atonement, and His resurrection.
I’ve spent countless holidays away from the family; missed birthdays and other important events. Today was yet another. Off to war instead of spending Easter with my family and listening to the Prophet of the Lord and the other Apostles testify of Christ during General Conference. Even though I missed out on Conference, the Lord was merciful and shared an extra portion of His spirit with me on the drive. I felt the blessings of having wonderful children that love the Lord and seek to choose the right, even though I dragged you all over the country as I moved from assignment to assignment and then left you at home as I went on trip after trip.
Last Sunday was also a great day. I had to work and was going to miss church . Circumstances turned out that I was able to leave early. I left work and thought if I drove directly to the church I might catch the sacrament. I didn’t quite make it in time for the sacrament, but slid into the pew next to Mom. She was surprised to see me and I’m sure I caused quite the stir as I sat there in my flight suit with patches of the Grim Reaper on my shoulder and my call sign “Ogre” on my chest. I regarded them not. Bryan had been asked right before church to share his thoughts on the importance of General Conference. So I made it in time to hear his feelings. I sure love him! He will make a great missionary!
I also got to hear Kimmee play “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” on the violin. She was accompanied by the bishop’s wife, Sis. Piet. Naturally, she did wonderfully. After Sacrament Meeting, I slipped out, ran to the house, changed into my suit, and returned to attend Sunday School.
Monday night was Caiti’s turn to teach the FHE lesson. She did a fine job. Mom made us a new fancy-schmancy FHE chart.
Monday was also Spring Break for your giblets (“siblings” for those of you not familiar with Raymond vernacular). Tuesday and Wednesday were my days off this week. I had promised Bryan I would take him back out to Red Rock canyon and do some more hiking. So Tuesday we went for a hike. As we went through the entrance I left my military ID “hang” out of my wallet. It had the desired effect, “Are you active duty military?” “Why yes I am” I replied hopefully. We got in free. Again. Woo Hoo! It was super windy. The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for wind gusts up to 60 mph! My hat kept blowing off my head. I finally attached it to my belt loop. We took plenty of water this time and hiked back up to Calico Basin . The basin had water in it! And lots of it. I tried to talk Bryan into going for a dip. I couldn’t sway him. I considered throwing him in, but it was a little too chilly.
We packed a lunch and were going to eat it in the picnic area below where we went repelling several months ago, but it was too windy. We ate in Dora the Explorer as we watched all the tourists drive and walk by. The difference between the locals and the tourists was easily discernable. The sun dresses and open-toed sandals weren’t very conducive for scrambling up sandstone.
Tuesday evening I spoke in Stake Priesthood Leadership Training. As I mentioned last week, I had been preparing my talk for a couple of weeks and hadn’t quite arrived at the finished product. As the meeting progressed, I quickly understood why I hadn’t finished. I had missed the mark the Lord wanted me to convey. I jotted down a few notes and spoke from the cuff instead of delivering my prepared remarks. Pres. Winterton introduced the theme. Essentially, it was a “rescue” theme. He spoke about a painting of a family looking forlorn yet hopeful as a skiff launched into a stormy sea to rescue a lost sailor. A quartet sang “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy” a cappella. It got stuck in my head. I found myself humming it all week and thinking over the words “Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save.” With that background, I formulated my talk. Essentially it went like this:
In October 1856, my great-great-great grandmother struggled along with the Martin Handcart Company. She suffered all the travails of that grueling trip. She must have sat and cried as she approached that fateful crossing of the Sweetwater. Distraught. Frozen feet. Dying younger brother. And still so far to travel. President Young, hearing of their trials, sent rescuers out from General Conference. “Go and bring them in from the plains!” I can only imagine her feelings when she saw the rescuers. They carried her to Zion !
Two years ago, hurricane Ike travelled farther inland than anticipated and caused flooding as far inland as our home in Illinois . It was Sunday morning and there we stood, knee deep in water in our basement as the flood waters continued to rise. Darlene made a quick to the Relief Society president, letting her know what happened and letting her know she wouldn’t be at church that day and would be unable to teach the lesson in Relief Society. We frantically tried to carry our goods to higher ground even as the water rushed in. Our good bishop sent rescuers from to ward. My heart was full and I immediately thought of Grandma Robinson as I looked up and saw rescuers from the ward streaming down the stairs and into the water. They didn’t knock. They didn’t ask. They just came. They carried more than our belongings to safety that day. They carried my soul to safety!
Then I relayed a couple of stories about ministering to the one. I shared how blessed and privileged we were and are still to be friends with such wonderful people as the Bridenthals and Ken and see them sealed in the temple. I’m not sure if anyone else got anything out of it, but I did. Throughout my life, I have had the blessing of being uplifted by others and also of helping to lift others.
Wednesday, Mom and the rest of the family packed up and drove to Utah to see the Bowermans. They were visiting Joe and Katie. Darlene thought it was a great opportunity to see them also. Somehow it was appropriate to see them on General Conference weekend. It brought back memories of sitting in their living room watching conference together. Good friends! They drove up on Wednesday and back on Friday. It was a whirlwind trip, but very worthwhile.
I had to work and therefore stayed home. Thursday night, we held our weekly missionary coordination meeting.
Since mom and the family was away for April Fool’s day, I survived without being the victim of a short-sheeted bed, or blue milk, or getting sprayed by the kitchen sprayer, etc. Bryan and Caiti tried to get me anyway. Bryan sent me a text that read, “I lost my phone.” My initial reaction was, “AAARRRGGHH!” Then a half a second later, I realized he sent the message from his phone. I sent “good one” back to him. Caiti said she met some really cute guys from Grandma’s ward and she was going to stay up late with them. I texted back that the only men in Grandma’s ward were over 80 years old!
Saturday was General Conference. I had to work and missed everything except the Priesthood session. Your mom reminded me this was the second to last Priesthood session I would get to attend with any of my boys before their missions. Wow. I enjoyed the session, but confess I had trouble paying attention. I was tired from being at work all day. I particularly enjoyed Pres Monson’s story of the missionary who didn’t receive any letters from home and whose parents didn’t support him on his mission. Pres Monson promised him if he would write home faithfully and share his testimony with them that his parents would write him back. Several months later he ran into the missionary again. His parents were positively influenced by his letters and testimony. They started writing him. His father went back to church and his mother was preparing to be baptized.
We too are blessed because of your service to the Lord. Keep the faith. Be good and work hard. It’s all true and it’s all worth the effort!
Love,
Dad.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Be Not a Sluggard
Last Sunday was Benito Juarez’ birthday. At least that is what the calendar has listed. Who is he anyway? And why do we care. More importantly, Jon missed church due to work. It was ward conference, too. Bummer. The Stake Youth Leaders gave some wonderful messages about holding to the Lord's values (they referenced the Scout Law and the Young Women Values) and how holding to these will make you seem "peculiar" at times, but that is great! They also talked about setting goals, and working NOW for things that you want in your life later, as well as the value of hard work! Darlene found a fun scripture on the topic in Proverb 6:6... look it up, smile, then follow the counsel! That evening Jon had an appointment to meet with the Stake President. He was a bit nervous. What did he want? He just wanted to ask Jon to speak next Tuesday at Stake Priesthood Leadership training...
Monday was Family Home Evening. Darlene did some visiting teaching. Caiti got home from track practice, Kimmee got home from Culture Jam practice. Jon got home from work. And, Bryan had us all watch "New Moon" for family night! Then we all sat and finished the evening with another fun episode of "Chuck"!
Tuesday Caiti got home from track practice, Kimmee got home from Culture Jam practice, Jon got home from work, Bryan and Mom were already home... and the family went to the temple! It was Darlene's mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Nanna! We sent her a lovely bouquet of flowers. To celebrate here, our youth group went to the temple and did baptisms for their deceased ancestors to include Nanna’s and Grandpa Ken’s ancestors. Our whole family went! It was a wonderful experience. A young couple came and wanted to do baptisms, but when the temple worker told them they would have to wait until we were done, they elected to pass. Darlene chimed in and suggested they do the Initiatory ordinances for the baptisms the kids just finished. That worked out great and we got 44 of our relatives ready for their endowments! It was a good night.
Wednesday, again, Darlene was home, Bryan came home from school, Kimmee got home from Culture Jam practice, Jon got home from work and Caiti was at a track meet (her 4x4 team was DQ'd because 2 of the girls rolled their shorts opting for the "sexy" look instead of wearing their uniforms correctly. Caiti was not one of them, she was upset about the DQ). Darlene went with one of the Young women Counselors to visit the parents of one of her new Mia Maids. Due to some "different" circumstances, Darlene was a bit nervous for this visit. All went very well and she really enjoyed visiting with this young ladies mother. Caiti came home from her meet late, tired and sweaty....uck!
On Thursday, Jon and Darlene went back to the temple and did more family names. We’ve asked the ward to help us do the endowments since we are getting so many. Even if we did one a week it would take over a year. We decided those people had waited long enough. Plus our Stake President has challenged our stake to do 10,000 ordinances by Sep for family file names. We got home, picked up Bryan and Caiti and went over to the High School were Kimmee participated in a “Culture Jam” Performance. Essentially, it was a talent show performed by students and teachers with a Hollywood/Disney musical theme. Kimmee danced in 5 of the performances the International and French clubs were "sponsoring". All the proceeds went to High School students in Haiti. Kimmee did wonderfully! Jon had to leave early to conduct his weekly missionary meeting. He was able to see all but the last dance of Kimmee's.
Friday night was date night but we were all so tired from the week's busy schedule... we stayed home, ate pizza and watched TV! Awesome family time!!!
Saturday night, while Caiti stayed home and watched the "Kid's Choice Awards" (slimefest central), Bryan and Kimmee attended a surprise party for one of their friends! They had a great time and Bryan showed off his mad "ninja" skills! Jon and Darlene attended a social at Jon's squadron commander’s house. It was also a going away party for one of the guys in the squadron. The booze were flowing freely. And so were the people as the night wore on... During the evening we joined in a toast to the guy leaving. We raised our lovely plastic bottles of Aquafina water in salute. It was a fun evening but as things began to get a little louder, we decided to sneak out as soon as we felt we had stayed the requisite amount of time.
Sunday was wonderful! Bryan was asked to give an impromptu talk on the importance of General Conference in his life (he did a marvelous job!) and Kimmee played "I know that my Redeemer lives" on her violin for the rest hymn. It was lovely and very peaceful. What great blessing the gospel bring into our home and the lives of our family!
Monday was Family Home Evening. Darlene did some visiting teaching. Caiti got home from track practice, Kimmee got home from Culture Jam practice. Jon got home from work. And, Bryan had us all watch "New Moon" for family night! Then we all sat and finished the evening with another fun episode of "Chuck"!
Tuesday Caiti got home from track practice, Kimmee got home from Culture Jam practice, Jon got home from work, Bryan and Mom were already home... and the family went to the temple! It was Darlene's mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Nanna! We sent her a lovely bouquet of flowers. To celebrate here, our youth group went to the temple and did baptisms for their deceased ancestors to include Nanna’s and Grandpa Ken’s ancestors. Our whole family went! It was a wonderful experience. A young couple came and wanted to do baptisms, but when the temple worker told them they would have to wait until we were done, they elected to pass. Darlene chimed in and suggested they do the Initiatory ordinances for the baptisms the kids just finished. That worked out great and we got 44 of our relatives ready for their endowments! It was a good night.
Wednesday, again, Darlene was home, Bryan came home from school, Kimmee got home from Culture Jam practice, Jon got home from work and Caiti was at a track meet (her 4x4 team was DQ'd because 2 of the girls rolled their shorts opting for the "sexy" look instead of wearing their uniforms correctly. Caiti was not one of them, she was upset about the DQ). Darlene went with one of the Young women Counselors to visit the parents of one of her new Mia Maids. Due to some "different" circumstances, Darlene was a bit nervous for this visit. All went very well and she really enjoyed visiting with this young ladies mother. Caiti came home from her meet late, tired and sweaty....uck!
On Thursday, Jon and Darlene went back to the temple and did more family names. We’ve asked the ward to help us do the endowments since we are getting so many. Even if we did one a week it would take over a year. We decided those people had waited long enough. Plus our Stake President has challenged our stake to do 10,000 ordinances by Sep for family file names. We got home, picked up Bryan and Caiti and went over to the High School were Kimmee participated in a “Culture Jam” Performance. Essentially, it was a talent show performed by students and teachers with a Hollywood/Disney musical theme. Kimmee danced in 5 of the performances the International and French clubs were "sponsoring". All the proceeds went to High School students in Haiti. Kimmee did wonderfully! Jon had to leave early to conduct his weekly missionary meeting. He was able to see all but the last dance of Kimmee's.
Friday night was date night but we were all so tired from the week's busy schedule... we stayed home, ate pizza and watched TV! Awesome family time!!!
Saturday night, while Caiti stayed home and watched the "Kid's Choice Awards" (slimefest central), Bryan and Kimmee attended a surprise party for one of their friends! They had a great time and Bryan showed off his mad "ninja" skills! Jon and Darlene attended a social at Jon's squadron commander’s house. It was also a going away party for one of the guys in the squadron. The booze were flowing freely. And so were the people as the night wore on... During the evening we joined in a toast to the guy leaving. We raised our lovely plastic bottles of Aquafina water in salute. It was a fun evening but as things began to get a little louder, we decided to sneak out as soon as we felt we had stayed the requisite amount of time.
Sunday was wonderful! Bryan was asked to give an impromptu talk on the importance of General Conference in his life (he did a marvelous job!) and Kimmee played "I know that my Redeemer lives" on her violin for the rest hymn. It was lovely and very peaceful. What great blessing the gospel bring into our home and the lives of our family!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
8 Mar 2010
Monday was Caiti's first day of track practice. She had fun and was worn out. She came home tired all week long. They are really working her. She is quickly learning the differences between Middle and High school track.
Tuesday, Darlene and Jon ran errands. The GPS kept freezing up on us. We decided it was the last straw so we pulled into a nearby BestBuy to exchange it. The good news is they said they didn't think they had any of the same model in stock, but we could exchange it for one the same price as we paid. Thanks to progressing technology we were able to get a much better one for the same price we paid for the old one. And somehow we ended up with a $20 credit. So in the end, we walked out with a newer, better unit and a $20 gift card! Darlene is amazing. How does she do stuff like that? Jon tries that and he ends up on the wrong end of the deal. We ate at the Pink Cow for lunch. OK. It's really called the Pin Kaow, but wouldn't you call it the pink cow, too?!
Wednesday, Darlene went in for a PET scan. Yep. She's already had her CAT scanned, but they didn't find what they were looking for, so they went for the more generic PET scan. Still waiting on the Doc to tell us the results. Is there a DOG scan, too? Then Darlene left for Utah.
Darlene has only been gone since Wednesday, but it seems like forever. She drove up to Lehi to help out Chris and Jen. Jen had a tonsillectomy on Wednesday morning and would be down for awhile, so Darlene went up to help with their kids for 10 days. She'll be back on Sunday. That afternoon, Jon took Bryan to pick up his retainers. Yep that means he got his braces off! He has a $10,000 smile. Literally. All we can say to all our children is, "You better brush your teeth or Dad will come back from the grave and hide your dentures!" He is loving life and of course, all the girls noticed!
Thursday, Jon picked up Kimmee from school and took her to violin lessons. He dozed on the hard folding chair outside the practice room. Then, he cooked burgers on the grill for dinner.
Bryan went on a campout Friday afternoon. It was just him, one other priest and three adult leaders. We are SO grateful for leaders that are willing to sacrifice a good night's sleep to go camping with two boys. These are some of the best YM leaders we have ever seen! We love them to death. He got back on Saturday while we were at the track meet.
Jon, Caiti, and Kimmee went to a track meet at UNLV on Saturday. Their cousin, Jake was here participating with Utah Valley University. It was his first collegiate level meet. He was scheduled to participate in the pole vault at 11:00 and the 110m dash at 1:00. The pole vault was delayed due to the hammer throw. The events were right next to each other and they didn't want them to interfere with each other. It turned out to be a wise decision because a couple of the hammer throws lacked a little guidance. It's beyond me how they can throw that thing in any desired direction after spinning round and round. It looked to me like a round of dizzy bat followed by shot put on a rope! A couple of the throws impacted the approach track for the pole vault. Nothing ruins your day like getting hit by a flying ball of steel while trying to pole vault! The delay caused Jake to miss the 100m dash. He wasn't too disappointed. He prefers the pole vault. Besides, those men were FAST! I think they ran around 10.41 seconds. I can almost make it from the couch to the fridge that fast!
Jake made his first height. If Jon remembers right, he missed on his first two attempts and made it on his third attempt. It was really close. He actually hit the bar. It bounced up and down, but somehow stayed in place. Onto the mat he flopped. Unfortunately, he didn't make his next height and was out of the competition. It was a big learning opportunity for him also to see the difference between High school and College level competition. I think his words were, "from big fish in a small pond to small fish, big pond." He is a freshman and has lots of time to improve to where he wants to be. He is a decathlete. Unfortunately, the decathlon was not offered at this meet. It's amazing he can do all those events well! Their seats were only about 10 feet away from the approach track! Great day! They all came home with some color in their faces from the sun. Jon's sunglasses gave him raccoon eyes. Caiti laughed at him.
A member in our ward took the EQ repelling on Saturday and invited everyone from the ward. Kimmee wanted to go (and so did Jon), but he had to work Friday night and wouldn't get home till 9:00am. Add that to the hour drive to the site and the fact he would be repelling on no sleep in the previous 36 hours equaled too high of a risk for him. He would have had to leave after 30 min in time to get to Jake's meet anyway. It just wasn't going to happen. Kimmee was ok with that because it meant she got to sleep in Saturday morning. It turned out to be a good thing they didn't go. Sadly, there was a tragic accident. A young father from a neighboring ward was going down the 70 foot cliff Aussie-style (face first) when his webbing broke. He free fell the last 20 feet or so and landed squarely on his face on the rocks. He had extremely serious injuries to his face and a compound fracture to his ankle. We were glad none of us were there (especially Kimmee) to see that. The ambulance took about 30 minutes to arrive. The men administered to him while they waited. They flew him out on a helicopter. I heard they operated on his ankle that evening. Tragic. Last we heard, he is recovering well.
On a much lighter note, Bryan went to Sadie Hawkins on Saturday night. Lilo picked him up around 5:30. They had a "formal" dinner from In-N-Out. Lilo called and talked to Kimmee to find out how Bryan liked his hamburger. They did a touch and go at the dance, just long enough to get pictures taken and then drove about town. They tried to go several places, but were turned away since they were under 18 (except Bryan) and curfew is at 6pm. They ended up playing miniature golf and then going to the Winterton's house. They had marshmallow fights with PVC pipe guns. Bryan said they went through six bags of mini-marshmallows! They had ice cream to finish off the evening. Everyone had a lot of fun.
Jon tried to stay up till Bryan got home, but it just wasn't going to happen. He didn't have to work Saturday night and hadn't had any real sleep in several days. After sleeping on the couch for a couple of hours pretending to watch TV, He gave up and went to bed. He awoke with a start at 2:30 realizing that Bryan hadn't checked in with me. He stumbled out of bed and down the hall to make sure he was home. He was. He checked on Kimmee and Caiti. Lastly, He checked in with the dog. Tosca assured him all was well in the house, so back into bed he crawled. In the morning he reiterated the need to check in with Mom or Dad when arriving late, NO MATTER WHAT TIME!
Yesterday was Fast Sunday. Jon got up early, browned the pot roast, cut up the veggies and dumped it all in the crock pot for dinner. He thought to himself, "Thanks Mom for teaching me how to cook!" It turned out swimmingly! Although, doesn't everything tastes better when fasting?
Good news! Jon is starting the last two weeks of graveyard shift for this cycle before he rotates back to day shift for the next six weeks. The bad news is he probably won't get to go to church for those six weeks. However, there is a rumor at work that in July he might permanently move to day shift and only have to work week days! That would be wonderful!
Until next week....
Tuesday, Darlene and Jon ran errands. The GPS kept freezing up on us. We decided it was the last straw so we pulled into a nearby BestBuy to exchange it. The good news is they said they didn't think they had any of the same model in stock, but we could exchange it for one the same price as we paid. Thanks to progressing technology we were able to get a much better one for the same price we paid for the old one. And somehow we ended up with a $20 credit. So in the end, we walked out with a newer, better unit and a $20 gift card! Darlene is amazing. How does she do stuff like that? Jon tries that and he ends up on the wrong end of the deal. We ate at the Pink Cow for lunch. OK. It's really called the Pin Kaow, but wouldn't you call it the pink cow, too?!
Wednesday, Darlene went in for a PET scan. Yep. She's already had her CAT scanned, but they didn't find what they were looking for, so they went for the more generic PET scan. Still waiting on the Doc to tell us the results. Is there a DOG scan, too? Then Darlene left for Utah.
Darlene has only been gone since Wednesday, but it seems like forever. She drove up to Lehi to help out Chris and Jen. Jen had a tonsillectomy on Wednesday morning and would be down for awhile, so Darlene went up to help with their kids for 10 days. She'll be back on Sunday. That afternoon, Jon took Bryan to pick up his retainers. Yep that means he got his braces off! He has a $10,000 smile. Literally. All we can say to all our children is, "You better brush your teeth or Dad will come back from the grave and hide your dentures!" He is loving life and of course, all the girls noticed!
Thursday, Jon picked up Kimmee from school and took her to violin lessons. He dozed on the hard folding chair outside the practice room. Then, he cooked burgers on the grill for dinner.
Bryan went on a campout Friday afternoon. It was just him, one other priest and three adult leaders. We are SO grateful for leaders that are willing to sacrifice a good night's sleep to go camping with two boys. These are some of the best YM leaders we have ever seen! We love them to death. He got back on Saturday while we were at the track meet.
Jon, Caiti, and Kimmee went to a track meet at UNLV on Saturday. Their cousin, Jake was here participating with Utah Valley University. It was his first collegiate level meet. He was scheduled to participate in the pole vault at 11:00 and the 110m dash at 1:00. The pole vault was delayed due to the hammer throw. The events were right next to each other and they didn't want them to interfere with each other. It turned out to be a wise decision because a couple of the hammer throws lacked a little guidance. It's beyond me how they can throw that thing in any desired direction after spinning round and round. It looked to me like a round of dizzy bat followed by shot put on a rope! A couple of the throws impacted the approach track for the pole vault. Nothing ruins your day like getting hit by a flying ball of steel while trying to pole vault! The delay caused Jake to miss the 100m dash. He wasn't too disappointed. He prefers the pole vault. Besides, those men were FAST! I think they ran around 10.41 seconds. I can almost make it from the couch to the fridge that fast!
Jake made his first height. If Jon remembers right, he missed on his first two attempts and made it on his third attempt. It was really close. He actually hit the bar. It bounced up and down, but somehow stayed in place. Onto the mat he flopped. Unfortunately, he didn't make his next height and was out of the competition. It was a big learning opportunity for him also to see the difference between High school and College level competition. I think his words were, "from big fish in a small pond to small fish, big pond." He is a freshman and has lots of time to improve to where he wants to be. He is a decathlete. Unfortunately, the decathlon was not offered at this meet. It's amazing he can do all those events well! Their seats were only about 10 feet away from the approach track! Great day! They all came home with some color in their faces from the sun. Jon's sunglasses gave him raccoon eyes. Caiti laughed at him.
A member in our ward took the EQ repelling on Saturday and invited everyone from the ward. Kimmee wanted to go (and so did Jon), but he had to work Friday night and wouldn't get home till 9:00am. Add that to the hour drive to the site and the fact he would be repelling on no sleep in the previous 36 hours equaled too high of a risk for him. He would have had to leave after 30 min in time to get to Jake's meet anyway. It just wasn't going to happen. Kimmee was ok with that because it meant she got to sleep in Saturday morning. It turned out to be a good thing they didn't go. Sadly, there was a tragic accident. A young father from a neighboring ward was going down the 70 foot cliff Aussie-style (face first) when his webbing broke. He free fell the last 20 feet or so and landed squarely on his face on the rocks. He had extremely serious injuries to his face and a compound fracture to his ankle. We were glad none of us were there (especially Kimmee) to see that. The ambulance took about 30 minutes to arrive. The men administered to him while they waited. They flew him out on a helicopter. I heard they operated on his ankle that evening. Tragic. Last we heard, he is recovering well.
On a much lighter note, Bryan went to Sadie Hawkins on Saturday night. Lilo picked him up around 5:30. They had a "formal" dinner from In-N-Out. Lilo called and talked to Kimmee to find out how Bryan liked his hamburger. They did a touch and go at the dance, just long enough to get pictures taken and then drove about town. They tried to go several places, but were turned away since they were under 18 (except Bryan) and curfew is at 6pm. They ended up playing miniature golf and then going to the Winterton's house. They had marshmallow fights with PVC pipe guns. Bryan said they went through six bags of mini-marshmallows! They had ice cream to finish off the evening. Everyone had a lot of fun.
Jon tried to stay up till Bryan got home, but it just wasn't going to happen. He didn't have to work Saturday night and hadn't had any real sleep in several days. After sleeping on the couch for a couple of hours pretending to watch TV, He gave up and went to bed. He awoke with a start at 2:30 realizing that Bryan hadn't checked in with me. He stumbled out of bed and down the hall to make sure he was home. He was. He checked on Kimmee and Caiti. Lastly, He checked in with the dog. Tosca assured him all was well in the house, so back into bed he crawled. In the morning he reiterated the need to check in with Mom or Dad when arriving late, NO MATTER WHAT TIME!
Yesterday was Fast Sunday. Jon got up early, browned the pot roast, cut up the veggies and dumped it all in the crock pot for dinner. He thought to himself, "Thanks Mom for teaching me how to cook!" It turned out swimmingly! Although, doesn't everything tastes better when fasting?
Good news! Jon is starting the last two weeks of graveyard shift for this cycle before he rotates back to day shift for the next six weeks. The bad news is he probably won't get to go to church for those six weeks. However, there is a rumor at work that in July he might permanently move to day shift and only have to work week days! That would be wonderful!
Until next week....
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Eventful Week...
This was Jon's last week of swing shift at work. Next is the dreaded graveyard shift. ugh. The weather was bad on the other side of the world, so Jon's four-day work week turned into a two-day work week! It was very nice.
This week was New Beginnings for the Young Women. The YW officially welcomed Caiti and Kimmee into the ward and gave them each chocolate bars. Caiti decided hers didn't fit into her athlete diet and gave it to Jon. It turned out to be Cadbury chocolate with caramel in the middle. Yum. Various YW spoke and sang to include the Winterton and Quinney girls. The bishop finished off the evening talking about Individual Worth. It was wonderful!
Thursday morning we took all the animals to the vet for their dental cleaning. I'm glad human dental cleaning isn't so traumatizing. The mega annoying desk attendant checked them in and had us fill out the SIX pages of health history. Jon said he was considering changing vets because we couldn't stand the condescending desk clerk. When we picked up the animals that evening, the office manager was there. I pulled her aside and kindly told her what an awful experience we had that morning and how I had spent 20 minutes convincing a new client of theirs that everyone else working there was wonderful. She informed me she had just fired the woman. Sad... but, YAY! I guess now we don't have to change vets. They put the animals clear under to clean their teeth. They must have used more anesthesia than normal or a different kind because all the pets were loopy. Jakey and Mori were very lethargic for hours afterward and Tosca was very nauseated and threw up repeatedly for
about 24 hours. It was gross. (to say the least)
We bought a new LAN router to try to fix the Internet problem. Jon decided we couldn't stand being without the LAN any longer. He uses his laptop to conduct his weekly missionary coordination meetings and uses the TV as the monitor. That way he doesn't have to print out agendas for everyone. Since the LAN was down, he couldn't access the Internet or his email on his laptop. Not to mention it made using the iPhones a little slower. So he looked up which routers were compatible with our cable systems and purchased one for the house. It's nice to have the LAN back. It worked great for a day or two and then started the same old thing of taking down
the Internet. He tinkered with a few things and thinks he has fixed it. He continues to refine a few quirks here and there, but thinks it will work out nicely.
Grandma Raymond arrived on Friday. Aunt Lori took her to the SLC airport and Jon picked her up from the airport here. He realized he had never picked anyone up here at the Las Vegas Airport, and didn't know where to park,or go, or anything else. He left in plenty of time and ended up waiting for her. They stopped on the way home for lunch at Raising Canes. We love having her here.
Friday evening we took her to the ward Valentine party. They had a taco bar and chocolate fountain. Then they chose five couples to play the "Newlywed Game." It was a good thing Jon was not one of the contestants. He would not have done nearly as well as some of them. When asked when was their mother-in-law's birthday, Bro Cummings replied, "1400 A. D." Brave soul.
Saturday, Kimmee had Solo and Ensemble. When we arrived clear on the other side of town, Kimmee realized she had forgotten the accompanist's piano music. Luckily, I just happen to catch another accompanist carrying around the same music that Kimmee was using. She graciously let Kimmee use her copy of the music. But the damage was already done. The stress of it all got to Kimmee and she didn't play nearly as well as she had prepared. It was a good, if painful, learning experience for Kimmee.
Saturday evening Kimmee babysat for the Rollo family. Caiti went to a party at the Winterton's and the rest of us went to see the movie,"Avatar." We didn't want to see it in 3-D since we have never seen a 3-D movie we liked and the cardboard glasses cut into your nose and ears and are very distracting,to the point you can't enjoy the movie.We didn't want to see it on the IMAX because we were afraid it would make us motion sick and once again, not enjoy the movie. Well, we ended up with both. We watched it in 3-D and on the IMAX. I must confessed we were all awestruck. Apparently the 3-D technology has come a long way since our last experience. So have the glasses! We were mesmerized through the entire movie and didn't feel motion sick at all. The movie itself was entertaining. A bit predictable, but still enjoyable. We all liked it, well...Grandma tolerated it. Everyone else really enjoyed it.
Yesterday was Valentine's day. Everyone woke up to little presents with candy and flowers for me and Grandma. Jon got an electric rotisserie for his BBQ grill!
We received Alec's letter from TN today! It is wonderful to hear he arrived safely! He sent pictures too! They are posted on his blog. We love him and pray for him every day!
Hurrah, hurrah!
Until next time....
This week was New Beginnings for the Young Women. The YW officially welcomed Caiti and Kimmee into the ward and gave them each chocolate bars. Caiti decided hers didn't fit into her athlete diet and gave it to Jon. It turned out to be Cadbury chocolate with caramel in the middle. Yum. Various YW spoke and sang to include the Winterton and Quinney girls. The bishop finished off the evening talking about Individual Worth. It was wonderful!
Thursday morning we took all the animals to the vet for their dental cleaning. I'm glad human dental cleaning isn't so traumatizing. The mega annoying desk attendant checked them in and had us fill out the SIX pages of health history. Jon said he was considering changing vets because we couldn't stand the condescending desk clerk. When we picked up the animals that evening, the office manager was there. I pulled her aside and kindly told her what an awful experience we had that morning and how I had spent 20 minutes convincing a new client of theirs that everyone else working there was wonderful. She informed me she had just fired the woman. Sad... but, YAY! I guess now we don't have to change vets. They put the animals clear under to clean their teeth. They must have used more anesthesia than normal or a different kind because all the pets were loopy. Jakey and Mori were very lethargic for hours afterward and Tosca was very nauseated and threw up repeatedly for
about 24 hours. It was gross. (to say the least)
We bought a new LAN router to try to fix the Internet problem. Jon decided we couldn't stand being without the LAN any longer. He uses his laptop to conduct his weekly missionary coordination meetings and uses the TV as the monitor. That way he doesn't have to print out agendas for everyone. Since the LAN was down, he couldn't access the Internet or his email on his laptop. Not to mention it made using the iPhones a little slower. So he looked up which routers were compatible with our cable systems and purchased one for the house. It's nice to have the LAN back. It worked great for a day or two and then started the same old thing of taking down
the Internet. He tinkered with a few things and thinks he has fixed it. He continues to refine a few quirks here and there, but thinks it will work out nicely.
Grandma Raymond arrived on Friday. Aunt Lori took her to the SLC airport and Jon picked her up from the airport here. He realized he had never picked anyone up here at the Las Vegas Airport, and didn't know where to park,or go, or anything else. He left in plenty of time and ended up waiting for her. They stopped on the way home for lunch at Raising Canes. We love having her here.
Friday evening we took her to the ward Valentine party. They had a taco bar and chocolate fountain. Then they chose five couples to play the "Newlywed Game." It was a good thing Jon was not one of the contestants. He would not have done nearly as well as some of them. When asked when was their mother-in-law's birthday, Bro Cummings replied, "1400 A. D." Brave soul.
Saturday, Kimmee had Solo and Ensemble. When we arrived clear on the other side of town, Kimmee realized she had forgotten the accompanist's piano music. Luckily, I just happen to catch another accompanist carrying around the same music that Kimmee was using. She graciously let Kimmee use her copy of the music. But the damage was already done. The stress of it all got to Kimmee and she didn't play nearly as well as she had prepared. It was a good, if painful, learning experience for Kimmee.
Saturday evening Kimmee babysat for the Rollo family. Caiti went to a party at the Winterton's and the rest of us went to see the movie,"Avatar." We didn't want to see it in 3-D since we have never seen a 3-D movie we liked and the cardboard glasses cut into your nose and ears and are very distracting,to the point you can't enjoy the movie.We didn't want to see it on the IMAX because we were afraid it would make us motion sick and once again, not enjoy the movie. Well, we ended up with both. We watched it in 3-D and on the IMAX. I must confessed we were all awestruck. Apparently the 3-D technology has come a long way since our last experience. So have the glasses! We were mesmerized through the entire movie and didn't feel motion sick at all. The movie itself was entertaining. A bit predictable, but still enjoyable. We all liked it, well...Grandma tolerated it. Everyone else really enjoyed it.
Yesterday was Valentine's day. Everyone woke up to little presents with candy and flowers for me and Grandma. Jon got an electric rotisserie for his BBQ grill!
We received Alec's letter from TN today! It is wonderful to hear he arrived safely! He sent pictures too! They are posted on his blog. We love him and pray for him every day!
Hurrah, hurrah!
Until next time....
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Smart? or Dumb?
The temperature dropped to 40 and it was rainy and cloudy outside. The cats both decided they needed their daily "sunning" so they opted for the next best thing...
They shared a 2 bulb lamp! They actually stayed like that for about 40 minutes until their heads were HOT, then they curled up together on a chair and took a 3 hour nap! Not what I would expect from two big 'ole tomcats!! So I ask you... are they being resourceful and keeping warm (smart), or are they trying to cook their brains (dumb)?
Quote of the Week
Opposition
By Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge
“The Lord’s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. ‘There is an opposition in all things', everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone—without His support, without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?”
By Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge
“The Lord’s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. ‘There is an opposition in all things', everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone—without His support, without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?”
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Week in Review
Monday:
Jon's last work day on day shift. It has been a mixed blessing. He got to enjoy normal sleep patterns, but he also missed an awful lot of church.
For Family Home Evening we decided to use our free movie passes that we managed to snag in the white elephant gift exchange at the Noorda's Christmas Party. Even though we were all a bit tired, we went to see Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downing Jr. It was well written and deserved more attention than our sleepy minds were able to give it. We'll be buying this one.
Tuesday:
Was the first day of Jon's "weekend" so he decided to go to Nellis with me(I had to get a stinkin mamogram...all's well) and then on to the temple. We got all dressed up and headed out the door. At some point while at Nellis, Jon remembered somewhere in the dark recesses of his noggin that the temple was closed for cleaning the first part of January. So he looked up the temple on his new fangled phone and sure enough, it was closed. I had no clue. At least we didn't drive all the way over there before we found out. We went to the BX for a shelf check and gathered lots of stares as we wandered around the store in our Sunday best.
Wednesday:
Tosca went to the beautician. You can't really use the term "groomer" when it comes to Tosca. She is quite the vain little Diva. At first, she wouldn't let the groomers touch her. Then I explained to them the need to treat her like a beautiful Diva. They started showering her with praise, telling her how pretty she was, and asking if they could see her beautiful paws. She turned to putty and let them do whatever to her. Pathetic.
Last month Bryan decided he wants to get serious about earning his Eagle award. It'll be a miracle if he can finish before his 18th birthday, but he is determined to try. So, after school Bryan and Jon went to visit the principal of an inner city school in a very low income area. The school needed lots of work. The principal is a member of the church and knows several of the people in our ward. That is how Bryan found out about him and the school. Anyway, he was very enthusiastic and willing to help Bryan out. So they toured the school, made plans, and took pictures for an Eagle Scout service project. The plan is to repaint several (like, over 30) exterior classroom doors, repaint their gym room, and paint a piano scale on the wall in the music room. Then Bryan started filling out the project proposal to submit to the council. Ran it by Jon who gave him a list of changes to be made. He ran it by the Young Men's president that evening, made more changes.
Thursday:
Bryan ran his plan by the principal and a couple more people and had more changes. He was a little frustrated, but patient, when it kept coming back to him for more detail and more changes. He has kept a very good attitude toward it and is charging forward. It will be a great project and miraculously, the council did approve it the first try! He will be starting the project on Monday and finishing on Saturday! It'll be a miracle if he can get this done in time. But it is a doable miracle.
Kimmee decided she wanted to do Solo and Ensemble and heard that it was only 1 week away so she also needed to hurry things along. She picked out a piece, spoke to her violin teacher who recommended a pianist and commenced furious practice sessions. Her teacher wanted to hear her play it with the accompanist so they had an extra lesson on Thursday. They needed somewhere with a piano, so I suggested they meet at the church. Very inspired. They practiced in the Relief Society room. I answered lots of questions about the different organizations in the church. Afterward, Kimmee and I gave her teacher a tour of the building and answered more questions about the church and its uses. Kimmee explained about seminary. We ran into the missionaries in the library and so got to introduce them (I kinda knew they were there). All in all it was a very good preliminary exposure for Kimmee's teacher. It turned out her teacher had played "I am a child of God" in a sacrament meeting, somewhere, sometime, (as a favor for another one of his students)but didn't know anything about the church. I kept thinking...How could that be???
Friday:
The cats' turn at the vet. When I took the cats to the vet Jakey peed all over everything, including Mori, and the floor, and the scale, and me, and the nurse, what an idiot! I will cut him a little slack since he had a urinary infection and was scared out of his mind by a little dog half his size.;) He is feeling much better now. Both the cats are a little sore from being micro-chipped though. Jakey is taking pink liquid amoxicillin. Not willingly mind you. He is convinced that I'm trying to kill him and is mad at me for making him take that awful pink stuff. Mori is as healthy and psycho as ever.
The pot-smoking neighbors were having a garage sale, I went over for a few minutes to talk. Nice stuff but everything reeked...bad. They are MOVING next week. Not that we are excited or anything. Maybe now we can open our own windows without worrying about testing positive on a drug test the next day.
Saturday:
Morning, I passed a phone message to Jon to call the Bishop ASAP. He assumed it was concerning the ward mission plan that he put together for him. He should have known better. The Bishop asked him if he would speak in church the next day. There was a return missionary reporting on his mission and he wanted Jon to speak also and introduce the ward mission plan.
Aliens kidnapped Kimmee and Caiti on Saturday evening and replaced them with lookalikes. I was in the kitchen getting ready to make dinner when the lookalike Kimmee volunteered to help with dinner without even being asked. Then she single-handedly made the best mac and cheese Bryan has ever had. It was quite tasty! All without being asked! Whoa!
Sunday:
In the morning, Jon was downstairs getting ready to head off to Priesthood Executive Committee meeting. Caiti, or more accurately, the alien-Caiti came down the stairs. Jon pointed out the absolutely delicious apple cinnamon pancake batter that I had made for breakfast. Caiti very humbly declined breakfast and said she was fasting to get some extra help with finals this week. We were touched that both girls displayed a level of maturity that is uncommon for young ladies their age.
Jon's talk went really well. He was short on time but gave a wonderful talk and challenged everyone in the ward to work on having a gospel sharing home. You could feel the spirit strongly as it testified of the truth of what was being taught and challenged.
I had a really neat experience on Sunday. Mizlon (one of my Mia Maids) brought a friend to church that is completely deaf. Mizlon knows a little sign but asked me to interpret for her friend during Sunday School and YW. I was giving the lesson on Spiritual Gifts in YW. I was terrified to try interpreting again since it has been so long. I prayed all during sacrament meeting that I would be able to remember the signs and that I could convey the spirit during my lesson so this young lady would understand. I decided to put faith into action and asked Heavenly Father to bless me with the gift of tongues so I would be able to touch the hearts of all the YW in my class. After sac meeting, I went up to Mizlon and her friend and introduced myself and talked for a minute, the sign came easily but I was still very slow. I was worried about the next couple hours. Mizlon said she was surprised at how well she was able to sign for her friend and told me she wanted to try during Sunday school as well. After Sunday School, Mizlon said she was signing fast and using signs she had never learned and her friend understood her! During the YW lesson I asked Mizlon to continue to sign for her friend and I helped when she was stuck on a concept or word. She did GREAT! I was able to recognize and point out to the girls that the Lord had answered my prayer by blessing Mizlon with the gift of tongues that day! Sometimes the Lord doesn't answer our prayers the way we ask for them, but he does answer them! It was a wonderful teaching moment for the girls (and me)on the power of prayer and the true purpose for spiritual gifts. Mizlon was amazed when I pointed it out to her and she agreed she could definitely feel a difference. AWESOME moment! The spirit was strong in our little classroom.
There you go...our week in review...at least the highlights, throw in a lot of sleeping and chocolate and it would be complete! Until next time...
Jon's last work day on day shift. It has been a mixed blessing. He got to enjoy normal sleep patterns, but he also missed an awful lot of church.
For Family Home Evening we decided to use our free movie passes that we managed to snag in the white elephant gift exchange at the Noorda's Christmas Party. Even though we were all a bit tired, we went to see Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downing Jr. It was well written and deserved more attention than our sleepy minds were able to give it. We'll be buying this one.
Tuesday:
Was the first day of Jon's "weekend" so he decided to go to Nellis with me(I had to get a stinkin mamogram...all's well) and then on to the temple. We got all dressed up and headed out the door. At some point while at Nellis, Jon remembered somewhere in the dark recesses of his noggin that the temple was closed for cleaning the first part of January. So he looked up the temple on his new fangled phone and sure enough, it was closed. I had no clue. At least we didn't drive all the way over there before we found out. We went to the BX for a shelf check and gathered lots of stares as we wandered around the store in our Sunday best.
Wednesday:
Tosca went to the beautician. You can't really use the term "groomer" when it comes to Tosca. She is quite the vain little Diva. At first, she wouldn't let the groomers touch her. Then I explained to them the need to treat her like a beautiful Diva. They started showering her with praise, telling her how pretty she was, and asking if they could see her beautiful paws. She turned to putty and let them do whatever to her. Pathetic.
Last month Bryan decided he wants to get serious about earning his Eagle award. It'll be a miracle if he can finish before his 18th birthday, but he is determined to try. So, after school Bryan and Jon went to visit the principal of an inner city school in a very low income area. The school needed lots of work. The principal is a member of the church and knows several of the people in our ward. That is how Bryan found out about him and the school. Anyway, he was very enthusiastic and willing to help Bryan out. So they toured the school, made plans, and took pictures for an Eagle Scout service project. The plan is to repaint several (like, over 30) exterior classroom doors, repaint their gym room, and paint a piano scale on the wall in the music room. Then Bryan started filling out the project proposal to submit to the council. Ran it by Jon who gave him a list of changes to be made. He ran it by the Young Men's president that evening, made more changes.
Thursday:
Bryan ran his plan by the principal and a couple more people and had more changes. He was a little frustrated, but patient, when it kept coming back to him for more detail and more changes. He has kept a very good attitude toward it and is charging forward. It will be a great project and miraculously, the council did approve it the first try! He will be starting the project on Monday and finishing on Saturday! It'll be a miracle if he can get this done in time. But it is a doable miracle.
Kimmee decided she wanted to do Solo and Ensemble and heard that it was only 1 week away so she also needed to hurry things along. She picked out a piece, spoke to her violin teacher who recommended a pianist and commenced furious practice sessions. Her teacher wanted to hear her play it with the accompanist so they had an extra lesson on Thursday. They needed somewhere with a piano, so I suggested they meet at the church. Very inspired. They practiced in the Relief Society room. I answered lots of questions about the different organizations in the church. Afterward, Kimmee and I gave her teacher a tour of the building and answered more questions about the church and its uses. Kimmee explained about seminary. We ran into the missionaries in the library and so got to introduce them (I kinda knew they were there). All in all it was a very good preliminary exposure for Kimmee's teacher. It turned out her teacher had played "I am a child of God" in a sacrament meeting, somewhere, sometime, (as a favor for another one of his students)but didn't know anything about the church. I kept thinking...How could that be???
Friday:
The cats' turn at the vet. When I took the cats to the vet Jakey peed all over everything, including Mori, and the floor, and the scale, and me, and the nurse, what an idiot! I will cut him a little slack since he had a urinary infection and was scared out of his mind by a little dog half his size.;) He is feeling much better now. Both the cats are a little sore from being micro-chipped though. Jakey is taking pink liquid amoxicillin. Not willingly mind you. He is convinced that I'm trying to kill him and is mad at me for making him take that awful pink stuff. Mori is as healthy and psycho as ever.
The pot-smoking neighbors were having a garage sale, I went over for a few minutes to talk. Nice stuff but everything reeked...bad. They are MOVING next week. Not that we are excited or anything. Maybe now we can open our own windows without worrying about testing positive on a drug test the next day.
Saturday:
Morning, I passed a phone message to Jon to call the Bishop ASAP. He assumed it was concerning the ward mission plan that he put together for him. He should have known better. The Bishop asked him if he would speak in church the next day. There was a return missionary reporting on his mission and he wanted Jon to speak also and introduce the ward mission plan.
Aliens kidnapped Kimmee and Caiti on Saturday evening and replaced them with lookalikes. I was in the kitchen getting ready to make dinner when the lookalike Kimmee volunteered to help with dinner without even being asked. Then she single-handedly made the best mac and cheese Bryan has ever had. It was quite tasty! All without being asked! Whoa!
Sunday:
In the morning, Jon was downstairs getting ready to head off to Priesthood Executive Committee meeting. Caiti, or more accurately, the alien-Caiti came down the stairs. Jon pointed out the absolutely delicious apple cinnamon pancake batter that I had made for breakfast. Caiti very humbly declined breakfast and said she was fasting to get some extra help with finals this week. We were touched that both girls displayed a level of maturity that is uncommon for young ladies their age.
Jon's talk went really well. He was short on time but gave a wonderful talk and challenged everyone in the ward to work on having a gospel sharing home. You could feel the spirit strongly as it testified of the truth of what was being taught and challenged.
I had a really neat experience on Sunday. Mizlon (one of my Mia Maids) brought a friend to church that is completely deaf. Mizlon knows a little sign but asked me to interpret for her friend during Sunday School and YW. I was giving the lesson on Spiritual Gifts in YW. I was terrified to try interpreting again since it has been so long. I prayed all during sacrament meeting that I would be able to remember the signs and that I could convey the spirit during my lesson so this young lady would understand. I decided to put faith into action and asked Heavenly Father to bless me with the gift of tongues so I would be able to touch the hearts of all the YW in my class. After sac meeting, I went up to Mizlon and her friend and introduced myself and talked for a minute, the sign came easily but I was still very slow. I was worried about the next couple hours. Mizlon said she was surprised at how well she was able to sign for her friend and told me she wanted to try during Sunday school as well. After Sunday School, Mizlon said she was signing fast and using signs she had never learned and her friend understood her! During the YW lesson I asked Mizlon to continue to sign for her friend and I helped when she was stuck on a concept or word. She did GREAT! I was able to recognize and point out to the girls that the Lord had answered my prayer by blessing Mizlon with the gift of tongues that day! Sometimes the Lord doesn't answer our prayers the way we ask for them, but he does answer them! It was a wonderful teaching moment for the girls (and me)on the power of prayer and the true purpose for spiritual gifts. Mizlon was amazed when I pointed it out to her and she agreed she could definitely feel a difference. AWESOME moment! The spirit was strong in our little classroom.
There you go...our week in review...at least the highlights, throw in a lot of sleeping and chocolate and it would be complete! Until next time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)