We just held our family testimony meeting, and all are grateful for our missionary Elder H! Thanks for being such a great example of righteousness! J began with prayer almost exclusively about him! We would love to have names of specific people we could pray for to assist in his efforts! I love it when we are informed of who we can pray for, I believe it is better when we pray for specifics.
We have had a great week. I went to SLC on Wednesday late afternoon, and had miracles as I drove up. My Mom called about 2:00 that afternoon worried about me traveling with the weather. She had heard it was supposed to be bad, and she asked if I would please get on the road, especially being careful around Cove Fort. I did get on the road, I had hoped to be gone by 1, but it was closer to 3. I got to Beaver, and then to Cove Fort, and realized that in my rear view mirror, there was snow billowing up behind the little trailer I was pulling. I had my lights on by then, and I really had to keep studying it because in front of me I couldn't see anything on the road, or even falling. The weather concerns had been about strong winds, and I understand that that very evening, four semi trucks were blown over! I made it through to Fillmore, without any problem, and the roads cleared completely. It was an uneventful trip up, but only because of the miracles that had happened!
Thursday I went to the church cannery and sealed candy in cans and we are giving can openers and 3-4 cans to each office for the office Christmas gifts this year. The cannery here in St. George no longer has the equipment to do the soup size cans, only the big #10 cans. So I drove up there to do that. K and B came to help me. We did 525 cans fast! In less than an hour!
S helped Grandpa work on tool boxes getting them all cut out and drilled so that we can take them to the Navajo Indian project next Sunday. We thought we would be there through Saturday working on those, but of course Grandpa and S had them done in no time, and Thursday evening, we stayed until we have them all even wrapped in seran wrap in groups of 10 ready to carry to the project. This year we have time with the kids, and so we decided we would take them hammers and tool boxes, with a special one for the girls that is a bit different, but we are going to have them build them! It will be cool! We will leave for that next Sunday after church, and be gone until Tuesday night.
My return trip then happened on Friday afternoon, and... it wasn't so smooth! 1st I was bringing a bunch more paint buckets (like 300) and then I had all the cans on the trailer in boxes (not a problem) but then I had several boxes of hats and stuff from K that her ward has prepared for the Indian project. There were knit hats in boxes, and before Nephi I noticed that I had just lost a box off the back, I saw bright colored hats flying everywhere! I couldn't bear to leave those handmade hats all over the freeway, so I pulled over as quick as I could, then ran back (remember now 5 1/2 months pregnant :)) and then dodged big trucks and cars going 80 miles an hour to pick up the 30+ hats that were spread mostly right in the middle of the road! It was scary, and S said that he wished that I had let him do it, but no way am I going to have him out there hit by a car. I don't know what was best, I was grateful for one big semi who saw me from way back, and slowed way down, took the middle of the road so he was blocking both lanes and went slow, slowing all the cars behind him. I was nearly done when he saw me, but that was a blessing!
Well that was before Nephi. By the time I got to Fillmore it was snowing and dark. The roads were snow pack, and traffic was moving about 50 miles/hour, but still moving. I went into the gas station to buy some dinner at the adjoining hamburger place, and the women at the register said that there was no way that I would make it as far as Cedar that night. They insisted that it had been coming down hard here for two hours and it was coming from Cedar, only going to get worse! Then two gentlemen came in and they had just come from Cedar, and they insisted that the roads were not that bad, and that in fact, in 30-45 minutes I would be out of the snow completely. I pursued on, with gratitude for voices that encouraged instead of just being negative! I had just walked in the door, and after waiting in the line at the hamburger place for chicken nuggets for the kids so S wouldn't scream, I left the station, only to find that you couldn't even see tracks coming in to the store. I stopped by the gas pumps to ask two gentlemen there, one had come from SLC and the other from St. George, he said that it was really bad, in fact in some places traffic was only crawling at speeds less than 35 miles/hour. Great. I didn't get discouraged, just looked at his little truck, and realized that he was not a very brave person. haha, I climbed in pregnant with my five little kids, and my trailer attached, and turned back onto the highway! :) We made it through, I was white knuckled through Cove Fort, the snow was coming straight in our face, and it was hard to see the road at all. Semi's were taking the entire road terrified that they couldn't see where it went! We made it to Cedar :) hahaha and I had feeling I should stop and check the load on the trailer as now I couldn't see (dark) and I didn't want to loose anything else. Realizing that it was totally a miracle that we had lost that one box before the storm and while it was still light! I pulled off at the rest area past Cedar, and as I climbed out, I heard this thunk. I looked around on the ground to see if I had dropped a water bottle or something, but saw only a big chunk of ice that had broken loose off the tire there, and assumed that was what I had heard. I check the load, in the snow (3-4" on the ground and falling hard) and got back in to make it the final 50 miles. I made it to the Hurricane exit and realized that I couldn't find my phone! Ugh! I pulled over, searched, and couldn't find it! We decided there was no time to find a way to call Dad and ask for help, we just had to go back and see if we could find it in the parking lot. With disappointment from all the kids, I listened to the spirit and turned around, and headed back up the black ridge! Yep, there it was laying right by that big chunk of snow in the rest area! Miracles of miracles it is working today! We took the battery out and stuck it in a bucket of rice that is supposed to pull all the moisture out. Wew! Finally about 10:30 we got home! What a trip!
That night was supposed to be the nativity at Tuachan, and I had left hoping to make it to the show at 7. L made potato soup and took hot chocolate and all the paper products, after her dance practice, (all the details) only to find that they had double scheduled (or triple - not sure really) but there were NO costumes left at 6 and our group was being forced out by others who claimed it was their night! A was very disappointed. Dad called someplace along the way to say I wasn't missing it and to slow down and quit worrying about getting home for it!
Wew! That was only Friday! Saturday morning we were in charge of Bountiful Baskets, a fruit and vegetable coop project where you meet the semi with produce loaded on it, and all those participating come to help divide the food in the baskets and then you get to buy produce for cost instead of paying grocery store prices. We have been doing it for sometime, but we aren't usually in charge, which means we can do it when we are here, and when we aren't it's ok! Well, this week the lady in charge had to be out of town, so we were in charge. We have to meet the truck at 6:15 a.m. but are done by 7:45. It went well but was really cold that early in the dark. I took B, C and the little girls (B and S) to help.
That afternoon L had been asked to make a wedding cake for a last minute wedding that was happening in the ward. The bride is the daughter of a family in the ward, she is pregnant with twins, these will be babies #4 and 5 for her, but she isn't married to the dad! The bishop married them Saturday, and basically the ward threw the wedding like it was a bridal shower. Everyone pitched in to make it happen quick before she has these twins! L was only asked on Wednesday evening as I left town. She goggled wedding cakes, and found one, honestly the most beautiful cake she could find, and then decided it wasn't that hard, and that she was going to make it! This is the picture she found on the web she wanted to copy.
and this is the cake she delivered to the church Saturday at 3! She worked really hard, it took her three days - staying up Friday until about 11 working on it! It took about 12 cake mixes, and was huge and BEAUTIFUL!
L only has three more Sunday's here in our ward! She will be at BYU Idaho soon. She is excited, but a bit anxious about all the details that have to come together in the next few weeks! It is really cold in Idaho! C&K went to Wyoming for Thanksgiving, and said the high for the three days she was there was -2!!!! burr!
This is the testimony I sent with this letter to my missionary today: I have a testimony of the Love of our Heavenly Father! He knows you and is pleased with you! He watches out for you as your tender loving father! I know that our Elder Brother, our Savior was born of Mary, and that he came to this earth for us! I am so thankful for Him! I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and am so grateful for it's influence and personal revelation in my life! I am thankful for the Priesthood here on this earth, and especially in my home! I am thankful for the values of the Gospel, and the direction we are given to strive for righteousness! I am pleased with you and your desire to Serve with all your Heart. I too want to Serve Him with all my Heart.
Today in Relief Society the message was "Organize yourselves, and prepare every needful thing." She erased the word needful. Then it reads: "Organize yourselves, and prepare every thing." That is not the meaning of Christmas! We need to focus carefully on the needful things and make sure that we don't delete or forget them! I am prioritizing carefully, grateful for each of my angels - especially you, my missionary!!
We have had a great week. I went to SLC on Wednesday late afternoon, and had miracles as I drove up. My Mom called about 2:00 that afternoon worried about me traveling with the weather. She had heard it was supposed to be bad, and she asked if I would please get on the road, especially being careful around Cove Fort. I did get on the road, I had hoped to be gone by 1, but it was closer to 3. I got to Beaver, and then to Cove Fort, and realized that in my rear view mirror, there was snow billowing up behind the little trailer I was pulling. I had my lights on by then, and I really had to keep studying it because in front of me I couldn't see anything on the road, or even falling. The weather concerns had been about strong winds, and I understand that that very evening, four semi trucks were blown over! I made it through to Fillmore, without any problem, and the roads cleared completely. It was an uneventful trip up, but only because of the miracles that had happened!
Thursday I went to the church cannery and sealed candy in cans and we are giving can openers and 3-4 cans to each office for the office Christmas gifts this year. The cannery here in St. George no longer has the equipment to do the soup size cans, only the big #10 cans. So I drove up there to do that. K and B came to help me. We did 525 cans fast! In less than an hour!
S helped Grandpa work on tool boxes getting them all cut out and drilled so that we can take them to the Navajo Indian project next Sunday. We thought we would be there through Saturday working on those, but of course Grandpa and S had them done in no time, and Thursday evening, we stayed until we have them all even wrapped in seran wrap in groups of 10 ready to carry to the project. This year we have time with the kids, and so we decided we would take them hammers and tool boxes, with a special one for the girls that is a bit different, but we are going to have them build them! It will be cool! We will leave for that next Sunday after church, and be gone until Tuesday night.
My return trip then happened on Friday afternoon, and... it wasn't so smooth! 1st I was bringing a bunch more paint buckets (like 300) and then I had all the cans on the trailer in boxes (not a problem) but then I had several boxes of hats and stuff from K that her ward has prepared for the Indian project. There were knit hats in boxes, and before Nephi I noticed that I had just lost a box off the back, I saw bright colored hats flying everywhere! I couldn't bear to leave those handmade hats all over the freeway, so I pulled over as quick as I could, then ran back (remember now 5 1/2 months pregnant :)) and then dodged big trucks and cars going 80 miles an hour to pick up the 30+ hats that were spread mostly right in the middle of the road! It was scary, and S said that he wished that I had let him do it, but no way am I going to have him out there hit by a car. I don't know what was best, I was grateful for one big semi who saw me from way back, and slowed way down, took the middle of the road so he was blocking both lanes and went slow, slowing all the cars behind him. I was nearly done when he saw me, but that was a blessing!
Well that was before Nephi. By the time I got to Fillmore it was snowing and dark. The roads were snow pack, and traffic was moving about 50 miles/hour, but still moving. I went into the gas station to buy some dinner at the adjoining hamburger place, and the women at the register said that there was no way that I would make it as far as Cedar that night. They insisted that it had been coming down hard here for two hours and it was coming from Cedar, only going to get worse! Then two gentlemen came in and they had just come from Cedar, and they insisted that the roads were not that bad, and that in fact, in 30-45 minutes I would be out of the snow completely. I pursued on, with gratitude for voices that encouraged instead of just being negative! I had just walked in the door, and after waiting in the line at the hamburger place for chicken nuggets for the kids so S wouldn't scream, I left the station, only to find that you couldn't even see tracks coming in to the store. I stopped by the gas pumps to ask two gentlemen there, one had come from SLC and the other from St. George, he said that it was really bad, in fact in some places traffic was only crawling at speeds less than 35 miles/hour. Great. I didn't get discouraged, just looked at his little truck, and realized that he was not a very brave person. haha, I climbed in pregnant with my five little kids, and my trailer attached, and turned back onto the highway! :) We made it through, I was white knuckled through Cove Fort, the snow was coming straight in our face, and it was hard to see the road at all. Semi's were taking the entire road terrified that they couldn't see where it went! We made it to Cedar :) hahaha and I had feeling I should stop and check the load on the trailer as now I couldn't see (dark) and I didn't want to loose anything else. Realizing that it was totally a miracle that we had lost that one box before the storm and while it was still light! I pulled off at the rest area past Cedar, and as I climbed out, I heard this thunk. I looked around on the ground to see if I had dropped a water bottle or something, but saw only a big chunk of ice that had broken loose off the tire there, and assumed that was what I had heard. I check the load, in the snow (3-4" on the ground and falling hard) and got back in to make it the final 50 miles. I made it to the Hurricane exit and realized that I couldn't find my phone! Ugh! I pulled over, searched, and couldn't find it! We decided there was no time to find a way to call Dad and ask for help, we just had to go back and see if we could find it in the parking lot. With disappointment from all the kids, I listened to the spirit and turned around, and headed back up the black ridge! Yep, there it was laying right by that big chunk of snow in the rest area! Miracles of miracles it is working today! We took the battery out and stuck it in a bucket of rice that is supposed to pull all the moisture out. Wew! Finally about 10:30 we got home! What a trip!
That night was supposed to be the nativity at Tuachan, and I had left hoping to make it to the show at 7. L made potato soup and took hot chocolate and all the paper products, after her dance practice, (all the details) only to find that they had double scheduled (or triple - not sure really) but there were NO costumes left at 6 and our group was being forced out by others who claimed it was their night! A was very disappointed. Dad called someplace along the way to say I wasn't missing it and to slow down and quit worrying about getting home for it!
Wew! That was only Friday! Saturday morning we were in charge of Bountiful Baskets, a fruit and vegetable coop project where you meet the semi with produce loaded on it, and all those participating come to help divide the food in the baskets and then you get to buy produce for cost instead of paying grocery store prices. We have been doing it for sometime, but we aren't usually in charge, which means we can do it when we are here, and when we aren't it's ok! Well, this week the lady in charge had to be out of town, so we were in charge. We have to meet the truck at 6:15 a.m. but are done by 7:45. It went well but was really cold that early in the dark. I took B, C and the little girls (B and S) to help.
That afternoon L had been asked to make a wedding cake for a last minute wedding that was happening in the ward. The bride is the daughter of a family in the ward, she is pregnant with twins, these will be babies #4 and 5 for her, but she isn't married to the dad! The bishop married them Saturday, and basically the ward threw the wedding like it was a bridal shower. Everyone pitched in to make it happen quick before she has these twins! L was only asked on Wednesday evening as I left town. She goggled wedding cakes, and found one, honestly the most beautiful cake she could find, and then decided it wasn't that hard, and that she was going to make it! This is the picture she found on the web she wanted to copy.
and this is the cake she delivered to the church Saturday at 3! She worked really hard, it took her three days - staying up Friday until about 11 working on it! It took about 12 cake mixes, and was huge and BEAUTIFUL!
L only has three more Sunday's here in our ward! She will be at BYU Idaho soon. She is excited, but a bit anxious about all the details that have to come together in the next few weeks! It is really cold in Idaho! C&K went to Wyoming for Thanksgiving, and said the high for the three days she was there was -2!!!! burr!
This is the testimony I sent with this letter to my missionary today: I have a testimony of the Love of our Heavenly Father! He knows you and is pleased with you! He watches out for you as your tender loving father! I know that our Elder Brother, our Savior was born of Mary, and that he came to this earth for us! I am so thankful for Him! I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and am so grateful for it's influence and personal revelation in my life! I am thankful for the Priesthood here on this earth, and especially in my home! I am thankful for the values of the Gospel, and the direction we are given to strive for righteousness! I am pleased with you and your desire to Serve with all your Heart. I too want to Serve Him with all my Heart.
Today in Relief Society the message was "Organize yourselves, and prepare every needful thing." She erased the word needful. Then it reads: "Organize yourselves, and prepare every thing." That is not the meaning of Christmas! We need to focus carefully on the needful things and make sure that we don't delete or forget them! I am prioritizing carefully, grateful for each of my angels - especially you, my missionary!!