Flowers and Candy

I just celebrated my 59th birthday with Del sending me these beautiful flowers to my office and then to dinner - but also,
all my children took me out to dinner and then took me to a place where we try to solve this mystery room by trying to find clues and keys to get us OUT of the room within 60 minutes.  It was pretty overwhelming to me, but I was amazed watching my children and their spouses figuring out all these clues to get us out of the room.  Pretty fun!

The candy?  My goal for the month of January is to have NO CANDY.  Today is the 17th and I've not had one piece of candy this month.  And I also have been really watching what I eat and how much.  The results are about 7 pounds lost so far.  But each month, I will choose a new goal to work on, while carrying over the previous months goal also.  Hopefully, by the end of the year, I will have lost some weight and feel much better about my health.

We're Satan's Highest Priority

First Sunday of the year.
The church schedule has changed from 3 hours to 2 hours now, except today was a special Stake Conference for our Stake.  The reason for the change is so that families can spend more time together teaching gospel principles in the home and learning how to become Christ centered homes and Christ centered families.  So, Del and I have decided that each fast Sunday, or the first Sunday of the month, we will have this in our home and invite each of our children and their families to come and participate if they want to or can.  All had answered yes for today.
Because it is Kathryn's birthday tomorrow, we were also making it her birthday celebration.  And Satan wanted non of it to happen.  Mike and Kylie's family were over 45 minutes late - for good reason, of course, (Kylie was in a church meeting) - but still late.  Then Jordan and Lexi were discussing some of their moving challenges for this coming week and it turned gradually into some uncomfortable conversation and tenseful moments where they both left the room and went to their bedroom to continue the conversation.  Then, right as dinner was being served up, Kathryn had a full fledged melt down, because of some unkind action or words being said by others and she and Ammon ended up leaving with Kathryn in tears.
Satan was in over drive...and winning the race.  We did have a really nice lesson with the adults and then the kids too - of which we all felt the spirit and I was able to express the fact that Satan was going to do all he could to not allow this family to progress spiritually in the gospel, either in our homes or as families.  But at dinner time - ?  It it the fan.  I tried to talk to Kathryn - Lexi went out and tried - Del tried and then Kylie made the last attempt; she being the one Kathryn was upset at.  Kathryn and Ammon finally returned , had dinner, we had cake and ice cream, had the birthday celebration, and then we gave Kathryn her birthday gift....her temple clothes.
We can't let this happen.  Satan wants nothing more than to destroy our family.  And we just can't let him.  He does not want Ammon and Kathryn being sealed.  He does NOT want us having family home evenings and family get togethers to study gospel principles and strengthen our testimonies.  He wants to destroy us.
The evening ended well enough.  But not what we had hoped for.
And it won't end here. 
Neither for Satan; and neither for us.

First Presidency Statement on Temples

Just this week, the first presidency of the church put out a statement about temples and the continuing revelation they are receiving from the Lord about changes and improvements in the sacred ordinances performed inside the temple walls.  I knew this statement would mean that there were probably going to be some things done slightly differently during our ceremonies and ordinances.  But it wasn't until today, that I was able to witness those changes for myself.
Friday is my day off from work, and so for the past three months or so, I have been trying to go to the temple more often on my own, while Del is home working.  It has been such a blessing to me in increasing my time in the temple.  I have found much more strength and ability in living the commandments and more devotion to my Father in Heaven.  I went to the temple last in the middle of December, and then fell ill for the remainder of the month.  Today was the first chance I had to go back to the temple.
Changes?  Yes.  More direct - more focused on covenants and very main streamed as far as eliminating some fluff and being more direct with why we are there.  Sacred?  Of course.  And not to be discussed outside the temple.  But I look forward to March when Ammon and Kathryn will be going through and making covenants.  The time actually at the temple has been reduced from about and hour and 45 minutes to maybe an hour and 15 minutes or so.  But nothing has changed as far as the purpose and the truthfulness of the endowment. The covenant made between us and God, is the same.  The doctrine is the same.  The approach is slightly different though but I can tell from the additions and the removing of certain things, that much prayer, thought and divine revelation was had by our priesthood leaders in Salt Lake.
I am so grateful for modern revelation.  For a loving Heavenly Father that continues to guide and love us through His living prophets.And I am grateful for the temple, where I am able to sit and commune with my Heavenly Father, make sacred covenants with Him and help those passed on before to receive these sacred ordinances for themselves.

2018 The Reader's Digest Version - Part 5- October-December

Fall started with Del and I taking our annual trip to Utah to visit my mom and see my sisters up in Utah.  We like to conference weekend to really be able to spend time with family - and General Conference was, of course, very exciting and informative with new policies and programs being implemented into the church.  It was announced that we would only have church for two hours starting in Jan and then that we would have a new manuel to use helping each family to have a Christ Centered and godly home.  Plus, there were new temples announced and new missions also.  The church is moving forward - 

My mother and my sisters all looked really good.  I was glad to see that my mom is really feeling pretty good and is taking good care of herself.  She misses daddy terribly, but understands the plan and is patient with the Lord's timing in all things.  She's doing really well for her age.

                                          I loved, of course, spending time with my sisters - especially Becca, as that's where we always stay and spend the most time.  Becca and I are usually able to talk about most anything.  We usually share our most secrets with each other and really also try to focus on where we can help with others in the family.  Of course, after conference is over, it's always the best to see as much of Rachel as possible.  She's had a heavy load to bear recently, with her son Eric.  So often, she has a heavy heart.  But she also had much to rejoice about as her daughter Rachelle was getting married in November, and Rachel and Mike were leaving that night for a trip to Italy and Spain.
It was such a joyful trip for me, being with these women I love so much.

                                         In November, we did our annual canning of chicken.  We went big this year buying 40- 3pd chickens.  I took them all apart and we ended up canning a LOT of pints, quarts and chicken stock too.  We all worked really hard and had a great sense of accomplishment when we were done.

 

                                And a first for this Nana and Papa.  Our first grandchild was baptized. 
                               Congratulations to our Preston Michael Crump. So proud of him.

                                                   Halloween was filled with face painting and pumpkin carving.  I loved watching Emerson paint his mom's face for the first time.  He was so tentive and precise with his painting and she was patient and so willing to let him do what he wanted to do.

                                              On the night of an ice cream event we had in Dallas, we ended up having a break of about two hours.  So we went in to downtown Dallas and enjoyed some of the cities sights, had dinner at a Chinese place and snuck in a kiss or two.

                                                    Thanksgiving was our great holiday this year.  We actually started a tradition of our own family football game, which was really fun to watch.  And they played serious too.  The traditional turkey, potatoes, stuffing and pies were a little sabotoged by me making, by mistake, a terrible gravy for the potatoes.  Apparently, there was an apple cider mix on the stove, that I thought was a pan of turkey stock.  I thickened it and several put it on their potatoes until we realized what had happened.  I was soooo disappointed, but it became the new family Thanksgiving memory.  Then, we also continued the family tradition of shooting guns back in our forest.  EVERYONE got to shoot: from the youngest to the oldest: both hand guns and rifles.  It was really quite fun.  We ended the fun day with a fire and samores at the fire pit with the grandkids playing on the trampoline, swings and the slide.  A great day filled with much gratitude and more memories.

                                        Before I got sick for the last 2 weeks of the year, Papa and I took the grandkids to the movies and then we had our annual gingerbread house making activity,  Kylie and Lexi are so good to now take over some of these great traditions and make sure they get done.  I'm so pleased with the amount of time we spent together as family this year making great memories and there will be many more this coming year.

Some of the last news of the year is just some updates of family members
Del is in the ward Elder's quorum presidency - works hard at the Soft Swirlz and Kitty Litter boxes. 
I am in the Nursery and love it.  Plus had another goal breaking year at work in both production and collections - got a great raise and bonus for it too.
Jordan and Lexi have purchased a home and should be signing papers on it next week and moving in the third week in January.  We will miss Emerson and Evie terribly, but it is time for them to move out on their own and start some family traditions of their own. It will be nice to have our home back and be empty nestors once again.
Mike and Kylie are busy with church callings - Mike is Executive Sec. in the Bishopric and Kylie is Young Women's president.  Their kids are growing like weeds and are each adorable in the own little lives.
Ammon and Kathryn are almost as happy to be in Texas as we are to have them here.  They have both made such great progress in their  efforts to return to the church and are now planning on being sealed in the temple in March.  We are so proud of them - and some of the spiritual experiences that have happened through this whole process have been profoundly spiritual and uplifting.  Heavenly Father has intervened so many times in their behalf and Satan wants nothing more than to stop this from happening.  We are very aware of the countless blessings the Lord is sending.
The Lord blessed us beyond what we deserved.  He loves us and desires only the best for us.  We feel the year was full of His manifestations of His love.  We are most grateful and desiring to live His commandments.