Sunday, July 5, 2020
9:56 pm
Our poor children have had their schedules so thrown off they don't know when it's time to be awake or sleep. If only we didn't do so many fun things together…
Yesterday we started with breakfast at Dad and Mom's. I played Clue with Jennie, Spencer and Neil (or was it Isaac?). Jennie won. Mark and I were going to go shopping for luggage next, but Dad and Mom offered to let him use Brian's which is in great shape. Awesome. We spent the next several hours working on the retaining wall. We used an entire grinder wheel cutting one retaining wall block, so I'm not sure how we're going to cut the remaining 4-6 blocks that need to be cut. Tender mercy – Mark got a piece of something in his eye while cutting a block, but no damage.
At 4:30 we cleaned up the wall project and headed to the Albertsons for Independence Day celebrations. We ate delicious chicken with a special sauce they make. Veggies and dip, strawberries, corn on the cob, cupcakes… man, we eat well. We stayed to watch the neighborhood fireworks show. I'm glad I didn't have to buy the aerial fireworks but have no complaints watching someone else's! It was nearly midnight by the time we got everyone in bed.
Today I got up just before 8:00 and tidied up the kitchen (it was neglected last night) and got our pot roast started for dinner. We attended Church at 10:30 today. I successfully put Nathaniel down for his afternoon nap and promptly fell asleep myself. Badly needed nap.
After naptime we sang some hymns together, then I read the entire 184-page bible story book to the girls based on the story of the lost lamb. It tells several of Jesus' parables through the eyes of a good shepherd looking for his lost lamb. Then we read the same parable from The Message Bible and talked about it. It was really enjoyable.
Dinner tonight was great. Mark and Abbie made rhubarb apple pie for dessert (and breakfast tomorrow). After dinner I started the bedtime routine with the kids, then Julie and I took a wedding present to the Simpsons for Patrick. We had a nice visit on the porch with Angela, then chatted with Randy Vinson and Mike Fairbanks on our way home.
Thankful: I'm thankful for the life I live. We have a nice home, I have a good job, we have delicious food to eat every meal and never have to worry about where our next meal is going to come from. We have the gospel of Jesus Christ, including the priesthood and temple covenants. This morning while loading the dishwashers and getting dinner into the Crock Pot I listened to a talk by Elder Bednar from April 2009 General Conference (Honorably Hold a Name and Standing Honorably Hold a Name and Standing https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2009/04/honorably-hold-a-name-and-standing?lang=eng&verse=#p). It was inspiring and got my day off to a great start. It also made me want to be better in every way, and gave me encouragement that I can do it with God's help.
Ministering: Today's ministering was to the Simpsons by way of Julie's attention to detail, remembering his wedding a couple weeks ago.
More later…
A few more photos from yesterday.
Land of the Free
Dear Jessie,I'm exhausted, so I'll jump right into tonight's journal entry. I love you and hope you have a nice day tomorrow.
Love,DadPhysical labor is such a good thing, and so exhausting! I started this morning playing Master Detective Clue with Spencer, Neil and Isaac. I taught them my techniques for note taking. Spencer especially caught on and just needs a little practice. It was fun. Then we had (second) breakfast of muffins Abbie made.
The major project today was working on the retaining wall Julie wants to put in between our house and the Bates. We planned it out before lunch then got to work after lunch. We got most of the digging done today and started laying the retaining wall blocks this evening. It's a lot of work, especially because of all the tree roots. We cut some of them out that were farther from the tree, but we don't want to cut all the big roots that are close to the tree. We are going to have to get creative tomorrow to get the wall built properly.
I enjoyed a bowl of Breyers vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries again tonight while reading scriptures with the big kids. Mom was on small kid duty tonight since we were cleaning up outside.
Thankful: I am grateful for a body that can work. I am thankful for "good sore" – the kind that is worn out and lets you know that you've worked hard, but that isn't injured sore. Injured sore is just lousy.
Ministering: I was mostly ministered to by a couple people today. Each of the kids were helpers today in their own ways – Mark helped dig the trench; Spencer and Isaac helped load and unload 2,200 pounds of retaining wall blocks. Everyone helped sort through the dirt we dug out, separating the rocks to be used as back-fill to help promote drainage. And when we went to Lowe's to get the blocks and other supplies, we were amazed by the incredibly helpful workers there. It was really refreshing!
More later…
Two "before" pictures of our retaining wall project.
Great day today. Stayed up absurdly late last night looking for accommodations for a Bryce Canyon trip next week. Made reservations today. Closed the month at work and got most of the prep work done for the Call Report. Suzanne will work on that next week while I'm gone. Glad to have someone else who can do that now. I just need to finish an hour or so of stuff from home.
Tonight we had a fancy seven-course dinner with the Albertsons. Spencer thought it up, and everyone worked on it today. It was wonderful. Hors d'oeuvres to start, salad, soup and bread, pesto chicken with roasted corn and jello, fancy dessert in crystal goblets to finish… it was all more than tasty. Loved it. Everyone did a great job.
After visiting for a while I sat on the floor and played with Nathaniel for about an hour. Very fun. He's sitting up well, rolls over whenever he wants, and is just wonderful.
Thankful: I'm thankful for my family who likes to do fun things. I'm grateful we got a nice hotel for our upcoming trip.
Ministering: I ministered to some employees today and was able to reward them with payment of cash incentives they earned. That always feels nice. I should add to my thankful list that I'm thankful for my Board who supports me in these efforts.
More later…
Let the feasting begin.
I have been working on improving the way I use my To Do list at work, and today I actually checked off everything that was on my list for today! I think I'm making progress figuring out how to organize myself effectively. Here's to continued improvement.
I enjoyed visiting with Jessie this afternoon. She and Sister MacDonald have been busy teaching lots of member lessons. I'm glad they've got good things they are working on. I hope they will be able to make a difference in the lives of the people they teach.
Dinner tonight was Salsa Rosa Chicken with fresh avocado. It was amazing. I'm sad I got full as quickly as I did. Then we had our ice cream chore-reward party. Each week the kids have a punch card with a list of responsibilities. As they do the things they are supposed to do, they get a punch. Monthly we have a reward, and the more punches you have, the more you are rewarded. Abbie couldn't eat all the ice cream to which she was entitled, but some of her younger, less diligent siblings benefited from her kindness as she shared some punches with them. My favorite was the Bryers vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries. (Not from our garden, sadly.)
After ice cream I agreed to finish playing Clue with Neil and Isaac. It took longer than it should have, but we had a lot of fun. I need to teach my sons some technique to make the game better.
Thankful: I am thankful that I spent time with my family tonight. I served the ice cream, enjoyed playing a game, then read scriptures and our chapter book.
Ministering: In a sense, I ministered to the world tonight. The book we are reading, Wild Robot, is an odd story about a robot that washes on the shore of an island inhabited only by wild animals. It's not amazing literature. But tonight the story presented a good opportunity to talk about not judging others just because we are different. It was a timely discussion as racial prejudice is front and center of so many discussions. I hope my teaching helped my children recognize the need to treat others as children of God, and do our best to look past differences to see others as God sees them. It's not easy, but most growth takes effort.
More later…
A view of the ice cream extravaganza...
