Fasting makes perfect

Our ward is having it's annual fast for members of the ward that need help.  We always meet the night before to start the fast and each person who wants their name mentioned is prayed for by name.  It is a great unifying influence in our ward and it helps us to become aware of those who are in need of help.  Many people who were on the list testified today of being able to feel the spirit in abundance.

Ryker in his new Sunday Clothes

This is the first year in a long time that Larry and I have not been asked if we want our names on the list and we are doing so well we did not choose to have our name included.  We have truly been blessed with health and strength.  It makes me feel so good when I can walk for about 4 miles at a time and feel better than when I started.  It really is true that exercise makes you feel better emotionally and physically and I think spiritually as well. We bought the Weight Watchers active link that we wear and it is really pushing us to do better with what we are trying to do for as activity in our daily lives.

Taylor as Princess Sophia the First

Larry has been a member of Gold's gym since he went to medicare.  They have a free membership that they can get on that.  We decided to purchase me a membership as well now that there are some days that are getting colder.  We have gone there everyday this week to walk and tomorrow we are having a personal trainer help us decide which of the machines that we need to use to help with our health and weight loss.  I can truly say I cannot remember a time for a long time when I have felt better.  And at the gym I can watch a movie or other things on TV when I walk.

Last Monday was a busy day for Larry and I.  We weigh in at Weight Watchers at 9:30 a.m.  We walked before that.  I hit my goal of 40 lbs lost last Monday.  Larry lost several pounds and has lost 61 lbs so far so we have almost lost the equivalent of a whole person between the two of us.

We always work on our finances and other paper work on Monday.  We spent most of the day on that.

Taylor as Sophia and Ryker as a Ghost

My visiting teacher came at 4:00 p.m.  It is always good to visit with them.

At 5:15 p.m. we realized that it was our zone in the ward's turn to clean the building.  We went over and I have a key to the church so we started working.  We worked for almost 3 hours and another person did not show up.  We vacuumed the chapel and all the halls and classrooms and cleaned the restrooms.  It took us until 8:15 but we were not too upset because we got lots of activity points for Weight Watchers!  But I wonder if we missed a memo by going to Kirsten's church on Sunday.

Maggie as the Rainbow Princess

I think that Tuesday is the day we joined Gold's Gym in the morning.  After that I took my friend Kelly Jenkins to lunch for her birthday.  We went to Sizzler's and had a good talk while we ate but I tried to be in line with my points and did not do so well.  That afternoon I worked on curriculum until about 4:00 p.m. until Taylor came for us to tend her. 

Abbie as a Power Ranger

Kirsten and John were going to spend the night somewhere for their anniversary so we had Taylor and Kyle overnight.  We took Taylor to her other Grandma's for a while at 5:30 p.m. so we could go to our Financial Peace University Class.  Taylor stays up late at their house because John works until midnight and so sometimes she is up that late.  Needless to say she did not want to go to sleep when we usually do.  I took my pills that I take at night and I was falling asleep but Taylor was not sleepy.  I tried to tell her a bedtime story but my pill that helps me sleep made it so I could not concentrate on the story and I began wandering off like when you are in a dream and saying strange things.  We got up once and got her some treats and her aspirin that I had forgotten and then she finally went to sleep about 11:30 p.m.  I tried to go back to sleep with Larry twice but she would always wake up and come and find me so I spent most of the night with her.

Max, Ellie, Gauge and Brinlie

Wednesday morning we were able to have some one on one time with Kyle before he went to school.  Then when Taylor woke up I took her visiting teaching with me.  We walked to the house which is about two and a half blocks away.  We talked and than walking back I asked her if she had a fun time.  She said no.  Even with the lady offering her the toys her grandchildren play with!  I laughed.
Kirsten and John came about 11:45 am to get her.  After that Larry and I went walking for awhile.

In the afternoon we had a lady come from the insurance company that insures the retired teacher's association.  In the Dave Ramsey class he says that you should get long term care coverage about in your 60's so we wanted to find out about the plan.  Unfortunately we found out that we did not qualify because of the combination of things I have had done and because of Larry's disability classification so I guess we won't worry about that.  Also the lady said it is best to try to get it in you 50's before you have several things wrong with you.  We also talked to her about Dental and Vision because we will lose Larry's cobra with Discover in March.  They have very good plans so we felt good about that.

Max Skelington

Merrilee said she did not feel good enough to go to Weight Watchers so we exercised and then relaxed for a while in the evening.

Thursday morning I got up and had to get my hair done at 9:00 a.m.  It looked much better when she finished because my bangs were getting to long. Maren called while I was driving down there and I had a good talkd with her.  She was feeling good about several of her accomplishments so I was glad to have a chance to talk with her then.  She made a darling costume for Max for nothing but her time because she is such a good seamstress and had some scrap fabric.

 Larry went to the gym while I went and then I went when I got back.  Then we went to Golden Corral and listened to a sales pitch on a type of insulation that is supposed to be really good but we didn't have the money or like the fact that they wanted you to schedule that day to have it put in tomorrow.  You should be able to think about things.  But we had a good dinner at Golden Corral which was again over points.

Matthew, Owen, Leah with two friends

Of course Thursday was Halloween.  When we got home I was able to work for a while but then Taylor and Kirsten came about 5:30 p.m. and Erick and Heather and Ryker came shortly after that.  It was fun to get some picture of the two cousins together and they went for a while in our neighborhood.  I put on my grim reaper costume and answered the door to give out candy.  It was fun to see the looks on some of the kids faces when I answered the door.  One mother had to explain that it was just Sister Presser in a costume.  Some of the kids this year also commented on the wall hanging I put on my door every year.  Someone wanted to know if the house was really haunted and some of the little kids thought it was a scary picture.  I don't think I have had anyone comment on it before so it was a fun night for me.  Larry went to the gym after Taylor and Ryker had come.  I think that Michelle's kids had decided to do something else they said.  We did not see them all night.  We were able to see a lot of our grandchildren that live far away on Facebook.

Erick and Ryker with the pumpkin the carved

When Larry got home we watched Elementary, a program we like that is on that night and then began to get ready for bed.  I didn't make it until 1:00 am.

Friday is our LDS Employment mission.  We are there from 8-5 except for an hour for lunch.  I was able to contact all of my people on the list I have to work with.  It was a really slow day on Friday though.  We had a few people come in but not very many.  There are a lot of good jobs right now with call centers in our area.

Found out texting with Nathan that he had been able to go to the ward party on Halloween night.  He liked that and I think it was an answer to prayer because he was texting me last week about how he wanted to go home.

Taylor and Ryker

Friday night we went to the gym for date night.  I walked about 3.4 miles on the treadmill and got to watch Hocus Pocus on the TV so it went by pretty fast.  Unfortunately, I had to come home to finish part of the movie but that was fun also.  Was able to lay down for that part!!!

Saturday morning we walked over to the Family Search Center where we work from 9-12.  There were only two people that came in but I was able to get some sources on John Henry Michaelsen and his kids, that I found the week before, attached to Family Tree.  I was also able to find sources for his wife Ella Elizabeth Anderson and attach those.  I really love the new feature they have that you can search for documents in Family Search right in Family Tree.  We walked home and then after lunch went to Mom's.

Nathan with the family at McDonalds

About noon Sara sent us a picture of Nathan at McDonalds with the caption "We busted him out and went on and adventure.  I am sure he enjoyed it because he didn't text me that he was depressed this weekend.

At Mom's I vacuumed all the floors on the main floor.  So I got some activity points.  Larry didn't have much to do this week because my brother Craig and my nephews Josh and Weston were there with their families in the morning raking up the leaves.  Mom said that Craig hauled off 38 bags of leaves.  10 of them were from when Kathy and Gary worked last week.  And Kathy and Gary put another 4 in the garbage so they had a lot of leaves to rake.  There are still some that we will have to get next week.

Mom wanted to go somewhere for dinner so we went to Culver's with her.  I was craving a pumpkin shake so I got a mini pumpkin/cheesecake one with my sandwich.  Again I went overboard on my points.  But it was so worth it.  I only have 4 weekly points left of my 49 so it is a good thing that it is fast Sunday today.

When we got home we thought we could go to the gym but found out it closes at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday so we went home and watched NCIS on Xfinity while I walked back and forth for an hour from the bedroom to the kitchen.  It was worth it though, I got more points.