Presser/Christiansen Family: November 9th and before

I just realized that this would have been my Dad's 93rd birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!!

Larry and Sammy enjoying some food at the Carnival

We have had the kids all weekend and did several fun things. Friday night was Isaac and Sammy's school carnival and we went to that with them and spent the evening doing all kinds of activities for them to charge money so that they could raise money but it was fun. Nathan didn't want to eat at the carnival so we went to Pizza Hut after and had Pizza.

Sammy, Isaac and David waiting to leave

Saturday we went to the Alamo area and as we got there they were having a Veterans Day Parade so we watched that for a while. Larry wanted to watch that and so we were watching but David was having attitude and not wanting to watch. I explained to him that grandpa had gone to Vietnam and was a veteran so that is why he wanted to watch and it completely changed his attitude. He said, "Grandpa went to Viet Nam?" with a tone in his voice of amazement and his attitude changed and he began watching the parade and not complaining.

Picture of the crowd at the carnival

We had gone to the area to go to Ripleys Believe it or not so after awhile we went in there. It was really fun for the boys and we got some fun pictures but Maggie whined and cried through the whole thing and insisted that I hold her hand and asked for her mother. I had forgotten to take a pain pill that I have to take at about 2:00 p.m. and between her crying and me hurting it was not the fun experience I had expected but the boys loved it.

Opening banner for the parade

One of the floats in the parade

They also have a wax museum and a 4D movie theater in conjunction with it so Nathan decided to buy the triple combination tickets. We went to the museum and theater after. They had snack outside like a movie so we bought some snacks for everyone and it cost as much as the dinner the night before but it tasted good and gave us a chance to relax. The wax museum was not very good. Many of the statues of the celebrities did not really look like them and the wigs were very cheap but it was fun to walk through. The movies were very fun and were like being in your own video game so the kids all loved it. We even got wet in a few places. Maggie and Sammy were both wanting to go back there today.

We then walked through the Alamo which was more crowded than when I have been there before. I assume with the Veterans Day activities that was why. They also have an antique gun show there for 6 months and so that was a drawing card also. We didn't stay in the line to see everything but we walked around some for the kids and bought some Fudge in the gift shop and then went home.

Isaac, David, Sammy, Nathan and Maggie

David and Isaac inside a huge tire inside Ripley's

On the way home we stopped and bought Maggie some play clothes at Walmart as she has one outfit that was dirty and then we ate at the Subway there. By this time I was so tired and hurting it was all I could do to be nice. I also had a sore tongue that I received when Maggie and I moved at the same time and she came up under my chin and I bit my tongue and she got her head whacked. Sleep was very welcome when we got home.

Today we got up at 6:00 a.m. and were still late for church. But we got everyone ready. For some reason perhaps because I had prayed that we would have the spirit at church I didn't hurt and I actually felt like participating a lot. We had lessons on Hastening the work in Sacrament meeting and finding and developing our talents in Sunday School and teaching our children both temporal and spiritual responsibility today.

June sitting on a couch that made a Moose above talk telling you not to sit on the couch

This afternoon we worked with Isaac on his faith badge for scouts and he learned about the Prophet Joseph Smith and then taught about him in Family Home Evening. We had junk food meals mostly with hotdogs and pizza leftovers with the trimmings because that is what the kids will eat and we have not been fighting that for a while because it is less work for me.

Sammy the Astronaut

Nathan ran into his toilet on Thursday night and when we woke up on Friday it was leaking. We called and they came and stopped the leaking. but put a note on the toilet that it could not be fixed for a while. He tried to use ours and without a bar and no one at home it took him an hour and a half to get back up so we called and they could not fix it until Monday because they basically have to get a new toilet so they came and switched our toilets so we have the broken one in our bathroom. So it has been a joke this last weekend with four kids and three adults and one toilet so we have had to run to the community center more than once because someone else was on the toilet and Nathan does not go quickly.

Maggie the astronaut

Maggie with Lady Gaga

Larry with Beyonce

This past week was Mission Leaders Conference which is always the first week in the month. It is usually on a Friday but it had to be on Thursday this month because of scheduling problems. I have a huge order that I have to get out of supplies for MLC and it basically takes me most of the week to get it together after the orders come in. On top of everything else I ended up with a cold this week. It wasn't to bad on Monday I just had a sore throat but Tuesday and Wednesday I was aching but it is hard for me to tell when I am aching from something short term and when it is my Fibromyalgia flaring up. Larry gave me a blessing and I tried to take my pills and deal with it but I was not feeling well and then on Tuesday and Wednesday nights we also had the kids and various activities and I felt like on Wednesday night that I wanted to give up but luckily the Moving Elders came in and helped me put together the rest of the order on Thursday morning and I went home and went to bed on Thursday afternoon for the rest of the afternoon. Because Larry wasn't feeling well either I got up and we both went to Bingo night but I was not feeling well. That night in my prayers I was almost ready to give up on trying to take the boys to scouts and help Brother Smith on Wednesdays but after praying to God for help I was able to sleep in the morning on Friday morning and work in the afternoon and by afternoon I was feeling better and have felt good since except when I forgot my pills on Saturday. I know that Heavenly Father has blessed me to feel good so quickly.

June with Sister Sailsbury at the farewell luncheon. Another favorite

The week before was transfers and was a busy week also. Although I didn't have a lot of work to do until the transfers were over and all of a sudden I was hit with and avalanche of Baptism records and referrals and then I also had to do MLC orders so it felt like it was either feast or famine in work.

President Slaughter's son Joseph slipping into the picture of the Sister returning

We had the kids for Halloween and last weekend also because when there is a Fifth Saturday then we get the kids for two weeks in a row. It was crazy trying to trick or treat in the apartments as no one was home so we went to a neighborhood behind the apartments and things were good there. The street seemed to be more affluent homes and most of the people were waiting our side sitting in chairs for the trick or treaters. At the street ended in a cul-de-sac the people there had set up a carnival for people but it was more for older children. They didn't have many treats but they sure had variety of scary looking people under their big top and they had a fortune teller giving away treats. Unfortunately I forgot my phone when we left to go so I have no pictures to tell the story.

I have lots of pictures of the last two or three weeks and so I will post those with a caption about them as the rest of the blog to get caught up. After I finished the last blog when we got to John and Judy's we went to Fredricksburg to see the Museum of the Pacific War that is there because Admiral Nimitz grew up in Fredricksburg, Texas