October 24th and before

Elder Presser, Sister Presser, Sister Jackson, Sister Breakall, Sister Williams, Elder Williams

We are on our way out of town tonight headed for Kerrville for the weekend to see Judy and John.  Nathan was nice enough to let me get someone to help him get to Pack Meeting tonight and to church on Sunday.  He has proven that he can travel long distances but there are a few things he still needs help with.

Sister Jordan Clark from Georgia one of my favorite STLLs

Nathan has been exhausted since he came back.  He complains all the time about being very tired.  He is still doing his routine but he has a cold or something with a sore throat and he had a few nights where he had aches and sweating.  But I think he feels good about his accomplishment.

Maggie and Isaac at the WW playground

This week has been relatively slow at the office.  I was actually able to get all my work done each day without much trouble.  Today all I had to do was to put in a few referrals and type in about 4 baptisms of the 14 that came in this week.   Larry took our car to get the oil changed and the tires rotated in the morning and got a car wash.  In the afternoon he had to go get license plates for the 4 new Nissan Frontier trucks that he just got this month.  We also went shopping for some food at lunch time and went home to feed Nathan.

Nathan had therapy at the VA today.  They forgot to pick him up at 8:00 a.m. like they were supposed to so I don’t know if he made it on time or not.  He was home sorting out paperwork all over the dining room table when we arrived with the food at lunch time.  I guess he worked on that some more in the afternoon because he had several pieces gone off the table just now when we went by to pick up the stuff to take to Kerrville.  He was going to Pack Meeting tonight to support them because he is Pack Committee Chairman and Isaac should be getting his awards for Day camp if Sara gets him there.  The Fourth Friday is Sara’s so it is up to her to get him to Pack meeting.

Isaac capturing the lion that swallowed Sammy

Yesterday we arose early and went to the San Antonio East Stake Chapel and participated in a Zone conference with Elder James Hamula one of the First Quorum of the Seventy.  It was a very enlightening day.  We fasted for 24 hours on the weekend into Sunday and he had us read several scriptures before he came so that we might be prepared.  Sister Slaughter and President Slaughter spoke as well and Sister Hamula spoke also.  Sister Hamula spoke on not being afraid to open our mouths about the gospel and talked about just talking to everyone you see and getting to know them enough so that you could get a referral.  Elder Hamula spoke on how to invite revelation into our lives.  He said that there is a five step process:

1.       Ask and it shall be given you…seek and you shall find...Knock and it shall be opened to you.  You cannot teach what you are not living.  He quoted from D&C 50 to back this up.  If you are living what you teach it will be confirmed by the spirit.  You do not control Heaven.

2.       You must sincerely desire to have the spirit.  He quoted D&C 11:8, 17 to emphasize that we must desire that which we ask for.

3.       You have to be committed to act on what you believe.  He quoted Joseph Smith History1:10, 18 and pointed out that Joseph Smith was determined to do what God asked him to do when he prayed to know what church was right.

4.       You need to learn to listen to learn.  Listen, watch, observe and create quiet in your life so you can hear the voice in the silence.

5.       Know how the spirit answers.  Answers come in the scriptures, through the voice of his servants, directly through the spirit.  He quoted Helaman 5:30, and Moses 5:4.  It comes as a voice crying in the wilderness, a still small voice that pierces your very soul, it is a voice from afar off that we probably will not see.

Sammy and Maggie on the lion

He concluded that section by saying Call, Ask, Seek, Listen and Hear and quoted from 1 Nephi 8 where Lehi is ask to follow the Angel but he did not receive an answer to his prayer until he ask.  It was a wonderful zone conference.

Thursday evening we went to Bingo night with the kids.  It was disappointing because no one won but we had a good time minus a little whining about food and wanting to go to the playground before it was time.  For the first time we noticed how much darker it was getting in the evening.  We only had time to play for a few minutes before it was too dark to see.

Maggie and Isaac making Haunted Houses on Sunday the 18th

Wednesday we spent the day trying to get everything done that needed to be done so that we would be free to go and see Elder Hamula. Sister Breakall and Sister Jackson came in the office and we got some pictures of them with us and Williams’ before Sister Breakall leaves on the 29^th. . They are the Sister Trainer Leaders, Leaders so they are like the Assistants to the President for the Sisters.

David's Haunted House complete with pumpkin fountain

In the evening Larry and I went to take David to scouts and help Brother and Sister Smith with his Family History.  We were able to get him an LDS Account so that he could go on Family Search.org.  Isaac didn’t go because he had pack meeting on Friday this week.

Sammy's Haunted House with a skeleton out front

Tuesday we worked all day again but not necessarily in the office.  Larry has had a lot of new cars coming in this week so he has had to pick those up and he is getting licenses and registrations for them and getting them out to different areas.  Tuesday he was going to go to Carrizio Springs, Texas to deliver a truck and wanted me to go with him  and he decided to have the Elders come in to pick it up because we had so many things to do.

Tuesday I also had to take Nathan to the lawyer for a meeting on the papers that have been drafted and to have those read and explained to us.  Sara’s lawyer has been slow in drafting the papers that he was supposed to draft so Nathan has had his lawyer draft them so that he can get the divorce over with and move on. 

Maggie's Haunted House with a chocolate chip walk

Isaac's house with a tongue door and fire pit in back

Tuesday evening we went to a counselor at LDS Social Services.  Nathan has been so rude to me for the past 6 months that I had to have some advice on how to handle it.  He will scream at me about being stupid when I don’t know how to do something he wants help with and he does not want to talk to me about certain things that I think are fundamental to being able to live together but he wants our help.  Nathan was still mad so most of the time he just sat there and when asked what he felt the problem was he just said he didn’t think we had a problem.  I was dumbfounded. I am hoping for find out what is the stoke and what he can control.

Monday was a regular day at the office I think.

Sammy Angry bird and Maggie Mulan

The week before was relatively calm with Nathan gone until Thursday.  We even had time to watch “Bones” on Netflix but I probably should have been writing the blog but I was so tired and hungry when I got home we just ate and watched TV for an hour and went to bed.

Sammy and Isaac on the end at costume judging

Wednesday night I went by myself to get the boys and take them to Scouts. We got there late because Sara had a drama club meeting and could not get home until 6:30 p.m.  When we got there we found out that Isaac’s Scout leader had posted on Facebook in the Woodlake chat that she was sick and would not be having scouts.  David went to mutual and his scouts and then we found the wolves for Isaac to meet with for a while.  Meanwhile even though I had called and asked about getting the Family History Center open no one had opened it.  I tried to call several people and could not get a hold of any one that would have a key and so I called Brother Smith who was not there yet and told him that we would just have to skip a week. 

Teen costumes with David as the pumkin head in the green

Then Isaac and I waited for David to finish up.
Luckily I got the Bishop to call me as a Family History Consultant and they gave me a key later so I should not have that problem again.

David, Isaac, Sammy, Maggie and some strange boy who decide I wanted him in the picture

Nathan got home on the bus early on Thursday morning after a two day bus trip again.  He survived and proved he could do it but he was very tired.  We got some food to eat at Taco Cabana and then when he had finished eating we and put him to bed.  He slept all day and was still sleeping when I went home to get him so we  had to just take the kids out to eat that night because we were late for Bingo night.

Out to dinner with the kids when Nathan got back

Maggie dressed as Mulan and Nathan at the ward party

Friday Nathan was still quite tired.  He postponed his meeting with the lawyer, Miss Watson and went to the VA.  His control handle for the wheelchair was broken and he needed to get that fixed and he had an appointment with someone there.  Luckily he was able to get it fixed so it didn’t bother him for the weekend.  He was having a hard time controlling where the wheelchair went when it was broken.

Maggie and Sammy Trunk or Treating at the church

Saturday we went to Walmart and got some things with the kids.  They were excited to get costumes for Halloween.  We figured out that it was the Ward Halloween and Fall Festival Party and so the kids were able to wear their costumes there and were quite excited to do that.  Isaac had chosen a crazy skeleton costume that was supposed to look like a skeleton wearing a black robe with blood dripping through its bones and it did but it was very uncomfortable and the blood juice leaked from the costume and from the knife he chose to take with it.  So he had a frustrating evening with his costume but it was a fun evening for everyone and a good chance to have some fun now that Nathan was home.  They had a dinner and a Trunk or Treat in the church.

All in all it was a good two weeks but also very hectic and a departure from the status quo.