March 22 and before

Nathan and Marcy in Galvaston going 

swimming

Today was a normal Sunday in most instances. Nathan got up at 6:00 a.m. as usual.  Larry and I arose at 7:00 a.m. after reading scriptures and saying prayers we got in the shower.  Nathan got in just before us.  The kids started getting up while we were in the shower.  Nathan has the kids help him dress on the weekends when they are here even though he can dress himself.  I guess because he wants them to have an opportunity to serve someone and to understand what he is going through. 

David taken by Issac in car

We have breakfast together.  Larry had bought them bacon for breakfast yesterday so that was a hit.  He had also bought doughnuts on Saturday and we had some left so we had doughnuts and bacon for breakfast with chocolate milk.  Some weekends it is just cereal. I have given up trying to be nutritious.

Then we start to get ready for church.  Normally I have to find the clothes for at least two of the kids even though there are only two places they could be.  Maggie doesn't like to have her hair combed by me so I let her brush it and if she wants a pony tail then I try to put that in without brushing which is tricky.  By the time we get everyone ready to go it is often past time to be at church but today we were lucky and made it early.

Isaac love taking pictures of himself

We didn't take any electronics in the car and the kids were moaning about not having anything to do.  Our trip to church is about 20-25 minutes from our apartment.  I suggested that we play the alphabet game where you find the alphabet on the signs and license plates.  They said that they had never played it before so we tried it and they loved it.  It was the best ride we have had to church in a long time and they wanted to play it on the way back.

It was Ward Conference today so all the Stake leaders were there to meet with us.  The Bishop talked about enduring hardships and the Stake President talked about how to increase our love for and help to the inactive people in the ward and strengthen our weaknesses in doing so.  I didn't get to hear all of it because Maggie had to go to the restroom.  I was also frustrated because they were on one today.  Maggie felt like she had to talk to Isaac and Isaac would talk back to her.  Then after David got there from passing the sacrament he talked to Isaac and played games on paper with him and after asking them about 20 times to be quiet I was very discouraged.  I took things to write on and Friends and New Era's to read but they just could not be quiet.  I feel like I am making the matter worse by reminding them but I don't know what to do.  Any ideas would be welcome.

Maggie opening the ramp for her Daddy

On a brighter note Sammy sat on the stand with the Bishopric because he just got baptized and he was quiet the whole meeting sitting by Jason Christensen who gave him something to draw with.  So at least I could praise him when we were driving home.

We do not have Sunday dinners anymore.  We have food the kids like and we fix them what they want cafeteria style.  Isaac had a peanut butter sandwich and chocolate milk, David had two hot dogs and chocolate milk.  Maggie and Sammy had popcorn and Chocolate milk.  Later they had smores for dessert.  We also had watermelon in an attempt to get some fruits in the meal.

Maggie so proud of herself

We usually do some kind of activity after lunch.  Today Nathan asked the kids to color on the white socs, the VA gave him, some kind of design so they would not be white and boring.  They did a pretty good job of making them the same and coming up with creative designs.  Then David devised a way for the kids to play marbles and saved the day when they were getting restless.  The only calamity in that was Sammy got out first and he cries like he has been mortally hurt when something like that happens.  After that Nathan put on the movie Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea"  and they started to watch that.  Larry and I went into our bedroom and took a nap at that point.

I woke up to Maggie tapping me and quietly asking me to make her some hot chocolate milk.  She had to tap for quite a long time.  I finally got up and made her some milk and then she wanted a s'more.  I asked if others wanted one and Sammy and David wanted one. So I made them one and then Maggie wanted another.  About this time I noticed it was 5:25 p.m. and we were supposed to have the kids home by 6:00 p.m. So we all got up and scrambled to get ready, but the kids were late.  I guess we will have to set a timer.  Sara was good about it though.

This week was a busy week with Nathan.  Luckily it was not so busy at the Mission Office.

Monday we went to Weight Watchers and it was not a good week.  We both gained some weight.  We went to the Grocery Store and got some 0 point foods to have at the office so we could be better.  Then we went to the office.

Sister Williams was gone all this week tending her grandkids in Houston as her daughter and husband are moving to Vermont and they had to go look for a house.  Luckily it has been very quiet.  Part of that is because Sister Williams is so bubbly and talkative and the other reason is because it was Zone Conferences and we did not have to go but the Assistants and Leaders were there so we did not get as many phone calls.  I worked most of the week trying to get caught up on Baptism and Confirmation Records and the Referrals.  A lot of the referrals that I have to get in are the ones that have bad addresses that I have to call to get their address and that can be an interesting experience sometimes.

Larry is working on getting old cars ready to be sold.  He has 8 right now that he needs to get ready for transport.  He also had an accident in Leon Valley that was pretty bad.  No one was hurt bad but the car was totaled.  Then later in the week he had a car towed for supposedly parking in the wrong place.  He was really worried that he was going to have to go to Austin to get the car but this time they were not so picky as the last time and they took the paperwork the Elders had. 

Monday I went home about 2:00 p.m. and got Nathan some lunch and then we went to take Issac to get a military ID as he needed it now he is 10 to get to the doctors on base.  We picked up him and Sammy about 3:00 p.m. from school and then went to Fort Sam.  Nathan had an appointment so it did not take long to get the ID.  Then we went to the PX and got him a wallet and a wallet with a hook for his ID so he would not loose it.  While we were there Nathan decided to buy them some summer clothes for the apartment.  Then we went to eat at the food court in the PX and had a relaxing dinner with just the two boys.  They had Pizza and I had a salad.  We looked around some more and then we drove the boys home.  By now it was about 6:30 p.m. but Sara was not home because of play practices she was having this week and so we waited for a few minutes and Kenneth came home and so we were able to drop the kids off.  I was surprised that Kenneth was there during the week.  Larry was surprised that we were so late when we got home.  I should have called or texted him.

Tuesday I went to the office in the morning and then I had to leave about 11:30 a.m to go and get Nathan to take him to an apartment walk through.  He was wanting to make sure all the things that he noticed on the first walk through had been completed.  He also had Ken Jackson and Teresa Johnson from the ward there as backup in case he got upset.  When I got home he did not want to eat lunch then so we left and got there about 12:30 p.m.  He called the others and had them meet him early so he could explain what he wanted them there for.  The walk through went well.  They had done a lot of work to get the paint job improved and things cleaned up that had not been done before.  Teresa and Ken were able to help him see this and so there were only a few things that still needed to be done.

After the apartment walk through we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch at about 3:00 p.m. Then I took Nathan home and I went to the office for about an hour.

The necklace Maren gave me went perfect with this dress

The third Tuesday is our ward temple night.  We had dinner and then got ready to go.  It was raining so it was a wet night.  Nathan had to wash the wheels on his wheelchair before he could go in.  We went to the 8:00 p.m. session so it was late getting out.  By the time we got to bed it was 11:30 p.m. so I set our alarm for 7:00 a.m. instead of 6:00.

Wednesday we worked at the office during the day.  Then we had to go and get the boys for Scouts.  Sammy being baptized is now old enough to be a Cub Scout.  Sara was doing play practice so she wanted us to get David and the little boys and she had Kenneth get Maggie.  We left the office at 3:30 p.m as it takes so long to get anywhere that time of day but the traffic was not bad and so we had time to eat at 5:00 p.m.  Nathan asked the kids where they wanted to eat and he didn't want to go where they suggested so we ended up going to Bill Miller BBQ.  It is okay but I do not like their lean brisket and for some reason I decided to get that instead of a salad.  I was so disappointed when I saw that Larry had a salad and a BBQ chicken quarter.  I will be smarter next time.  The kids all got Chicken tenders.  But we had a good dinner and still made it to the scouts on time.

The scarf Maren gave me

Isaac and Sammy have their Scouts at 6:30 p.m.  David has mutual at 7:00 p.m. and Nathan had a meeting with the Bishop about Cub Scouts at 8:00 p.m. so it was 9:00 p.m. before we left.  Larry and I did not have anyone come in until the very end about 8:30 p.m at the Family History Center so it was a frustrating night for us.  We finally got the boys home at 9:25 p.m. We got to bed at 11 something again which is late for us.

The Purse Maren gave me

Wednesday I also got a package from Maren with a scarf, purse, necklace and earrings and some perfume for me and after shave for Larry.  There was also some small spoons that Landon had got for me in Dubie and Portugal because he knew that I collect the small spoons.  It was fun to get it and know that she was thinking of me.  She is trying to clean out her home before they move next month.

Thursday was the day that I was able to work the longest and I actually got caught up on things that day. After I went to feed Nathan he wanted to go and get some things for the Pinewood Derby cars at Hobby Lobby.  We did that and then Nathan went with me to the office for a while. We left at about 4:30 p.m. to pick up the kids for our visitation night but didn't get to the house until 6:00 p.m.  We took the kids to Chick-fil-A for dinner because it is right across from Nathan's apartment that he just rented for he and Marcy. Then we went over to his apartment to work on Maggie's car but Nathan decided that we could not do that without more tools so we went on a tour of the Apartments amentities: the pool, the fitness center, the dog park, the basketball court.  The kids were excited about all of it.  By the time we got back it was time to take them home but Nathan ran into a person who wanted to know where he got his van so he talked to him some and we were late again.

The kids walking back to the apartment after the tour

Nathan and Sammy at Papa Dantes

Sara asked us if we could get all the kids for her on Friday and get them early.  She said that Kenneth could meet us with the little kids at Randolph Air Force Base where David goes to school if we could get David.  Again we had to leave early to get there at 4:15 p.m. and we made it at 4:25 p.m. and then still had to go pick up David.  We took the kids out to Papa Dantes a local Italian restaurant in Converse for dinner and then they went home to work on the Pinewood Derby car for the High Priest/ Elders race that was on Saturday.

Nathan and Larry worked together to get Maggie's car finished. They finished it about 9:30 p.m. so that wasn't too bad.  Nathan talked about when he used to make the cars before he had his stroke and it sounded like he put a lot of extra effort into them to make them winning cars.  He said that he would carve out most of the wood so it was just a shell so that he could get the weight exactly where he wanted it.  He also said that he would be up late many times finishing the car.  He was so excited about them that he actually got upset with Sammy when he just wanted to play with the car after he got it done.  I think his kids actually had more fun making these cars as he has brought down his expectations to something the kids can do now.

Sammy, Isaac and David at Papa Dantes

Maggie and I trying to take a selfie

Saturday morning Nathan and I took Maggie to dance while Larry stayed home and did laundry and worked on trying to patch the mattress that we bought and Maggie put a hole in it the next day.  But nothing seems to be working.  The boys loved this as they could play on their Ipads the whole time and not get dressed early.

The kids working so hard on the Pinewood Derby Cars

Nathan and Larry working on Pinewood Derby Cars

We came home and ate lunch and Larry and I actually took a nap while Nathan and the kids bonded.  Then we left about 4:15 p.m. for the Pinewood Derby.  We were one of the first ones there.  We have found for family parties that Woodlake Ward really has Mormon Standard Time.

 I pitched in and helped Sister Alonzo set up the serving table while Nathan and Larry checked in "Elder Presser and Maggie's Car" and the kids found friends to play with.  Dinner was supposed to start at 5:00 p.m. but it finally started about 5:40 p.m.  but it was a good Hot Dog dinner with salad.  The kids were excited because someone brought tubs of cotton candy for a volunteer treat so they grabbed that right up.

Punching the holes for the wheels

The second car from the left is Maggies and Grandpa's

The race started a little after 6:00 p.m.  They raced an Elder against a High Priest.  Larry raced about third and Maggie was elated that they won.  Then they raced again and beat Erick Alonzo's car.  Maggie was thrilled.  But when they raced for one of the race offs they lost so they took 6th place.  Maggie was thrilled because they got a little tiny trophy with a 6 on it.  She didn't quite understand who she was racing though because she told me that, "I beat your man wife tonight Grandma" and she kept telling me that she had beat Grandpa even after I explained that a man wife was a husband.

Getting the track set up

It was a fun night and I think that Nathan and Larry felt good that they had at least placed despite the drop in requirements for a good car. I felt good because I only had one piece of cheesecake from the desserts.

March 15th and before

Monday was a busy day.  We got up early as usual.  We went to the office and I worked on my MLC orders that were due the next day.  I had six more zones to fill and it usually takes me all day to do that many but I was able to complete them in the morning with the Lord's help.  I had ordered somethings next day air on Friday that I knew that we were missing and had hoped that they would come in on Monday but we were not that fortunate.  Larry had to input all the information about mileage reports that come in and are due by the 5th of the month.  He was really working hard on that.

Nathan and Marcy in Galvaston

Nathan going into Pleasure Pier

Monday afternoon we met John and Judy at Joe's Crabshack for lunch about 2:00 p.m.  They had come into San Antonio to take John to the dentist at the VA and so they wanted to meet up.  We went and had a good time talking to them.  We always have a good time but John and Judy's idea of a short lunch is anything around three hours.  But that gave us time to crack our crab legs and Lobster and have a great lunch.

When we got back to the office we had a few things to complete before we went to New Braunfels to the Golden Corral for the Senior Dinner that we have every Monday after Transfer week.  It was fun to meet with those who were there but there were about three couples that could not make it so it was a little sparse.  Also Nathan was not there because he was with Marcy, but the Seniors were excited about his marriage and wanted to wish him well on that.

It rained all week in Galvaston

Tuesday we went to the office and worked all day long.  Luckily the express order came in about 11:00 p.m. so I was able to get the orders finished up and sent to the Stone Oak Chapel before 3:00 p.m. when the meeting ended.  I am thankful for the moving Elders that will transport those things for us in addition to their regular duties.  Larry was working on the Tiwi reports that come in from the cars.  He was pleased to have all of the cars except for a few score in the Green category which means that they did not have any incidents.  There were a few after hours and speeding violations but they were all necessary for the time or could be explained by the road.

Larry, Ashely Bai, June

In the evening we went to meet my niece Ashley Shaw Bai.  We met her at her hotel that was about 3 miles from where we live and then we decided to eat in the Ruby Tuesday's that was adjacent to the hotel.  We had a good dinner and found that Ruby Tuesday's is very Weight Watchers compatible so it was fun to eat there.  We also had fun reminiscing about things with Ashley, especially about the last time we ate there and they had a broken air conditioning unit and we about froze to death in July.  It was fun to be with Ashley.  We brought her back and showed her how close she was to our apartment and took her through the apartment and then we went back to her hotel and she showed us her wedding pictures.  As we were not able to go to the wedding I really was excited about that.  I am also excited to meet her husband who is Chinese and grew up in Bejing but, came to BYU and joined the church there.

Wednesday we worked all day also.  I typed in 22 Baptisms that day which is a lot for me.  Larry was working on I don't know what because I was so intent on getting the Baptism's in.  We had 61 baptisms for the month of February and I had got behind when we went to Zone Trainings and I am just getting caught up.

June at Olive Garden

We have just been eating lunch at the office while Nathan is gone so we have a longer day but we were so tired that we decided to eat out on Wednesday too to relax.  Larry is thinking that people will think that all we do is eat out because that is when I upload pictures to Facebook the most and I guess this week they would be right.  We went to Blanco Barbecue and shared a mixed platter of various types of meats.  It was good but not Weight Watcher's friendly.  While we were there we saw some other missionaries that were there being treated by the Ward Mission Leader before they went to teach a lesson.  Hurrah for the members that feed the missionaries.  They do not have a lot of food money.

Larry at Heavy's BBQ

Thursday we worked all day at the office.  I finally got all my baptisms in and recorded plus I finished the Weekly Zone report and the February Stake Baptism report and sent it to the Stake Presidents from the area.  Larry had a very stressful day as he had a car that was totaled and so he had to get a duplicate title.  After working for three hours to get what they needed he went to the DMV and they told him that they could not take his power of attorney to sign for the church that they needed a letter from the person who issued the power of attorney.  Basically they said that if he takes off the Power of Attorney at the top and the notarization then they would take what he has which does not make sense to us.  He was fit to be tied and not a happy camper when he got back.

Sammy, Isaac, and David at CiCi's

Because we had a gift card from Christmas for Olive Garden we went there to de-stress and have a good dinner.  It was fun.  We found out that they also have lite entrees but it is the breadsticks that you have to watch out for.  Larry was so stressed though that he bought an appetizer so we are in big trouble with our Weight Watchers points.

Grandpa and Maggie at CiCi's Pizza. Maggie is mad about spilling

Friday was a day at the office again.  I accomplished a lot.  I was able to get an abundance of messages answered about Bikes and Referrals and such.  I got all the referrals in the system that were not troublesome because of bad addresses and I finished up some supply orders with new supplies that came in on Friday and Thursday.  Larry felt better because he was able to get the duplicate title and get it sent to Salt Lake.  We were the only ones in the office because Elder and Sister Williams daughter is getting married on Saturday so they took off to get ready and travel to College Station, Texas where the marriage will take place and their daughter lives.

Sammy and David at CiCi's Pizza

Friday we left the office early because Sara said there was problems with one of the main roads to get to her house and  we were picking up the kids for Sammy's Birthday a day late.  We followed her advice and left earlier and we actually got there an hour early because the other roads were not crowded, perhaps because it was Spring Break in the schools this week.  Sara was nice and let us take the kids early.  We went to CiCi's Pizza because that is were Sammy wanted to go.  It was fun.  Larry and I had never been there so our Grandchildren thought we were ancient and really dumb because we did not know how it worked.  But we had a good time despite that.  They had TV's there that were showing the movie Rio and the kids were enthralled with that so we didn't get a chance to talk much.

Sammy blowing out the candles on the cake

After CiCi's we went to Burlington Coat Factory to by a suit for Sammy per Nathan's instructions.  I was surprised that they had so many.  We tried on a Black one and it fit but then I saw one with a subtle plaid and asked him if he wanted to try that on.  He liked it and we tried it on but it did not fit as good.  When we looked at the label it was a 10 Slim.  The Black was a 10 Regular.  We finally decided to take the Black suit because it fit better and it looked really good on him.

Maggie with Sammy's Cake

Then we went to Target and let Sammy pick out a birthday present from Larry and I.  He chose 5 Lego Mixels.  They are little figures that I guess they can mix and match the pieces of different types.  We let him take home two figures and then brought the other three to our apartment.  Isaac wanted me to buy him one also.  When we had been buying Isaac's birthday present I would not buy any thing for Sammy and told him it was Isaac's birthday.  So I told Isaac it was now Sammy's birthday so we were just there to buy for Sammy.  Isaac kept begging for the figure so I told him.  If you want I will buy it for you and then you can pay me back with the money that you have in your bank at the apartment.  Immediately he went and put it back.  He didn't want it bad enough to pay for it himself.

The Elder's in Hondo wearing the Sombrero

After that we took the kids home and tried on Sammy's suit pants there to make sure they did not need altered.  They fit perfectly.  I was surprised that he fit into a 10 but he is growing up.

Sammy dancing with Chuck E Cheese

We went home and wanted to go to bed immediately but we watched a Bones on Netflix and it was a cliff hanger.  We wanted to watch the next one and there were no more on Netflix so Larry went to Bed after we read scriptures and said prayers but I had to stay up to find out where I could see the other Bones.  I found out several ways we could see season 10 and was about to go to bed when Nathan and Marcy got back from Galvaston.  It was about 11:30 p.m.  I talked to them for a while and then I went to bed.  They seemed to have had a good time even though they said it rained all week and the room they got was not handicap assessable.

Elder Presser 97-99 in the middle

Saturday Larry and I got up and went to Hondo because he had to glue one of the Tiwi's onto a new windshield that they had to get for their truck.  It was fun to ride to a more rural area of Texas.  While we were there the missionaries in that area showed us a sombrero that had been signed by Jeff when he was on his mission here.  He served in Hondo for a while also.  They had just discovered it the night before we got there.  It was exciting to see it and see that it was signed "Elder Presser 97-99"  We took a couple of pictures of the hat and the signature so we could show Jeff.  Then we stopped at a local BBQ place called Heavy's BBQ and had some BBQ before we went back.

Sammy in his new suit in a rare quite moment

We got back about 1:00 p.m. We were tired so we rested for a while and then we got ready to go to Sammy's Baptism.  Nathan and Marcy left before us so they could get the program printed.  We were the first one's at the church but it wasn't long before Brother Smith the ward mission leader and the Bishop showed up and we were able to help them set up the room.  It was about 4:15 p.m. and they were just starting to fill up the font.  I was surprised that they could fill it so fast.

Nathan planned the program and typed it up.  He also was able to baptize Sammy with the help of a friend, Jason Christensen, who helped him to have the support that he needed.  Originally he was going to have Larry baptize Sammy but the Bishop Alex Alonzo told him he thought he could do it.  Bishop Alonzo took him to the font and helped him try walking in about a month before the baptism.  He and Marcy practiced in the Hot Tub with Sammy here at the apartment.  Marcy has also had him in the swimming pool several times lately so he could get used to the water.  He actually went into the font and backed up to the wall and Jason was on his side to help him.  He said that it was actually easier to do than he thought it would be.  Perhaps he was blessed by the spirit to do it easier.  It was amazing to watch considering that he could not do anything except blink his eyes about 2 years ago.

Sammy with Bishop Alonzo

They do not let you have refreshments right now in our stake at the baptism so after Nathan and Sara joined together and took all the families to Chuck E Cheese's.  Nathan bought the pizza and drinks and Sara bought the tokens.  We all sat together Sara with Kenneth, Nathan with Marcy and all of the kids plus Kenneth's kids.  That was a great miracle in and of itself.  Larry and I enjoyed the fact that we could go home when we wanted and we didn't have to follow anyone around because there were plenty of parents there.

Sammy and Nathan ready for Baptism

This morning we went to church with Nathan and Marcy.  It is Sara's turn to have the kids.  We attended Sacrament Meeting where they talked about the importance of Service in helping us come unto Christ.  Before we left to take Marcy to the airport the Bishop brought us Sammy's Baptism and Confirmation record.  He also updated Nathan's record to have Marcy as his wife.  Then we took Marcy to the airport.  It was hard to see her go.  She is so good for Nathan and I love having her here.  She is so loving and fun to talk to.  She is truly a blessing from God for Nathan to help him progress.

Now we are just trying to keep the Sabbath Day Holy.  Nathan said he is exhausted but he does not like to take naps so he is playing a game on the computer.  Larry is taking a nap because he does not fear naps and I am working on this because I am not so tired this week.  We are watching some of the I'm a Mormon video clips on Mormon Channel.  So I will just finish this with I am June Presser, I am a teacher, a missionary helping my son, I love to  write my blog and do Family History and I am a Mormon.  There are a ton of I'm a Mormon short clips that you can watch there and at the http://www.mormon.org/ website

March 8th and before

Well Larry and I are alone for the next week.  Marcy flew in today and they went to Galveston.  We had the kids yesterday and this morning because Sara consented to let us have them on her time so that Nathan could work on Pinewood Derby cars with the three littlest.  We had the kids this morning and went to Church with them.  We only stayed for Sacrament and then we went into the Bishops office and He interviewed Sammy for Baptism.  Then the kids and Nathan and I went to the airport.  We took two cars to church because there is only room for six people in Nathan's van so Larry stayed at church the rest of the time.on

Maggie on Nathan's chair at the airport

We got to the airport about 1:00 p.m. and Marcy's plane did not come in until 1:30 p.m.  I was surprised because the kids were thrilled with seeing the inside of the airport.  They were so excited about the baggage movers in the claim area.  I forgot that when they picked me up they always just came in the car and I guess they had never been in the airport.  Isaac said, "I have seen this in books but it is really cool to finally see it."  It is interesting that often we think because we have experienced something that others have had the same experience.  I find this is often true with children.

We arrived home from the airport and fed the kids and they changed their clothes.  Nathan and Marcy hurriedly packed for him and then they all got in the van and Nathan took them back to Sara.  Nathan and Marcy went on to Galveston for the week.

Last Monday we went to Weight Watchers in the morning.  I was thrilled because I had lost 4.6 lbs. so the week started out good.

I had sent out the orders for Mission Leaders Conference earlier last week and so I spent some of my time trying to print out the orders and filling some of them.  I also had a lot of other work to do as it was the beginning of Transfer week.

Monday and Tuesday there was a lot of drama on Facebook in our lives.  It was very frustrating because the person did not feel good and they got mad so they were taking their anger out on Facebook.  I tried to calm them down through texts but that just made things worse so it was hard to see the posts that were ranting about how things were and they were not exactly true.

Elder Nebeker, Tingey, Trammel  Joseph and Jessica Slaughter in back

Tuesday we spent the day at the office as Williams had to feed the missionaries going home.  We have not had so many missionaries coming in lately because they are trying to pare the missionaries down to 200 in the mission.  We had 8 go home and 11 come in this week.  I also had some more orders to fill.  I was able to get half of them filled by the end of the day.  Larry was feeling overwhelmed because he had to fill out the reports for mileage for Salt Lake and he also had to monitor the reports that were coming in for Transfers on the Tiwi boxes they put in the cars.

Wednesday we had to feed the missionaries that were coming in.  It was fun to see them as usual.  We have one missionary that came from South Africa and his parents thought he was coming on Tuesday so they emailed me to find out if he was okay.  I told them that they were just coming in on Wednesday and that I would take a pictures so they could see him.  It was fun to take the picture and be able to send it from my phone immediately so they could see him.  It was also fun to see the appreciation in the emails they sent after.

Elder Jacobs and Aguila Front  Rasmussen background

Nathan got someone to take him to the ward house because he had a cub committee meeting that night.  He is really getting so he can be independent which is what he wants and ultimately what we want.

This week was cold for San Antonio.  Wednesday night they were predicting ice and snow in the morning.  So they decided to have Transfer meeting at 11:00 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m.  We have a meeting before the Transfer meeting that is usually at about 7:45 a.m. so we got there at 7:30 a.m.  No one was there.  We missed the call that the meeting had been delayed because of the weather because my phone was dead and Elder Presser left his at the office.  So we went to the office to work for a couple of hours after we found out and then went to Transfer meeting.  Because of the later meeting I did not feel that I could go to Austin because I had to help Nathan get his kids at about 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon.  Larry however needed to go to report on the Tiwi's to the missionaries and so he went and I stayed home.

We picked up the kids at school because Sara needed to stay to school to do things.  We started at 4:00 p.m. and finally had them all at about 6:00 p.m. We went to ChickfilA and got food and then took the kids to Nathan's new apartment to work on Pinewood Derby cars.  When we got there they had not put any nuggets into Maggie's kids meal so I had to go back and get the nuggets.  Even though it was just across the street from Nathan's apartment complex it took me about 20-30 minutes.  When I got to the apartment a car drove up beside me and I just thought it was someone at the complex but it turned out to be Larry so it was nice to see him.  It was kind of a miracle that he had found us and so it was good that I had to go get the nuggets.  I was really stressed because in addition to Maggie not having any nuggets Nathan had squeezed his drink trying to put on the lid and spilled it all over him and on to the floor. I cleaned him up but I had to clean that up off the floor when I got back.  It was good to have Larry there to help with some of the derby cars and to get things done.  We started to get cleaned up at 7:45 p.m. but we were late getting the kids back because it took forever to get things cleaned up at the apartment.

Maggie's dance class tap

It was really interesting to see how the kids reacted to Nathan's new apartment.  They wanted to know if we were going to live there and why not and they wanted to know when he was going to move in and they just had a lot of questions to try to sort out why Nathan needed this apartment.

Friday was a catch up day at the office.  I had about 30 baptism and confirmation records that needed to be typed in.  I did not get them all done but I was able to start.

Maggie dance she is in the light blue

Even though it was our weekend to have the kids, because of it being Spring Break and it was Sara's turn to have them for Spring Break we were not supposed to have them this weekend.  Sara agreed to let Nathan have them from after dance on Saturday until after church on Sunday so we could work on the Pinewood Derby cars.  We met them at Maggie's dance lessons and brought the kids home to work on the cars.  I was amazed at how the cars came together on this day.  It was amazing how Nathan knew what needed to be done on the cars and we just had to do it to help him.  But considering that his cars in the past were winners I am sure he is just using what he has already learned.

Saturday was a good day.  We worked on the cars while we watched the Hello Kitty movies that Nathan got for Maggie from Netflix.  The kids played with their Ipads but they also talked to us and we were able to get the cars worked on.

February and March 1st

Maggie teasing her dad

Maggie's hello kitty outfit.

Well I have decided that they only way I am going to catch up on this blog is to tell you briefly about February because it seems that I am a month behind.  There are so many things that have happened and I have notes too but I will have to give you the highlights.

On the 7th and the 8th of February we had Nathan's kids.  I took a picture of Maggie in an outfit that Nathan bought her that she has not wanted to wear together since we bought it back in November or so.  She looks cute in it I think.  I was really pleased that on Friday evenings she climbed up on the bed after Nathan had just got in bed and was playing with him and teasing him and he was playing with her back.  She said she like to play with him because he is my daddy.  I think that helped Nathan to feel good.

Maggie playing with Daddy

Practicing on the ballet bar

Maggie doing a back bend with help

Sammy at dance lessons

David and Isaac playing at dance

Isaac in the backwards seat behind the driver

Saturday mornings are Maggies dance lessons so we all went to watch.  She is doing well even though she is one of the youngest in the class and has not been in the class as long as some of them.  As you can see her brothers are not so excited about watching her dance as they were to play on their Ipads.  Maggie used my phone when we got in the car after and took several pictures of the ride home of her brothers.  Some of them turned out good some had to be deleted.

Sammy intent on Ipad

Isaac agin with Nathan in the front.  Larry driving

On the 9th of February they had a Youth temple trip and David was old enough to go.  That is Nathan's night to have the kids and so Nathan and Larry took David and some of the other Young men to the Temple to do baptisms and out to dinner.  I took the other three and we went to dinner and then went to Target to shop for a birthday present for Isaac as his birthday was coming up. He wanted to get a Skylander but Target did not have any that he wanted and so he settled on a Creative Lego set.

We didn't worry much about Valentines.  We sent ecards to our grandkids.  Nathan bought us some chocolate covered strawberries and then Marcy sent him some also.  We got a card and some treats from Erick and Heather and Ryker the next Monday at the office so that was fun.  However after gaining 3.8 lbs at weight watcher's I was hesitant to eat them all so we shared with the office.

Nathan and Larry at Little Italy

The next Monday was Isaac's birthday so we went to Peter Piper Pizza for dinner and then we went to Toys R Us so Nathan could buy him a present. He chose a paint mixing set and something else that I cannot remember that he took home to play with with the other things he had at home.  We had a good time.  Nathan also bought himself some legos to put together as he uses them for therapy on his hands.  Maggie was really cuddly that night and so that was fun.  I downloaded the Mormon Channel Kids app and she likes to look at the videos on there.  They only have four right now but she will watch all four and she played those as we took them home.

The rest of the week Larry and I had zone conferences. On Tuesday the 17th we presented at the Stone Oak Chapel to the North and East and Hill Country zones.  I was asked to give a presentation on how the missionaries can use Familysearch.org to help investigators and new members with their Family History.  I prayed about it a lot and worked on it and the missionaries were very receptive.  So much so that President Slaughter sent me a text complementing me on my excellent presentation.  Larry was busy most of the day working with the people from Salt Lake putting in Tiwi devices in the cars that will moniter their driving and remind them to slow down and put on their seat belt and warn them of aggressive driving.  He also gave a presentation in the conference as did President Slaughter.

 Before we left for San Marcos on the 17th we went to a restaurant called Little Italy that we had noticed on the street that we drive to get to the apartment.  It had an impressive atmosphere and Nathan and Larry really liked the food but I did not like the fettuccine that I ordered.  I have had better.  But it was fun to go there before we left Nathan by himself for two nights.  He did fine but we had the neighbors come over and help him get food out.  He can pretty much take care of himself now except for that. We drove up that night to a hotel in San Marcos close to the church were we had to be the next morning at 8:30 a.m.

Larry and I at Mammacitas

Marcy with Sammy

On the 18th we went to conferences in the morning.  President presented first on the Millenium and then Larry and I presented.  They had to test drive the cars after the boxes were in to see if they were functioning properly.  I had gone to the mission office on Tuesday to work on some things there but in San Marcos I got to help test drive cars.  So I spent the afternoon driving to fast without my seat belt and attempting to drive aggressively in the parking lot to see if the alarms worked.  It was kind of fun.  They also had the person over the Vehicle Program for the church that spoke each day about the boxes and I was also able to listen to his presentation before driving the cars.  One of the cars went dead after test driving it so it took about two hours to find out how to get it started again and then we were able to leave for Austin.  It turns out that something is making some of the Ford Fusions loose all the power in their batteries after the cars boxes are installed as we have had three do that.  They are still working on what is causing it but they suspect that it is because the batteries are already partially drained when the box is installed because all of the Fords do not do it.

Maggie modeling the new scuba gear we got for the kids for Christmas that finally came.

Isaac and Sammy playing with legos and mixing paint.

Isaacs mini figures that he labeled Nathan and Marcy

Isaac with his birthday presents

We finished about 3:00 p.m. and went to Mammacitas in San Marcos for lunch.  John and Judy first introduced us to Mammacitas in Kerrville and we love it.  We took a picture there but then I forgot to post it on Facebook so I'll post it here.  We had a piece of cherry chocolate cheesecake that was good and I think Enchiladas.  We then drove to Austin.  We were so full from our lunch we only went and bought some fruit and yogurt to eat and then I worked on referrals on the computer while Larry watched old NCIS reruns.  As we were driving to the store I called an old friend's, Marsha Oleen, son on the phone.  He, Garrett Oleen was in the orchestra with my boys back in the Vernal days and I had just found out that he is a Bishop in Round Rock Texas which is close to Austin.  It was great to talk to him and we want to plan to see him sometime with Nathan.  I also was able to talk to Kirsten and Kyle on the phone for a little while that evening.

Maggie, Isaac, Sammy, Marcy

In the morning we went to the Austin, Round Rock and Round Rock East Zone conference.  We gave our presentations and drove the cars and were finished up at about 1:00 p.m.  We got a quick bite to eat at Subways and drove home.  That night we went to Bingo night with the kids.

Maggie, Isaac, Sammy, Marcy

A partial Quesedilla at Chachos

Friday we presented at the West, Border and South zone conference and then went back to the office.  By this time Larry was exhausted but the kids were coming over so it was not time to slow down.  Also Nathan's new wife Marcy came down to meet the kids and he finally told them that they were married.  He has had them talk to her on the Ipad but had not told them that they were married until that night.  David said, "Already?"  Sammy had come up and hugged Marcy when she came into the apartment and Maggie was excited to see her also.  Maggie was infatuated with the idea that she had a new Step Mother and after the evening was over said that she was a 10.  Marcy sat and just watched Sammy play his video games for about an hour before she helped him and Isaac and Maggie play legos and mix paint with Isaacs new birthday presents.  So of course thay all thought she was great.  Marcy was realistic enought to know that they will not always feel that way but at least she got off on a good note with them.

Isaac had wanted to go to Chachos to eat and to bowl for his birthday but he didn't tell us until we picked him up on Monday so we told him we would do that for his birthday on Saturday.  So Saturday we got up and went to dance with Maggie and then we went to Chachos to eat and then went to Bowlero to Bowl.  It was the first time that Larry and I had bowled since one of Kyles birthday's since before 2007.  I had got up in the morning with sciatica nerve bothering me so I was pretty poor but Larry did a little better.  We had a good time.

Marcy and Nathan at bowling

In the evening I went to the East Stake Women's conference while the rest stayed home and played and watched movies and went Scuba diving in the hot tub at the amentities center.  It was a very inspirational conference and I took lots of notes but I don't have time to copy them into the blog.  Maybe another time.  It was fun to spend some time with the Woodlake Ward Sisters and get to know them better.  They had a keynote speaker who was the Temple matron here, Sister Sprouse, and then three classes on very good subjects.

Not the best scores but we had fun.

Sunday, Marcy went to church with us and then we had to take her to the airport.  We went home and had lunch and played life and worked on Pinewood Derby cars that Nathan is helping the kids with.

Maggie in another cute outfit

This past week has been and emotional roller coaster.  I got a new phone from insurance so I took it Monday to get the stuff in my old phone transferred.  I was really excited that I was able to get the person who set up my phone to give me his name and information so I can send the missionaries out to talk to him.

Tuesday I took Nathan to get an apartment that came open that he wanted even though it was earlier than he had planned.  He and Marcy are getting an apartment in Converse so he can be close to his kids and she is moving down here.  It is a nice three bedroom apartment that will be crowded when they have all seven kids there but it is a good start for him.

He got mad at me for some reason that only his brain knows and so we have had an up and down week as we have tried to work that out.

Wednesday we picked all the kids up for Sara and then took them to the church were Isaac had scouts and David had Young Men.  I got the little kids so we could get Isaac there on time and we all went to McDonald's before we went to the church.  Nathan and David and Larry went to Chili's to satisfy David's desire to go there.  We worked with Brother Turnbaugh from the ward and had a great time helping him find some names for the temple in his descendency.

Thursday night we took the kids to a shopping area called the Forum. When we went to pick the kids up Sara was upset so it kind of put a damper on the night. We ate at Chick fil-A and then went to Hobby Lobby for things for the Pinewood Derby cars.  It was bitter cold that night.  It had been in the high fifty's in the day.  It was so far away that by the time we finished there we did not have time to show the kids the new apartment so that they could see it because it was time to be back.

Friday I tried to work but spent a lot of time texting on the phone trying to work out disagreements. We did not have the kids so we just relaxed after coming home.  Larry was exhausted again and I was emotionally upset with the week.

Saturday we slept in.  I was surprised that we slept to 8:30 a.m. Larry got up and immediately went to get some cars to Pep Boys for repair like he has been doing all week since they cut 8 cars from his fleet in an effort to downsize the mission.  I did some exercises for my hip and then dressed and then realized I had no way to go shopping because Larry was gone and Nathan was not letting me take his car so I worked on bills until Larry got home.  

In praying the night before about the things going on in our lives I felt like we should go to the temple.  So we got ready and went to the Temple for the 4:30 p.m. session.  It was a great session and healed my heart so that I could feel better. It also gave Larry a clearer understanding of what we should do. Plus they played my favorite of the new temple films that they have now.  

Then we went grocery shopping even though we had realized that it was Fast Sunday today.  We bought lots of good things that we could not eat until this afternoon but it was fun doing it.  Today was Fast and Testimony meeting and I bore my testimony on the importance of Temples for healing and Nathan bore his testimony also.  Things are much better today.

We called Jeff's son Owen to wish him a happy birthday that was last Monday and to see if he got our gift card.  He was cute and talked for a few minutes then we talked to Jeff for quite a while.  We had a good talk.  Jeff is always fun to talk to.

I watched a Nova special with Nathan and Larry took a nap this afternoon.  I started the blog but then we ate and Larry and I read our scriptures and some other things.  Nathan was really tired tonight and went to take his shower at about 7:30 p.m.  After talking to Marcy he said that he didn't feel well and so he went to bed with a bowl in case he got sick and threw up.  I hope that resting will calm it down.  He has a lot to deal with and works really hard to be independent which is good but he is often tired and refuses to take a nap because it is so hard to wake up from them.  So now everyone is in bed except me so I think I better hurray and finish this as it is 11:57 p.m. and I have to be up at 6:00 a.m.  But at least until tomorrow I am caught up.