July 25th and before

Today we are at John  and Judy's home visiting them.  We arrived last night and they allowed us to sleep in today.  We woke up at 9:30 a.m. and read scriptures until 10:30 a.m.  then we poked our heads out and ate breakfast.  Judy is so good to have Chocolate milk and fruit for us and she had bought some cold cereals this time.  We had a good breakfast with Fredericksburg peaches and cereal.

Larry Presser, John Trolinger, Judy Trolinger

We sat around  talking for a while and listening to John's stories and such.  Then a neighbor cousin whose Mother, John's Aunt Rae Ellen, just passed away, came for the mail so I took the time to go in and shower and say some prayers.  Larry followed me in and told me that John wanted him to stay with Judy when he has his surgery on Monday so we began a change of plans.

Judy planned a yummy dinner that we ate about 4:30 p.m.  She cooked Turkey in a crock pot with whole berry cranberry sauce and Lipton's dry vegetable soup.  She made warm bread and a green salad with that.  She really knows how to make a meal look good.

Then we have been talking for a while also.  Just talking about history, politics, family, religion and whatever.  Kirsten called once but it has been a very relaxing day.

Maggie in a rare quiet moment in the bounce house

Last Saturday the 18th we had the opportunity to sleep in also.  After we got up and did a few things we went to Nathan's apartment to see the kids as he said that he had a pool party that the apartment complex had planned that they were going to.

While we were driving down there was a text frenzy with Sara that was taking place because Nathan wanted David to call three numbers and tell them his number.  Nathan refused to tell him why because it was a good surprise but David was scared because of his training about strangers that we all give our kids.  Nathan refused to give in and tell him why and Sara was frustrated.  David eventually told Sara that the person that was with Nathan was gone so then all the more problems were caused as Nathan is not supposed to be alone by court order in the Divorce decree.  We got there just as Sara got there and spent sometime trying to convince Nathan that he needed to tell David what the surprise was but he would not budge.  I was proud of him though because he did not get angry like he has done in the past and just moved on.  We finally convinced Sara that we would be there and The person came back that was supposed to be there but had left for an emergency at home.  So Sara went home and we went to the pool party.

David and Isaac in the pool

They had a fun party at the pool.  They had brought in a bounce house for the kids and they had music (much to Larry's dismay-not the kind he likes).  They also had Texas barbecue with chicken and potato salad and and beans and pickles and onions.  Maggie and most of the kids ate pickles and drinks and snow cones with cookies.  Maggie and Sammy liked the bounce house.  They all really enjoyed the pool.  It lasted for about two hours in the mid afternoon.

Doug Emmett, Nathan's helper, Maggie, Nathan at pool party

At about 5:30 p.m. Larry and I went to a party for Larry's grand niece Allison Trolinger who is going into the Navy.  Maggie wanted to come home and spend the night and so we took her to Allison's party with us.  Again we had Texas Barbecue and Potato Salad.  They had a cute cake that a friend of Allison had made for her.  Again Maggie only ate crackers and grapes and strawberries.  We stayed at the party for about an hour and had a good time talking to Allison, Mike and Sandra and meeting their friends and then we started home.

Sammy on the bounce house slide

When we got home Maggie was hungry for some reason (lol) and so I made her a grilled cheese sandwich and made her some hot chocolate milk like she likes.  I was surprised because she ate the whole sandwich and drank two cups of chocolate milk.  I put on a Yo Gabba Gabba movie for her to watch and Larry and I read scriptures and then I helped her get in bed.  I fell asleep in her bed for half the night so Larry was wondering what was wrong.

Doug, David, Isaac, Sam, Nathan eating at pool party

On Sunday Maggie and I had fun watching the Bible Videos on lds.org.  She always has a question about them and it is a good way to teach her the gospel and she loves them.  She was disappointed that they did not have the one still up on the Stoning of Stephen.  For some reason she loves that Video.

Isaac and Sammy in the pool

We went to church and helped some with the kids at church.  Maggie did not want me to leave her in Primary so I stayed for part of the time until she was involved in the activity then I went to my own class.  At this point I do not remember what we talked about in classes or Sacrament that day.

Nathan took the kids home to his apartment and we went home.  All of a sudden a strange number calls and it is Sammy calling me and tells me that he has a phone and then Isaac and then Maggie.  So I suppose that the three numbers that Nathan wanted David to call were the kids cell phones so they would know that they had them.  I don't know why he could not shift gears and see that he needed to do something different when David got scared though.  But I think that is part of what Nathan has not yet recovered from with the stroke.

Isaac, David, and Doug in foreground of pool picture

Monday the 20th we got to the office early because we got up early to exercise.  I began trying to figure out the IPads.  Elder Hatch had sent me his passcode so I thought I could reset his by putting in the passcode and going through the resetting process for the missionaries.  But the next to last step was to enter the apple ID and I didn't know that.  So I texted him on messenger to see if I could get that.  He sent me something related to his passcode but it didn't work.  So I started to read to learn what an Apple ID was.  By the time I figured out what it was I could not get hold of Elder Hatch on messenger.  So I started by calling to get the downloads again but I had the same experience that I had on Friday so they told me to send the serial numbers in a email and they would reset them remotely.  So I did that.  In the mean time Elder Hatch sent me his Apple ID so I went in and tried again to reset it but his ID would not work for some reason.

Allison reacting to the cake as the person who made it fixes last minute problem

Larry was busy all afternoon as he had 4 cars come in from the field in the first of many that will come in during this transfer.  Our allotment of cars has been reduced again to 73 so he has to have 14 cars removed and ready to sell this month.  So he will be very busy. He had the Assistants decide where to put the cars and remove them.
Monday night I was thrilled that Isaac sent me a text on his own saying "Goodnight"

Tuesday we had the first of Eleven Zone Conferences that we chose to go to for one last time to teach them about the things that we need the missionaries to know about our area of work in the mission.

Allison Trolinger with her cake

Larry is showing a couple of videos about speed and backing because he has had a lot of accidents with backing and I mentioned about the speed issue we had a few weeks back.  He is also talking to them about the cost of accidents to the mission and such.

I have been talking about some things about IPads that they may not know like they are responsible to repair them and about the new referral system that came with IPads and things they can do to improve their approach for referrals.  And, lastly I am talking about some of the problems I encounter in filling out the Baptism and Confirmation report.

Tuesday we went to North Zone which is just up the hill in Stone Oak area.

I got an email from the person who tried to reset the IPads and only one worked because the others were not on WiFi and so they were able to only reset one.  I tried to get the others to WiFi but you have to know the passcode so I was back to square one with those.  But at least I had one now that I could give to Sister Ormsby.  The only one that worked was Elder Hatch's so I assume that it opened up enough to have WiFi.  They told be a way to add the wrong passcode 10 times that will erase them but I haven't been able to get that done yet so we will see.

We had some work in the office in the afternoon.  We thought we were ready to go and then we both tried to do some other things fast and we were late enough that we just had to drive to the Temple and then we ate after we got out of the Temple.  This session was one of the best I had here.  Then we went across the street to McDonalds.

Mike moving through the crowd at the party in the kitchen

Wednesday morning we got up at 6:00 a.m. as we had all week and went to the Fitness Room and then came back and ate and then showered and we were reading scriptures when my phone goes off to remind me that we had an appointment with the Disabled American Veterans about the denial of my application for caregiver support.  We had ten minutes to get dressed and get there.  We hurried and then in getting there we got lost for a few minutes but thanks to GPS we found where we needed to be.  Luckily the 9:00 a.m appointment had not come so they saw us but it was not very fruitful.  They said that they don't do any of the caregiver support applications and we would have to go to patient advocate.  So we found out about that and then we went home to get a little more put together.  So we were late getting into the office.

About 9:30 a.m my Brother Craig texted all of us brothers and sisters a picture of his first Grandchild.  It is Misha and her husbands baby.  They named her Margot Corinne Stanley.  He said that she was born at 1:07 a.m. that morning and she weighed  6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 21 inches long so she is tall like a lot of our family babies.  I was surprised at all the dark hair but Misha's husband has dark hair.

Margot Corinne Stanley my brother Craig's first Grandchild

Sister Williams called as we were driving to the office as they had to go that day for something and they were leaving soon and someone had called that we needed to talk to.  So the day began even before we got to the office.

The Assistants were in using the computers for weekly Zone Reports and so shortly after we got there we went to lunch because we had no where to work.  We went to a place called Casa Sol that we have passed everyday on out way to the office. We felt bad that we had not gone there before because it was some of the best Mexican food we had eaten in San Antonio.

After lunch we went back to the office and I got some things ready for the Zone conference on Thursday at South Zone.  I don't know what Larry was working on.  Then we left about 4:30 p.m. because we were planning to take David and Maggie out to lunch.  We left early because Larry does not like to fight the traffic on IH 410 and  IH 35 at that time in the afternoon.  We got there about 5:00 p.m. and Sara had told us that they would not be home until about 6:00 p.m. so we went to a restaurant and ordered an ice cream cone and looked at our phones for a while.  About 5:30 p.m. Sara texted that the kids were having so much fun at Splash town that they wanted to know if they could postpone it so we said yes and went to get something for us.

Cieli as Holly posted on Facebook

We actually drove back up by where we live and went to Blanco BBQ.  We wanted to have some of their Chicken tenders and we needed to pick up a receipt for the last Dinner for Incoming Missionaries so we could accomplish two things by going there.  We ordered a child's meal and split it because it is so big and ordered an order of deep fried mushrooms besides.  It was wonderful and Larry posted a picture of some of it on Facebook.  We also got the receipt in just 5 minutes after two weeks of phone calls about the confusion so it was well worth the trip there.

Thursday we went to South Zone Conference.  After we presented I had a missionary give me a tip about where they could find some of the information that I had online with their IPads and I took a picture with her because she is going home on Monday the 27th.  Unfortunately I did not have my phone with me so I did not get a picture also.  Then I drove our car back to the office so that Larry could drive back another mission car that was getting turned in.

We worked until 5:00 p.m. getting things ready to go to Border.  We had made reservations to go to a hotel in Eagle Pass as we drove to the Temple on Tuesday.  We had also made reservations to go bowling at 7:30 p.m. but we did not make it in time.  We had a good drive down there but the GPS took us a different way this time.  We stayed at a Microtel by Wyndham.  It was very nice and clean but very small also.  But it was all we needed and contrary to our opinion about Hotel breakfasts this one had great fruit and things we could eat on Weight Watchers.

We had purchased dinner before we left San Antonio because it was after 5:00 p.m.  Larry got me a huge diet Dr. Pepper with caffeine that I said I wanted but I forgot that it reacts with my pills to give me an anxiety problem that makes it hard to sleep so Larry went to sleep and was asleep for three hours before I could go to sleep.  I wanted something to eat and finally went to the night desk and asked if the restaurant next door was open 24 hours but it wasn't.  The clerk was so good to me though he got into the breakfast foods and got me two bananas and a strawberry yogurt.  I will be forever in his debt.  After that I could sleep.

We had a fun time at Border conference on Friday.  They have gone all Spanish and so the training that the Zone leader was giving was in Spanish.  I was amazed to see him do this as it seemed he had only been out 6 transfers and he was talking so well it seemed.  He later told me he had been out 9 Transfers but it is still amazing what the Elders and Sisters can do with the gift of tongues.  At home several years ago we had French Foreign Exchange Students that could not speak or understand our language very well after 5 years of training.

We presented our training and then followed the Assistants to a place called Super Tacos and got some awesome authentic Mexican food.  It was really good.  One thing I have noticed though is that the truly Mexican restaurants do not over price things and they do not give you more than you need.  I got a taco that was $2.39 and was so good and filled me up and was not too much.  The same for Elder Presser.

After the conference we went to HEB to buy some fruit and soda and then we started to Kerrville via the west entrance.  We went on some country roads and saw parts of Texas that we have not seen before.  We ended up driving into the hills and got to about 3,000 feet about sea level. San Antonio is only about 930 where we live according to GPS.  We got to see where the headwaters of the Guadalupe River start and drove through several small towns that we have heard about.  It was a fun drive and we got our Scripture reading for the day done as we traveled in the boring parts.

We got to John and Judy's about 4:20 p.m.  We talked for a while and then John got a phone call saying that they wanted to do surgery on him on Monday.  He has two lumps in his abdomen that they have just discovered.  He actually knew about the one because he can feel it and it moves when he pushes it.  But when they did some tests they found the other one and they are very concerned about that one.  They are going in to do a biopsy Monday and see if it is cancerous.  John is already convinced that it is cancer because he had cancer once before in 2004.  Judy is still praying that it will not be cancerous and that they can cut it out and things will be fine.  Considering that he is in constant pain he is quite cheerful and very accommodating.  He and Judy are both very disciplined in their actions and really impress me as to the way they conduct themselves.

We went to Billie Gene's our favorite restaurant in Kerrville and had a good dinner.  John on the other hand only had a cobbler with ice cream for dinner and he didn't eat a lot of the cobbler.  He reminded me a lot of when my first husband John was sick with cancer.  After we went out to eat we talked a little and then we went to bed.  Larry and I were very tired after all of the driving we had done in the last two days.

July 17th

Today was a hectic day with lots of twists and turns.

We started out pretty normal with all the rituals being performed that we usually do before we go to the mission office.  However they went in a little different order.  Larry got up to go to the VA to get some prescriptions at 7:00 a.m. when he got there he noticed that it opened at 8:00 a.m.  So he waited.  Some other people came around 8:10 a.m. and he looked up and noticed that the sign said that on Fridays they didn't open until 9:00 a.m.  He decided that he would go another day when it opened at 8:00 a.m. and came home.  When he got home I was ready to go so we went to the mission office.

I answered all the emails and then there was an email answering mine that asked if we could switch IPads for missionaries that where just using the loaners when the were broken.  I happened to mention that the IPad that the Sister from Australia had was slightly cracked when she received it.  When I got the answer they said that it was okay to switch it.  This was in opposition to the things I had read online that said that even missionaries with loaners had to pay for their own repairs.  So I was confused about who to follow.  I called President and asked him what he wanted me to do and he said it was okay to ask the Support person that answered my email why he had given me an answer that conflicted with what I had read.  So I did.

A picture of Cieli sleeping that Holly posted on Facebook

Then about this time I got calls for two referrals one for a blessing that they needed soon and the other for an investigator that was moving and wanted some help moving in today when they got to Laredo.  Those were both things that needed to be dealt with immediately it seemed.  I had just hung up the phone and I got another phone call from the Referral Support telling me that they were sorry that they did not get me called on time for my appointment to be trained on the new referral system.  I had no appointment that I knew of so I asked if it was the one I had been trained on in December.  And the answer I got was it was 3.0.  I finally said what it 3.0.  And they said that it was the referral system that was used with IPads.  I realized that this was important also so I told them I was ready.  And I am glad I did.  The new system does not require so much typing and used Google Maps directly to find the area.  It seems like it will be better.  So after listening to the training system on that for about a half hour I went back and was able to finish up with the immediate referrals that I had received.

Then I turned to trying to learn how to start an IPad so that I could answer the questions that the missionaries call with.  Already I had had a missionary call the day before and he could not get the Area Plan Book App to sync with his companion.  The answer that I got from support the day before was to report it with a tab on the Ipad so I told him to do that and he did but he was already calling this morning reporting that it kept telling him that he did not have access to the link they gave him.
I asked him to send me the email and I read it but did not understand it and could not understand why they had sent it to him.  I thought how can they expect us to know all this computer talk!!

So I spent about an hour and a half trying to set up this IPad.  When it got to setting up email it would not work for me.  I asked the Assistants for help and they did not know how to get it to where it needed to be and I could not get it to let me go on and set up the next steps because I had to have the email set up for those. I called support and they did not have the answer and that they did not support email and they would send me a copy of what they had. So I became frustrated and finally decided I needed to set it aside for another day.

I worked on Referrals for a while and realized that it had reloaded every referral that I had trouble with on the other system and then I typed in all of the Baptisms that I had and submitted them.   I worked on clearing up all the sticky notes I had on my desk of things to do.  In doing this I found a return email from the person that had given me opposing information.  He said that all I read should be followed but because this Sister's IPad was cracked when she received it and it just grew bigger that we could exchange it for another.  If she had been the one that had cracked the screen than she would have had to pay for it.  I was excited and called Sister Ormsby and told her the good news.  I told them that we would be in the office until about 5:00 p.m. if she wanted to come and exchange it today but if she couldn't get there before 5:00 p.m. then she would have to wait until Monday.

Elder Jorgensen called me back about this time and again wanted to know what I had found out for him.  So I decided that I needed to call Support and have them look at the answer he received on my screen so I did that.  After they did that they told me that somehow he had received an automatic response to his email that was for a place he didn't need to go.  They said that they had a bug in some of the Area Book Planner apps that was preventing syncing and that they had sent the problems to the developers to get them to work it out and it wasn't working for a lot of other people so it wasn't what he was doing.  I called and told him that and told him to be patient until they get it worked out.

About 2:30 p.m. I finally came to the thing that I had felt like was the most important thing to do today:  Ordering supplies!!  So I worked on that for the next two hours.  It all went very well but I realized in going though the list I had that I was going to have to revamp the list because many of the DVD's that I ordered and the paper planning supplies are now obsolete with the IPads coming into the mission.  It has virtually cut my orders down by about half what the cost was before IPads.

Sister Ormby from Australia loves ice cream

I was just finishing up my order when Sister Ormsby and Sister Collier called and said they were coming to get her IPad exchanged.  That was when I realized that I needed to clear the IPads of all their stored stuff from the other missionaries.  I thought I can do that if I hurry.  Hah Hah!!  So I got the handout that told the missionaries how to clear their IPad before turning it back in and started to clear one.  Immediately I realized I had a problem because it asked for their passcode and I did not have any passcodes and if I did I didn't know who's IPad was who's.  So I called the Mobile Device Support.  They said, "no problem I can walk you through this"  But we need a computer that has ITunes on it.  I checked and my computer did not have ITunes on it so she showed me how to download it.  But it would take at least 15 minutes with our slow internet.  So she told me to call back when it downloaded.  In the meantime Sister Ormsby and Sister Collier show up.  I told them what I was doing and they said great we can wait.

Sister Collier, Sister Ormsby, Elder Presser, Sister Presser

The Itunes eventually downloaded despite our slow internet and so I called back.  They instructed me to plug the IPad cord into the computer and then attach it to the IPad when it was turned off while holding down the home button.  After 15 minutes of trying this and it not working I tried another IPad and it worked perfectly.  Then they showed me what I needed to do to get it to clear the IPad and we started it.  When I finally figured out where the button was that I could view the progress the download had stopped.  So we started it again and it said that with the speed of our internet it was going to take three hours to download.  We started to let it work hoping that it would change the time after adjustment but within a few minutes it had quit downloading again.  My theory was that our internet speed is just to slow for it.  Anyway by this time it was close to six and I was not going to try more because I had had it and we had to be at the temple at 8:00 p.m..  So I suggested that we take the missionaries to dinner because they said no one had signed up to feed them and then they would have to come back when I finished it.  So that is what we did.

We almost didn't make it to the temple because we took an hour and 15 minutes to eat but luckily the session before was behind and so we made it in.  It was a good night at the temple and I was alert and ready to learn.  I was disappointed that they showed the old film that they have shown for about 30 years but it teaches the same things that the new ones do so I don't know why other than I have seen that one for so many years.  There were a lot of hispanics in the session that used headphones.  They said that they were from the Huebner Creek Spanish ward. The only thing about 8:00 p.m. sessions is that we get home at about 10:30 p.m. but it was Woodlake ward temple night and so we were there.

So now you know why it was such a crazy weird day.  I am sorry I do not know what Larry did today except when he went to the temple and ate with me.  I could ask but I am too tired.

July 16th

Because I stayed up so late last night working on the blog I did not want to get up this morning when the alarm went off.  Larry had been bothered by cramps in his legs and so he got up but he did not want to go exersize so I told him I was going to lay down for a while.  I have another alarm set for 7:00 a.m. but I turned that off and just laid back down and didn't get up until 8:00 a.m.!!! I asked Larry why he didn't wake me up and he said that I acted like I needed the sleep.  I think he spent the time reading.  Needless to say we did not get to work until 10:00 a.m.

Sister Williams was alone at the office because Elder Williams had gotten nauseated and stayed home.  She was hoping he would go to the hospital but I don't think he did.  I hope he can get his surgery soon so that he can start feeling better.  He is a wonderful example of a person who does what needs to be done despite how he feels and the Lord sustains him.

After we had devotional I left to go mail some IPads back to the church at FedEx and to pick up David for a one on one lunch.  But I couldn't find it so I finally went to pick up David.  There was an accident on IH 35 South and so it was backed up for three exits or more so I had to go off and go on the side roads so I was a little late but I finally made it about 10 after 12:00 p.m.

We went to Chili's David's favorite place heres.  We had a great time talking while we ate Onion Rings and he had Chicken tenders with fries and I had Steak with Mashed potatoes.  Then we shared a Chocolate Molten Lava Cake.  So basically I had a 32 point lunch.  Yes I know I am over points just for lunch.  But it was fun and we had such a good talk.  We both put our phones down and talked about everything.  I felt that it was worth the points to have that much fun together.  The only downer is that I forgot to take any pictures because I left my phone in the car.

When I got back at the office Larry had been working on mileage logs all day.  I worked on Referrals and Emails and typed in the Baptism and Confirmation Reports that I had.  Over the last two afternoons I typed in about 15 of them.  It was good to get them all in.  I always enjoy the differences of families and the different names I am typing.  Today there was a lady named Dalares that I finally figured out it was a variation of Delores.  I also had to call the missionaries today that baptized a girl that was 10.  It said that her father was born 10 years before her and that the mother was 9 years older than he was.  I turned out that all of that was true but he was a step-father.  So I had to get the biological father's name for the record.  This kind of stuff happens all the time.

I was so stuffed for a while that I was not comfortable and I learned that it is possible to eat to the point of not feeling good so I think I will not do that for a while.  I also had after lunch coma for a while.

I finished the last of the Baptism stuff about 5:15 p.m. Larry was finishing up his mileage reports also and then a missionary called and wanted to know why his IPad and his companions would not sync on the planning app so I had to call the tech support.  Luckily I did not have to relay anything complicated.  They told me to tell him that he could get an answer by going to email support that is right on the IPad so that was not as complicated as I thought.  I have decided that I am going to use one of the loaners to learn how to do all this stuff though because I get so many questions.

Larry took me to the FedEx place and it was almost where he described it for me but it was good that I waited because I had forgotten to take a way to pay for it at noon so this way I had his mission card to pay for it.  They boxed it up and sent it back but it cost $57.00 to ship 8 IPads so I hope I do not have to do that very often.

I was not hungry still after eating all I did for lunch so Larry ate something and we talked about finances for a while and then we read scriptures and now I am finishing the blog.

July 14th and 15th

Yesterday we were on our own as Elder Williams had a Colonoscopy in the morning.  Sister Williams was with him but after taking him home came in for a while.

I spent the morning updating several referrals and got most of them updated except for about 8 that required me to call on them because they had bad addresses.

Elder Presser had to take the moving Elders to U-Haul to rent a trailer because the trailer we own the lights would not work.  They had to go to Austin to clean out the apartment that the Antuars left because the missionaries replacing them, the Minerts,  are bringing their own furniture.  When he finished that then he had to rent a trailer for the Assistants so that they could pick up the mini-missionaries from San Antonio Stake.  The mini missionary program is a stake program that lets certain youth participate in a tag along program with certain companionships to learn what missionary work is like for a week.  They were all over the mission and they had to pick them up and their luggage.  When he got back in the afternoon he worked on entering mileage reports in the computer.

I decided in the afternoon that it was time for me to teach myself how to order IPads.  I needed to what I was responsible for as I was appointed this task by the President.  I think I got the job because I work with Supplies.  I had to gather up the papers I had and go to the website that they have developed for this purpose and just look at it.  I think I was able to look at everything that they had there and I learned quite a lot.  Including the answer to the question who pays for the IPads to be fixed and it is the missionaries unless they come from undeveloped countries.  I was also on the phone with Salt Lake mobile support group several times yesterday and today.

In the evening we ate dinner and then went to the 6:30 p.m. session of the endowment at the temple.

On our way home we stopped at HEB and got some food because our refrigerator was getting a little bare.  When we got home it was about 10:15 p.m.  so we went to bed immediately because 6:00 a.m is not 8 hours sleep if you go past 10:00 p.m.

This morning we got up and went to the fitness center at the apartment to exercise as we did yesterday.  Then we ate and showered and read scriptures and prayed together, and got dressed.  Larry wanted to be out of the apartment before 9:00 a.m. because he had to go and rent a trailer for the Assistants to use today also so they would have it by 10:30 a.m. when they went to Austin.  He also had to take our trailer to Pep Boys to get it fixed because we cannot keep renting trailers.  He dropped me off at the office and then he went to get the trailer and to drop off ours.

I was by myself at the office for a while but the Assistants came in about 10:00 a.m. and were surprised that he had gone to get the trailer because they had thought they needed to get it.  They did some planning and companion study while they waited for him.

Meanwhile I was working on the usual and I got all the referrals in and started calling people that I needed to call because the addresses were bad.  I was surprised that every person on the list answered the phone or called me back which is a mini miracle.  Sometimes I call that many and never talk to anyone.  I was able to get them updated and assigned to someone so I had all the referrals in at that time.  But more were texted or phoned in today so I have some for tomorrow.

Williams came in about 10:15 a.m. after he went to another doctor's appointment.  He is trying to get accepted for disabilities at the VA but he is also having to have two things done so he can have a hernia operation so they had to go for the 2nd thing today.

Larry came back about 10:30 a.m.  He got the Assistants taken care of and the Moving Elders and than he started working on mileage.

We finally had devotional.  It was my turn to give the thought and I talked about some of the things in the Ezra Taft Benson manual on Temples that we had last Sunday.  We always have a lively discussion to go along with it.  I love the Williams.  They left shortly after that because Karen had a doctors appointment in the afternoon. So Elder Presser and I were alone for a while.

We have had a lady calling for an Elder in the mission to come back to the area where he was transferred to so he can teach her more. She had one excuse after another of why she needed only him.  Of course that is against policy.  She has called the office 4 times now in the past two days. Larry talked to the Elder yesterday and he was aware of the situation and said he would call but from a pay phone so she did not have his number.  Today it got so ridiculous that Sister Williams called the  President about her.  That is one reason that they transfer the missionaries so often because we want the investigators to get baptized because the love Christ, not the Elders.

In the afternoon I did some more work on getting ready for the IPads and I also worked on some instruction sheets that Sister Kasper left for me about how to do things that are outdated now because of the change in the way of doing things.  Then I also typed in some Baptismal forms.

Larry sent the Moving Elders to get the trailer but it still wasn't working with what they had done so he had to call Pep Boys and tell them to do what needs to be done to get it fixed.  He and the Elders had thought they knew what it was and just had that fixed but it was not all of the problem.  He also had some Elders come to the office to work while they waited for their car.  Finally about 3:00 p.m. he asked them how long their car had been in.  They said since 10:00 a.m.  Because of what they were doing he new it had been in there long enough and so he called Pep Boys and it was done.  They also said they had fixed what was wrong on the trailer so he sent the Moving Elders again to get it.  But when they got there it was not fixed.  Larry was really upset that he had to send them there 3 times before they had it fixed.

On the way down I was pleased that Nathan had written on his blog so I went to it and it finally said something positive about me and Larry.  It made my whole day.  It also helped me to see that the reason he has not wanted to talk to me is that it is too hard because he gets emotional.  Anyway you can read it at http://www.iamnotdeadyett.blogspot.com/.  He is really writing a better blog lately so I am convinced that he is still progressing.  After all he is living by himself and doing fine with a little help from the ward.

At 4:00 p.m. we left to go and get Isaac and Sammy to take them out to dinner.  We cannot get all four kids in our Jeep in seat belts so we decided that we will take them out in two's.  They wanted to go to McDonalds so we went there.  I know that some people don't like McDonalds but they have really come out with some quality foods lately.  I especially like their Salads and Hot Fudge Sundaes.

After eating we took some food to Nathan and took some things that we had found at the apartment that should go to his apartment. I also needed to pick up the foot pedal and cords that Sara and the b

Isaac and Sammy at McDonald's tonight

oys found for him for his newer machine .  I got the food ready for him and then Tyler Welch came and I thought he was coming to look at the things that Nathan has to give away but then he said that he came to pick him up for a meeting.  I immediately remembered that he had Pack Committee Meeting tonight at the church.  He would not take the food with him so I hope it is kind of good cold.  I was frustrate because he didn't remind us that we needed to get there earlier but not surprised, he seems to only be able to focus on one thing at a time.

The kids wanted to go to Target to see if there were any new Skylanders so we took them there.  Sara was there also so that was funny.  But the boys decided it was important to look at the toys so they declined an offer to go home with their mother at that time.  They had a great time.  Isaac's favorite of the night was a Tetrus version of Jenga.  Sammy's was a Minion fart busting machine that made a stupid noise (of course).  After looking for about a half hour we took the boys home and went home to the apartment.

July 13th

Today was a normal Monday.  Lots to do and the Assistants need the computers so Larry and I went to Weight Watchers, Washed the Car and bought some fruit that was 0 point foods for the office at HEB.

Larry lost a pound and a half.  I gained it.  Very frustrating but expected because I ate too much every evening.

Sister Clark, Brother Clark, Sister Williams and Sister Adair

In the after noon we were able to get on our computers.  I was frantically trying to get some things caught up and the President called me and told me that he had sent me some emails and to look at them.  He wanted me to see if I could go in and help the missionaries begin to use their Planning App because the Assistants had not been able to get it to wdownload.  I was panicked. I said a prayer.  I didn't understand anything about it but I read all the stuff he sent me and I went in and tried to duplicate the page they sent me but it wasn't there.  Then I found a page where it said I could turn on all of the Area Planners.  So I turned them all on but one did not want to be turned on.  So I called the number to get to the people to give help and they basically did not know how to help me so they gave me a number for Missionary Support.  I told her what I had done and she came on and looked and said I had done it right.  Then I asked her where the page was that President had sent to me.  She went to people in her group that knew more and came back and said that that page was not something that I could access and I didn't need to do any more.  About that time the Assistants called and said that they had the app and wanted to know if everyone had it.  Larry talked to them because I was still on the phone.  So basically with God's help I did the simple thing that needed to be done and learned that I didn't need to do the other thing.  It made me feel good to be able to solve the problem that had plagued some others with the Lord's help.

Elder and Sister Studevant

Tonight was the Senior Dinner.  We went to a restaurant in New Braunfels called Oma's Restaurant.  It is an Americanized German Restaurant.  The food was good but I was a little frustrated by the place. There were places where it did not smell good. We all had a good time.

Elder and Sister Williams

Elder Williams, The Waitress in her traditional German Dress, Elder Studevant

While I was there I was talking to the Studevants about Nathan's anger and she pointed out to me that he has so much anger that he needs to learn how to control.  Most of it caused by the frustration of not being able to do what he could do before and being able to remember when he was able to walk and move without problems.  For some reason the Spirit opened my mind and all of a sudden I realized that I have been complicating the problems he has by getting angry at him for being angry at me.  I wish I could go back and be more understanding of him and his frustrations and not worry so much about my hurt.  I realized that he needed someone to vent to or ignore because of his inner frustrations and I just made it that much worse.  No wonder he is so mad at me.  I know it is only with Christ's help that I can undo the hurt I have caused.  I don't understand why I had to go so long before I learned this.  But I am grateful for the things I am learning through the Spirit.

I didn't get many pictures of the evening like I usually do but I will post what I have.

July 12th

Because I did not go to bed last night until midnight I slept until 8:00 a.m.  Larry was up before that but he went to bed at 9:00 p.m. 

We read John chapter 12 this morning and were amazed at the things that are there that we do not find emphasized a lot but then when we read the Institute manual it had several comments by General Authorities.  One thing I did not remember ever reading was that the Father spoke to the people that were listening to Jesus after the triumphal entry and his prediction that he would be crucified.  In verses 27-30 it says:
27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

 28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

 29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

 30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

It was a very interesting chapter and had much to say about the Saviors pending atonement.

We were not very active this morning but we did get lots of reading done before we got ready for church.

We had a yummy lunch of tortillas with beans, cheese, brisket and guacamole with salsa and with Strawberries for dessert.

Then Larry read some again and I looked on the lds.org website for a while.

Just before we went to church I texted Nathan and asked him if he wanted to come to the Senior Dinner tomorrow night.  He said, "yes if we would drive him".  I had hopes that I could talk Larry into driving the van but waited to talk to him until after church because I got that text just before church.  Larry got it also though so by the time church was out he had arranged a ride for Nathan with Ken Jackson.  I was a little frustrated and told him I had hoped that he might let one of us drive but Larry said he would never drive the van again.  I told Nathan I would drive but he said that Larry had to drive.  So I told him that Larry had made arrangements to have Ken drive him and I was disappointed that I had thought maybe he would soften his heart so we could do some things together before we go home.  He just replied that I had to take a defensive driving class before he would let me drive.

Sacrament was on the Spirit of Pioneering.  Joseph and Melissa Hoffer talked about how we can be pioneers as we are the ones that go before just like the Mormon Pioneers of the 1800's.  Each of us can pioneer the living of the Gospel in our own homes and families and tell others about the blessings of the Restored Gospel.

Sunday School talked about the Church today as an example of the Primitive Church that Christ formed while on the earth.

Relief Society was the Temple lesson from Ezra Taft Benson.  There was a strong Spirit there and I was able to learn one thing that has been bothering me.  What happens to children born in the covenant that have parents that divorce or turn from the church.  I found this quote that helped me with my answer:

"The Lord’s desire is for every adult man and woman in the Church to receive the ordinances of the temple. This means that they are to be endowed and that all married couples are to be sealed for eternity. These ordinances provide a protection and blessing to their marriage. Their children also are blessed to be born in the covenant. Birth in the covenant entitles those children to a birthright blessing which guarantees them eternal parentage regardless of what happens to the parents, so long as the children remain worthy of the blessings.¹¹

I wish I could express the blessings that I am receiving of light and inspiration on how to conduct my life.  The Lord is truly helping me to become a better person and shed my anger through listening to him.  The blessings of this mission are so numerous that it is hard to number them.  It is truly a joy to be in the service of the Lord!!

July 11th and before

Today Saturday, has been a lazy day for both Larry and I.  We were both exhausted by the transfer week and just needed some down time.  We slept in and ate late and just hung out together and then this afternoon I have been working on letters and the blog and Larry is reading to recuperate.

Missionaries returning home luncheon

As I said it has been a busy week. Tuesday we worked on normal stuff in the morning.  Larry went to Pep Boys and I read the email for the day.  Then about 11:30 a.m. we went to Stone Oak to see the missionaries off.  There were several that were favorites that we wanted to see but especially Elder Hendricks from Bountiful.  He is a special person that we have all grown to love.  It was a shock that on Monday we found out that he was being sent home for medical reasons a couple of months early.  But he has been fighting it for some time so I guess that it just got to be more than they could deal with in the mission.  It was exciting to see him but also comforting to know that when we get home he will be in Bountiful.  We also saw many others and got pictures of them but we missed getting a picture of Elder Timothy Pew.  He is a special person also.

Elder Hatch standing rear, Elder Hendricks with the funny face, Elder Tews standing front

We went back to the office at about 1:00 p.m. after eating some lunch with the missionaries.  We worked there until about 4:30 p.m.  We left early to go to the temple but also because we had no computers because the Assistants were doing their work on ours and they seem to like our office the best because there are two computers so they can work together and be together in their companionship.

We went home and ate some dinner and went to the temple.  While we were driving up to the temple BJ called and said that he had accepted a job in Lehi, Utah my old home town!  It was so good that he found something closer to family.  I know he loved Hawaii but I am glad to have him come home so I can spend some time with Cieli Rose.  Nothing selfish about me.  He is working at a place called Xactware in Lehi as a mobile developer, so he is doing something that he loves.  Luckily in some ways the traffic was slow so I got to talk to him a little longer than normal on the way to the temple.

Sister Johnson, Sister Farmer and Elder Macdonald front

When we got to the temple I got a call from the Caterers from Blanco BBQ and they did not have the same person working for them now in Catering and they insisted that they have a credit card number that I could tell them the address for for the dinner the next day.  I did not know for sure the address on the mission credit card so they sent me back to pick-up to reorder.  Pickup would accept the credit card until I could get with Larry about his card for the mission.  He had already gone in the temple.  I was starting to get antsy that I would not make the session if they didn't get it worked out soon.

The Temple was good as always. We are so blessed to have a temple here in San Antonio.

After the Temple we went to go grocery shopping as we had finally figured out our finances.  That took us an hour so it was 10:30 p.m. before we got to bed.

Sister Farmer, Sister Shaffer, Sister Johnston, Sister Presser, Elder Presser

Wednesday was a crazy day.  The mission phone called Larry about 7:30 a.m. when we were reading scriptures.  It was a Sister in Windcrest that had to get another Sister to the airport and she had locked her keys to her car in her trunk.  Larry told her to call the Zone leaders about getting the person to the airport and then he quickly left to go to the office to deal with getting the keys out.

The reason that I did not go with him is because I had spent the greater part of the time from 4:30 a.m. on trying to get my stomach to calm and not throw up.  I don't know why I got nauseated but it was not going away.  I finally got up and took some phenegren to try to calm it and it did for a while. but then it started to come back.  Eventually I threw up.  It wasn't a lot but it wasn't just phlem.  When Larry said pray he asked the Lord to heal me as we had our busiest day of the Transfer ahead of us.  I started to feel better after we had read so I got up and took my pills and started to eat a banana but it immediately set off the nausea.  So I went in and lay down and tried to rest my stomach as Larry left.  I got feeling better after about an hour and lots of prayers so I got up and got dressed.  I was doing fairly well trying to dress and started to make a crock pot of beans that Larry wanted. But just putting in the beans and onion and moving around made the nausea come back.  I sat down in the recliner to read but fell asleep.  Larry came in about 10:00 a.m. to pick me up.  He was in a hurry and very frustrated by all the busyness that was going on at the office.  I had just woke up so was feeling groggy so he calmed down but he was insistent that I put all the things in the beans so they would be cooking that day.  I didn't get sick doing that so we headed for the office.  The sleep that I had in the recliner had seemed to settle things and I was not bothered the rest of the day.

Elder Hendrick who was a moving Elder for 4 transfers in the office and became one of our favorites

We went to the office and did some work.  Sister Williams was having some Basal Cell Skin Cancer removed and so they were not in the office for a while even though they had been in earlier.

Elder Ianziti

We went to pick up the food for the lunch at about 1:00 p.m.  They didn't have the sandwich done which is unusual for Wal-Mart here, so we had to wait.  We were supposed to be there and set up by 2:00 p.m. they said but we did not leave Wal-Mart until about 1:45 p.m so it was almost 2:00 p.m. when we got to Stone Oak.  But as usual we had time to set up and ended up waiting for almost an hour because they always underestimate how long it will take them to pick up the missionaries from the airport and to take them to the Temple for pictures so they are always late but it is better to be ready than not. 

The one missionary coming from the Mexican MTC was grounded in Houston by the United Computer problems and they said he wasn't getting to San Antonio until 10:00 p.m. but about 4:30 p.m. the airport called and said we have a missionary of your here.  President was surprized but grateful for the divine intervention that got him here earlier.  We were at the office when they brought him in so it was good to see him.  It was funny because Sister Williams was going to tell the President that he wasn't coming in until 10:30 p.m. and then President said we have him here.

Elder Christensen and Elder Tapia

Because of some of the commotion at the office we did not get to pick up our BBQ at Blanco until after 6:00 p.m. and dinner is suppose to be at 7:00 p.m.  We got there and started the preparations but the missionaries got back from the Alamo early so it was a help the Pressers get dinner on the table night but no one seemed to mind.  In the confusion though of the evening I forgot to get the Driver's License Copies I usually get while we are waiting to eat.  We ate lunch with the missionaries and dinner with the missionaries so we would not have had to make the beans this day but they were able to sit and cook slowly to the next day.

Elder Hatch our last Assistant to the President

I remember thinking as I was doing the dishes and cleaning up that I was working so good and I did not feel the effects of the morning.  I felt like Heavenly Father had truly heard my prayer and helped me to do more than I normally would be able to do in that situation.

Larry wanted to write about this day that night because of all the hectic doings of the day but we were both too tired to write so I am grateful I was able to remember most of it.

Thursday morning was transfer.  We arose at 6:00 a.m. but we needed to be at the chapel at 7:30 a.m. so we decided to listen to scriptures on the way.  We got there in good time and Larry was excited that they had some of the breakfast tacos from Las Palapas left, in fact quite a few and so we ate some of those because we had just had milk for breakfast to hurry.

Elder Macdonald one of the Elders that served in Woodlake Ward

We had a good orientation meeting.  This is the first time I have had to pass out the IPads to the incoming missionaries so that was different.  It was also a miracle because the Senior Office Missionaries often go over their time and they did not that day.  We had 24 missionaries come in this time and so it was a larger group than it has been for some time and yet we got finished on time.

Transfer meeting is always fun.  The new missionaries march in at the beginning with President and the Assistants to the song Called to Serve.  It is a great sight to see everyone standing and welcoming the new missionaries and all of them marching in as we all sing Called to Serve.  It is a wonderful sight.  We always speak and they have two or three testimonies and then Sister Slaughter speaks, then a guest if we have it and then President and then they have the transfer callouts.  Everybody hugs or gives their new companion an abrazo so it is fun to see the missionaries excitement at the changes.

We had a lot of problems with bikes at this meeting for some reason.  It was probably because I thought that the moving Elders understood what they were to do but it was obvious that they did not.  So I had several people that did not or could not find their bikes because the stuff was not piled together.  I was very frustrated because I was sure that I had brought the paper with the list of what everyone was supposed to have and then I could not find it.  I looked everywhere I thought and then on the way home from Austin I found it in my purse!!!

We drove to Austin and back for the meeting there. We stopped and got some kolaches at the Corner Store with a drink and we had some fruit that we brought. We ate something at Subway at the end of the meeting and then when we got to Buckee's we had something else to eat and when we got home we were not hungry for the beans that were still slow cooking.  We went to bed early about 8:15 p.m. that night.

Friday we got to the office by nine.  Larry went to Pep Boys to get something done with the car to make it better.  He thought that he would get back in about an hour.  He got back at about 2:00 p.m.  Then we went to take the Vans and trailers back that we rent to transport everyone for Transfers.  Elder Calley asked me if I knew how to drive a trailer and I told him yes.  And I meant it.
We took the trailers back first to U-Haul.  We drove in and had to turn the corner.  Apparently when I drove in I did not clear a truck and I was rocked but I just thought that I had turned too sharp for the trailer.  When Larry came out of the office he looked at the trailer and said did you hit something.  I told him I didn't think so but when I got our the left fender on the trailer was dented in and the Assistants that had driven the Van and trailer behind me said they saw me hit one of the UHaul Trucks parked by the entrance.  Larry was not a happy camper.  I could see that he was ready to ban me from driving.  I was pretty upset too.  I do not think that I am a bad driver but after the car and now this I was pretty upset.  But when Larry went in to see what we needed to do about it they said that it didn't matter.  They said that it happens all the time and that they could beat it out.  I was so relieved that it did not cost the mission a ton.

When we got back we finally had devotional that usually comes at the first of the day.  The Assistants wanted to use my computer again.  I had spent the morning calling the new missionaries to find out who did not have their bike.  I had a ton that I could do but I did not feel like doing it I was so tired so I let them.  I went in and sat in the office conference room and read my phone and such until Larry was ready to go at 5:00 p.m.

We got home and finally ate our beans with rice, cheese and salsa.  It was yummy!  But the beans were way cooked.

Larry went to bed at 7:15 p.m.  I was not ready to go to bed as there were some things I wanted to get done.  I finally was ready to go to bed at 9:10 p.m and just then Larry woke up and wanted to read scriptures so we did and then went to bed.

Tonight I have learned through the Spirit and reading a story in the Friend magazine that I should not let Nathan's actions bug me but should ask Heavenly Father to help me to not get mad and just love him.  I can control my actions but I cannot stop Nathan from feeling the way he does.  I can choose not to be bothered by it anymore.  And, I think that I can do that with the help of Heavenly Father and Jesus.

July 6th

This morning I was praying to Heavenly Father asking him if I was good enough and to help me overcome the weaknesses that I have.  It was a hard weekend for me.

We went to Weight Watchers and essentially stayed the same which is a miracle in and of itself.  We have had a couple of overeating sessions last week.

We went to the bank and got some paperwork settled on our car insurance and loan at USAA.  It worked out better than expected.

We went back to the office and the Sister Trainer leaders were still there.  I had some pictures to send to Sister Schaffer that is going home tomorrow and she came in to verify that she had them all.  Then she said that she just loved me so much and she didn't think I knew how much she loved me.  I jokingly said what is there to love about me and she told me that I have a radiance about me that shows the goodness in me and draws her to want to be like me.  It made my day.  I often wonder if anyone can see how hard I try to live the Gospel.  I appreciated Heavenly Father answering me today.

One of my favorite missionaries is going home early this week we found out today.  He has been sick so I assume that is the reason.  I will miss him here but luckily Elder Hendricks lives in Bountiful, Utah so we may get to see him again.

July 5th

Pictures of Maren's family and Kirsten waiting for the Kaysville Parade

We have church at 1:30 p.m. now so we have more time in the morning.  I let the alarm stay on 6:00 a.m. because we had slept so much but we turned it off until 7:00 a.m. and then turned over and hugged for another hour and a half.  We finally decided we would not wake up if we did not get in the shower.

After Showering we read scriptures and then Larry ate but I was fasting so I started to get dressed.  We were finally dressed by 10:30 a.m.  So I started on finishing the blog from yesterday that I had fallen asleep on.  Larry was deleting the 900 emails that he had in his inbox.

Cieli on the 4th of July

We finally left for church at about 10 minutes to 1:00 p.m.  We got there a few minutes early so we were able to talk to the missionaries and a few people in the congregation.

Sacrament was the bearing of testimonies and there were some good testimonies.  Nathan bore a testimony and included in it how it is hard to have people help him with things that he cannot do.  That is an understatement.  But still he seems to be accepting people doing things more and more.

Sunday School was about the Church that Jesus organized according to the scriptures and compared it somewhat to the church that we have today which is the same organization.

Hawaiian fireworks so we did not miss the fireworks

Relief Society had the Young Women come in and the Bishop read and explained the First Presidency's message on the church's stand on the recent ruling of the Supreme Court on Same Sex Marriage.  Then the Young Women went back to their classes and we had a lesson from the Bishop on the importance of Religious Freedom.  He took some of his remarks from Elder Hale's talk in April General Conference entitled "Preserving Agency, Protecting Religious Freedom"

Today they started a practice of having a break the fast linger longer after church because we are the last ward in the building.  That is where everyone brings a pot-luck dish and then everyone shares it.  It had a lot of good food and we were able to talk with several members of the ward more on a one on one basis.

Cieli Rose

When we got home we looked at Facebook and there were several more pictures that were posted of our children and grandchildren so we saved those to show you.

BJ, Cieli, and Holly on the 4th

After that we read scriptures and commentaries on John Chapter 1 in the New Testament and discussed it together.

Maren and Landon's family having fun waiting for the fireworks in Kaysville

Now I am finishing the blog.

This fast was a hard fast for me.  But I prayed to Heavenly Father to strengthen me and I could feel that strength come over the night.  I associate eating sometimes as a way to help my pain and so sometimes I eat just to feel better and emotionally it is very hard for me to fast and forget my food.  But I am proud of the fact that today I was able to complete a 24 hour fast with the help of the Spirit.  That is one thing that I have learned on this mission that I have to be willing to turn my problems over to the Lord and he will help me to feel better.  I have often had him help me overcome feelings of anger and dissipate them through the spirit.  The Lord truly can help us with all out problems and weaknesses and sins if we will only turn to him.

July 4th and before

Larry and I are celebrating our independence by doing what we want today which isn't much.  The grandkids are with their mother and we did go to Converse to a park and celebrate the 4th with our ward by having breakfast in the park but then we came home and took a nap and it is 1:30 p.m. and we are just restarting the day.  Kirsten sent me some cute pictures of Maren's kids waiting for the parade and BJ posted pictures of Cieli's swim in the ocean.

Wednesday was a busy day at the office.  I was able to fill all the other orders except 1 box of Book of Mormon's for Border. The other Book of Mormon orders did not come in so the Lord just supplied what I needed.  The Assistants and others were at the meeting in Austin so it was easy to get the work done on the computers.

Wednesday evening we went to the Family History Center in Windcrest but before we met the missionaries from Woodlake ward and fed them at McDonald's.  The are such good Sisters.  The president has been asking them to study the Doctines of the Gathering of Israel and then learn from other people how they study and they were asking us what we do when we study and what we had learned from it.

Sister Gibson and Sister Angulo

No one came to the Family History Center  again but we were able to get some sources on difference ancestors in Family Tree.

Thursday was MLC in San Antonio.  After the meetings several of the missionaries showed up for various reasons.  It was good to see them and help them to get what they needed.

Elder Williams, Sister Williams, Sister Turpin, Sister Presser, Elder Presser

Larry had a missionary that was caught by the Tiwi's going 98 in a 75 per hour zone.  Salt lake called him and let him know so Larry had the privilege of informing him that he will not drive for the rest of the mission.

Larry took me to Arby's for lunch and I enjoyed that.

In the evening we went to New Braunfels to meet some people that I knew in Vernal, Bob and Carol Vincent.  We met them at Rudy's BBQ in New Braunfels along with their daughter Nikki and her kids.  It is supposed to be the king of BBQ here in the mission.  Even Jeff came home loving it.  But we were a little disappointed after going to Blanco for so many reasons during the mission.  I know that sometimes you get to love one thing and then it is hard to change but I really like Blanco BBQ best.  Some of the missionaries said that they liked Rudy's creamed corn best but I like Blanco's best.

Nathan at the Ward 4th of July Breakfast

Carol has always told me that she lived near New Braunfels but when they took us to see their new house after we ate we traveled for about 20 minutes to the Canyon Lake area.  It is a beautiful area of wooded oak forests.  We had never been there so it was fun to see.   Nikki's husband has bought 11 acres that he is developing and so they live out by themselves.  Bob and Carols house is a smaller house to the side of Nikki's so they are by themselves but Nikki is there to help them.  It was a beautiful home.  Carol has always had a knack for decorating and she has it beautiful.  Mike, Nikki's husband, built it to wheelchair accommodations in case Bob, who has Alzheimers, needs a wheel chair in the future.  They had many things that would work for Nathan that he could have built into a home for him to make things more accessible so I was hoping that I could show it to him sometime.  It was so much fun to spend time with them and see where they are now.

Elder Presser, Sister Presser, Sister Davis, Sister Williams, Elder Williams, President Slaughter

President Slaughter with Sister Davis and her family

Friday was a busy day at the office.  We had several different visits from missionaries who have gone home and their families.  Sister Aley Davis came with her family from California and it was fun to see her.  She is the one that I got lost with on the way to San Antonio earlier in the mission and I have had a fond place for her in my heart.  Then later Sister Medina who served for several months in Woodlake came with Sister Woodward.  Unfortunately we did not get a picture with them.  They were down for a wedding of someone that they knew here.

Earlier in the morning Sister Turpin was in for a zone conference and they are using her to train on IPads even thought she has gone back to the field.  She is going home on the 27th of July and was worried that she might not get pictures then so we all took pictures of her with us.

Brinlie and Gauge on the 4th

Most of this time I was trying to find things at the office to do but the Assistants were using the computers trying to get ready for the next thing that they have to do and so after I got them to help me put the Book of Mormon boxes under the shelving so they were out of the way Larry and I went to Arby's again to eat.  We just relaxed for a while and then we went back.  When we got back we tried to do some work but really could not without the computers so we went home about 3:45 p.m.

I was tired because I had stayed up too late the night before so we just took a nap when we got home.

When we awoke about 7:00 p.m. we ate the rest of the Barbecue from the night before and read our scriptures and went to bed because we had to get up early for the Woodlake Ward 4th of July Breakfast.

Kirsten's selfie on the 4th

The ward 4th of July Breakfast

Saturday we woke up and got ready for the breakfast at about 6:00a.m. but we were still late for the breakfast.  But there was plenty of food and we sort of pigged out while we talked to people.  We ate muffins and doughnuts and sausage which were not exactly Weight Watchers friendly but we didn't seem to care.

While we were there we saw Nathan but he didn't say much.  Ken Jackson who is helping Nathan a lot since his move because he lives in the same apartment complex said that he was helping him get into bed at night and doing things for him that he had done for himself at our apartment and that worried me because he seems to be deteriorating some but then he told me that he had a fight with Marcy and she said that she was not coming to Texas.  I was upset all day after that.

Max on the 4th

Larry and I went home and took naps again.  When I woke up I wanted to move around and do something but Larry just wanted to rest so finally I went for a walk and tried to sort things out in my mind.  We are out of money and have no source of income for the rest of the month and I was also mad at myself about that.  I finally decided that we had to get some bare necessities of food with the little we have and so I went shopping to get that and some hair serum that I needed for my hair.

It seemed like all day I was hot then the air conditioning was too cold and back to hot.

Cieli and BJ celebrating the 4th Hawaiian Style

I have wanted to go and do something with Nathan all week because I was feeling bad that no one was here for him except us as family so I finally told Larry I was going to go visit him but Larry didn't want to go.  So I went down to see him and took him some mail that we had.  I got some school pictures of Maggie from him checked to see if he needed anything but he said that he had eaten and didn't want to go anywhere.  I talked with him for a few minutes and then Marcy called and so I told him I was going home. 

Lots of fruit at the Breakfast so I had no excuse to over eat!

About that time Marcy texted me her side of the arguement and so I felt a little better because she didn't say she wasn't coming to Texas but was responding to some texts of his that made her feel like he did not want her to come and bring her stuff.

When I got home I was hurting emotionally and physically so much that I went to bed.  I had forgotten to take my pills at two and I was really having a hard time so I took the pills and laid down to listen to Larry read scriptures and fell asleep.  When I awoke I felt much better but I continued to sleep the rest of the night.