September 3rd

September 3, 2015

We woke up today with a heavy load on our minds as we had still to clean the stove and my bathroom and the vinyl floors in the kitchen , utility room, and bathroom.  We had some of our items packed that we were taking with us but not everything was packed.  We were also worried that the people that were supposed to refinish the one tub that Nathan’s bench rubbed the finish off of would be there at 8:00 a.m.  We thought that would be an all-day task from what one of the apartment people told us.  So we got ready and went to work.  Hoping to be leaving by about 10:00 a.m. but knowing that was not realistic.

Larry started taking out the boxes that we had packed and the clothes while I started to clean and pack my bathroom that was left.  The stuff we wanted to take with us in the car so we would have access to it.  Then I had to clean the tub and shower and sinks and the plastic cupboard that we had moved in there.

Then I moved to cleaning the stove and microwave.  That took a while but as I put the oven cleaner on the oven last night it went fairly well.  I started to pack the food from the cupboard and tried to clean the cupboards some but not thoroughly enough.  In the meantime Larry was cleaning his bathroom, our bedroom and closet after he took the clothes out to the car.  He also called Judy and John and told them that we would be there about noon.

We worked together to finish up and scrub the floors and pack the food from the refrigerator.  It looked pretty good to me except for the fact that we really should have shampooed the upholstery but we did not have time.

While we were cleaning our neighbors Rudy and Susan came over at separate times and told us goodby.  We gave Rudy the 1905 Vanilla Ice Cream that we love with some hot fudge and carmel and he took it home.  We will miss them and hope that someday they will read the Book of Mormon that we gave them.

The people came to do the tub after noon and we were all but done.  We just had a few touch ups that we needed to finish and get packed.  Larry was stressing because we were running out of room in both the trailer and car.  But we fit it in.  We packed up some things from the refrigerator and freezer and put ithem in ice packs thinking it would be okay to Kerrville and we left.  They had already finished the tub when we left so we were surprised. But we were grateful that they did not come sooner because it really smelled.  But the tub was beautiful.

We went to the mission office and printed out the things that we needed to send back our U-verse Router and talked to everyone and told them good bye. They had just received our check for travel expenses so that was great.  We thought we would not get it until we got home.  It was so bittersweet to see everyone there.  Elder Williams was finally there but he was still very dizzy and could not walk well.  The doctors had told him that morning that he would probably not get much better so that was a disappointment.  But I have faith in the blessing that was given to him that he would be able to serve in other ways still.

We then went to El Pollo Loco and had some lunch before we went to the UPS to return the router to our computer service with AT&T.  After that we were finally off to Kerrville to see John and Judy for one last time before we left for Utah.

Judy Trolinger, Larry, June, John Trolinger

We arrived at John and Judy’s late in the afternoon about 3:00 p.m. When we opened the food that was frozen it was all thawed and gross so most of it we had to throw away.  We got out stuff situated and talked with them for a while and then we went to Billy Genes for dinner.  John was able to eat better  than last time we were there.  Even though he did not feel good he put on a good front for us and everyone else.  We had a good dinner and then went home and went to bed as it had been a long day.

September 2nd

President Slaughter, Sister Slaughter, June, Larry, Sister Williams, Elder Williams

In the morning Larry went to get the U-haul trailer and we went to Nathan's apartment to pick up the things that he wanted us to take to Utah.  We helped him decide what was to go to which brother or sister.  When we left his apartment he had no table and no chairs or furniture in the front room.

We went to the office again.  While we were there they told us that Sister Slaughter wanted to talk to us.  When we called she wanted us to come to dinner that night at their home.  Of course we were excited to go but we were also frustrated because we were running out of time.

That evening we arrived at the mission home at about 6:30 p.m.  Brother and Sister DeNile and Leslie Williams were there also as they were going home shortly after us.  It was fun to have them there also as they grew up in Vernal.  It was a wonderful dinner and we had a good time visiting with them and President and Sister Slaughter.  We were able to take some pictures with them also.

President Slaughter, Sister Slaughter, June, Larry

After we got back we worked for about 2-3 hours on the cleaning that needed to be done by the next day.  I started the oven cleaner and some other things that had to sit for the next day.  It was a miracle to me that I was able to work so long because I generally cannot work that long at something like that.  I really felt like I was being blessed to accomplish it all.  I was so proud of myself because I got more accomplished than I thought I could do.  I had seriously been thinking that if we had some money we would just hire someone to clean because I didn’t think I had the stamina to do all the cleaning that needed to be done.

September 1st

Sammy

Tuesday Sept 1^st  I went into the office in the morning because Sister Spencer needed me to help her.  It was a good thing I did because she had given some checks that were for Action Bike to Elder Ferguson to be deposited in our account.  So I was glad that I was able to catch that before I left.  Larry and I accomplished several things and then we went back to the apartment.  They had already come to clean the carpets so we didn’t have to worry about moving the furniture.  It was already done.  It was okay but I felt bad that we had not been there to get some things moved.

Nikki with her son, Nathan, Bob Vincent, Carol Vincent, Nikki's son

Carol and June

I decided to take some ice cream to Jane because I knew that she liked it.  I noticed that the door was open so I was glad that I knew she was up because I didn’t want to wake her again.  I went to the door and there were several police and a lady inside.  I asked if Jane was okay thinking that maybe she had needed to call an ambulance.  The Lady said that she had passed in the night.  I was shocked.  I asked her if they knew what time.  She said that they did not know.  I told them that I had talked to her about 7:30 p.m. the night before.  She said that she had talked to her just right after that.  I asked where they had taken her.  She pointed to the chair in the corner.  There she was sitting with her half eaten food and she had no outer pants on with a top.  It looked like she had got up and tried to get dressed and then decided to sit down and eat something when she was not feeling well.  She was so peaceful.  I felt bad but I also felt good because her fight was over.  The lady was one of her good friends and she had come to see her in the morning and found her like that when she did not answer her phone.  I asked her what Jane’s last name was as we had never got that far.  She said Malone, so Jane Malone we will miss you!

David

That evening we went to dinner with Nathan and the kids and Carol and Bob Vincent and Nikki and some of her kids at Blanco BBQ for the last time on the mission.  We had to go and pick up the kids and Nathan and then drive back to Blanco BBQ but it was worth it to see Carol and Bob again and it was good for Nathan to have someone else to talk to as he was still kind of not wanting to talk to me.  The kids enjoyed the playground.  Nathan enjoyed sitting at the table with Bob and Carol and talking to them and Nikki.  We took a lot of pictures together and just had a good time.

When we left I took Maggie, Sammy, and Isaac with me and David rode with Nathan and Larry.  We went by the apartment because I had forgotten to take the kids their cotton candy and some other things and the kids came in with me to get it.  Then I took the kids home.  Larry and Nathan were waiting with David up the road from Sara’s house because Nathan wanted to say prayer with all the kids so they had been wondering where we were but it all worked out and they said they had not been waiting long.  Then Larry took Nathan home and I picked him up at the apartment.  We arranged to meet him in the morning with the trailer and load the stuff that we had to take for him.

August 30 and 31

Sunday August 30^th was our last day to be in Woodlake ward.  They asked us to bear our testimonies in Sacrament Meeting so we did.  It was a sad time as we said good bye to so many friends in the ward that we had grown to love.  Fortunately the ward has a closed Facebook group so we can keep up with a few of the things that are happening there still.

In the evening I went and invited our neighbors, Susan and Rudy and Jane to come for ice cream on Monday so that they could meet the new couple that will be moving into our apartment.  They both said yes and then Jane talked with me for some time about how excited she was about the new treatment that they were giving her for her cancer.  She was so optimistic that they would be able to get the cancer and that she would have many more years of life.  She looked good too.

Monday, the 31^st of August I did not go to the office except to drop off Larry.  I stayed home to start cleaning and working on some final paperwork for my health insurance that I had to change because of the move back to Utah.  I thought that I would get a lot of cleaning done but I ended up talking to Kirsten for an hour in the morning after Larry went into the office to help Elder Spencer with something he needed.  She was trying to help us with making sure the house was clean before she moved in before we got there but then we just got talking about something that was bugging her.

Then I started working on the insurance and the check book.  I had to switch insurance companies because I did not answer a letter that they sent me.  So I was finally getting back to the agent that sold me the policy.  It took most of the day for me to get that straightened out.  There is so much red tape they have to go through to sell you a policy over the phone and we basically had to go through the whole process again but I felt so much better now that I had that taken care of and I was not worrying about it because I knew that I would be wanting to go to the doctor as soon as I went home because I had a rash on my face that I didn’t know how to get rid of and I needed to talk to Dr. Lee when I got home about prescriptions and all the things that were bothering me.   I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from me as I finished that but I also felt guilty because I had not accomplished much in the way of cleaning.

I worked hard to make the front of the apartment clean as we had invited our neighbors, Susan and Rudy and Jane over to have ice cream and to meet the Fergusons who were going to move into our apartment when we left.  I also talked to the apartment about when they could clean the carpets and about getting the bathtub refinished because Nathan’s transfer bench had rubbed the enamel off the edge of the tub.  I went to get some ice cream and toppings that I didn’t have and then I went to pick up Larry at the office about 5:30 p.m.  We ate our dinner and then got ready for everyone to come.

Susan and Rudy came and then the Fergusons and we talked for about 20 minutes then I went to see if Jane remembered.  When she came to the door she looked like she did not feel well.  She said that she had called Susan and told her that she didn’t feel well but Susan had not told me.  She said it was part of the chemotherapy the doctor had told her.  I apologized and asked her if I could help her back to bed but she said she would be okay.  When I went back Susan said that she had called her but she felt like she would call me also.

We had our ice cream and talked for a long time about various things.  I had given Susan and Rudy a Book of Mormon and asked them to read it so I asked when there was a lull if they had had a chance to read it.  I felt like I knew the answer because they had not gotten back with me but I felt like I needed to ask.  They both said graciously that they did not want to read it because they were happy with their church.  I felt like I should bear my testimony so I told them some stories from the Book of Mormon that fit with their conservative life style and bore my testimony to its truthfulness.  Susan seemed to be interested but Rudy then said that they didn’t want to hear anymore.  So I stopped.  We talked for a while and then everyone went home.  Sister Ferguson thanked me for speaking to Susan and Rudy about the Book of Mormon so that she was aware of where they stood on those things.

August 29th

August 29^th  Larry spent the morning working on cleaning the apartment which I always appreciate that he will do those things. 

Isaac and Grandma June

 I took Isaac to lunch one on one with me.  We went to McDonald’s because they like to get the prizes in the Happy Meals.  We downloaded a game called Geometry Dash Lite and Isaac tried to teach me how to play it after we finished our lunch.  We also took some selfies of ourselves to post on Facebook.  We got laughing so hard because we could not get a good picture of me.

After I took Isaac home I picked up Sammy and took him to lunch one on one with me.  Sammy also wanted to go to McDonalds so we returned there to get him some lunch.  I am sure the McDonald’s people wondered what was happening but we went there so many times that they knew me so we just laughed about the fact that I took one home and then brought another.  Sammy wanted me to download the McPlay app that McDonald’s has so we did.  He played it for a while but it did not hold his interest like some other games have.  We ate and played and had such a good time that I forgot to take pictures with him which I was sad about after.

The picture of the rose is the one that Sister Slaughter gave to me when she was giving roses to all the Senior Sisters in the Sisters conference yesterday.