I wanted to start the notes for the day off with, "Wow, what a great week"!  But then I realize it hasn't been for everyone - Kate and Jonathan have spent this week on and off in Urgent Care and the Emergency Room with Sayre, who has had a high fever for several days,  fatigue, and now a double ear infection.  Ben had a tummy bug for a couple of days, so Angella took a day off to help him.  You all know what it is like to be a parent of a sick child - worst thing in the world!  I think both Sayre and Ben are on the mend, and hopefully parents will be able to catch up on some sleep.  

Monday, Emma and I started the week with brunch at Cracker Barrel.  YUMMMM!  It is always fun visiting with her and catching up on what she is doing.  She is currently working at the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club and loves her job - and who wouldn't love getting to tryout all of those fancy, shmanzy desserts 😋

This week, the Fountain - Ft. Carson School District had parent-teacher conferences so the kids didn't have school.  Eilis came to visit on Wednesday and wanted a piano/guitar lesson.  She did great on the piano - a fast learner and was even teaching me two Twenty-One Pilot songs, Truce, and Implicit Demands for Truth.  Not sure what the words are, but we found the sheet music online and I liked both.  I think the guitar is more difficult and Dad was missing some guitar picks so that was a short lesson.  Come back for more Eilis!  Today was really fun - 

Hollie came on Thursday and spent the night.  I had three $10 off coupons for Old Navy so we got there early, and she found two cute shirts, but they would only let us use one of the coupons.  We went to the Mall, Barnes and Nobles,  Taco Bell, Goodwill, and the ARC thrift shop.  We packed a lot into two days, and she also stayed with Shannon and Sendai so Dad and I could go to the Temple Friday Morning.  

A nice surprise came on Saturday when Lily called and wanted to know if she could spend the night.  She came over in the afternoon, and helped me get the car washed, and we picked up a couple of things from Costco and Walmart. I also made her go back to Old Navy so I could use one more coupon. (this was the first time I have ever remembered to use them so it was a big deal to me 😀).  

THANK YOU SWEET GRANDDAUGHTERS FOR TAKING SUCH GOOD CARE OF ME

When Hollie and I were at Taco Bell, I couldn't help but remember my Mom and Dad and how much they loved Taco Bell and Burger King.  I found this photo I took of them at Burger King one day.  The lady who worked there even knew their names.

Just a couple of last thoughts - Today in Relief Society we had a lesson on Temple Work and Family History. A quote that was shared by Elder Boyd K. Packer - 

"No work is more of a protection to this Church than temple work and the family history research that supports it.  No work is more spiritually refining.  No work we do gives us more power.  No work requires a higher standard of righteousness. Our labors in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection, both individually and as a people."  One of our former temple presidents, President Chesney, used to say that when you walked out of the temple it was like being sprayed with teflon.  

Videos of the Week! I wanted to add one I have of Great Grammie the week after her 99th birthday.  We were spending a few days with Francie, and she was telling us a couple of cute stories. The file says it is too large to send, so I'm hoping I can do something with it and send it next time.  

And if you need to smile watch this one -  a clear explanation on how to catch a fish 

 HAPPY SUNDAY!  We had a really great Sacrament Meeting today.  Chris Riggs spoke about how the Holy Ghost can help us and how sometimes we don't even understand why.  He used the talk by Elder Bednar that I wanted all of you to watch a couple of weeks ago.  If you haven't had a chance yet, do it!  It will make you smile.  The link is posted on the blog from two or three weeks ago. 

Obviously, Dad did not have surgery this week.  We got to the Center and had him all checked in - he even had the party hat on (as the nurse called it, and wish I would have taken a photo), but when the doctor came in and looked at the rash he was a little hesitant, and then he came back a few minutes later and said he wanted to postpone for a couple of weeks so Dad could get the rash treated.  He has been taking Prednisone this week, but I'm sure that it has really helped that much.  His surgery is rescheduled for next Monday and hopefully he will be ready by then.  

We had a great snowstorm this week - about 5 inches worth.  I was just getting ready to put my boots on and go out to shovel when Paul called.  He said he and his dad were at Costco and he asked if he could come shoved for me.  WOW!  He shoved my driveway and sidewalks, and then did the same of both of our neighbors that live on each side of us.  Thanks Paul!!!

He couldn't get the bird to land on the stick, but he sure did a great job with the snowblower 💜

While Paul was outside working, Lily told us a fun story about Samantha.  That's what little sisters do, right?   Apparently, Sammi had a mouse in her room  - I'm sure it caused a lot of excitement and chaos, and Sammi wanted to catch it so she could put it outside.  When she finally found the mouse, according to Samantha, he had already died of a heart attack, and she was so sad she cried.  When she was little, she used to talk about being a veterinarian, and what a great one she would be.  She has a heart of gold and her animals would never be neglected - even the mice.  Samantha did give me permission to tell this story.

We got to face time with Ben this week and what a charmer he is!  Just got this video of him getting a haircut - 

And if you want to do morning exercises with Sayre, Kate sent me this at the beginning of the week -

A short note on Max - Kim says he is doing well and has adjusted to a new companion. He is happy, looks great, and I'm sure the Vietnamese people he works with are so blessed to feel his amazing spirit.   This is a photo of a P-day tennis game with some of the members.

We worked at the Temple yesterday and there have been some recent changes plus the Ft Collins Temple was closed so we added two extra sessions and all sessions were full for the day.  If you can make the time to go, please do.  In our prayer meeting yesterday, Pres, and Sis Kofford re-emphasized that changes are made through revelation from a living prophet.  Changes in procedures will continue to happen because we have become a worldwide Church.  However, the doctrines, and the covenants we make will never change.  

Love you all!  (Send me photos, stories, videos, anything fun or exciting that happens to you this week)

Sayre celebrated is #5 birthday this past Tuesday, and by the looks of it, it was quite the celebration!  Kate said he had to stay home from school that day because he had a fever.  😞

And talk about growing up ...

Jake just lost his 1st tooth!

AND Then what happened to all of these cute girls???

Eilis

Samantha

Blythe

How we love them, but hate to see them growing up so quickly! 💗

Last week I had a doctor's appointment so I made Dad go with me and afterwards, we got pedicures!

It was our early Valentines Day celebration so Dad ordered the works! Actually the best part (besides my red toenails) was the massage chair.  Wish I could have brought one of those home - 

If you are looking for a family friendly TV show to watch on Sunday, check The Wind on My Back on the BYU channel.  It's a cute show that takes place during the Depression - the kids are cute, the Grandma is mean (she finally comes around), the mom is really pretty, and the dad dies 😟.  I'm not sure if I've piqued your interest or given you too much info, but I like it a lot and there are 4 or 5 seasons.  

Last week our Sister Missionaries stopped by for a lesson which turned out to be a video called the Last Testimonies.  I loved it so much I wanted to share it with you -  Love you all and keep me posted on any great news to share.  Happy Valentines Day! 

 A new month!  I'm not sure about the rest of you but I was kind of happy to say good-bye to January.  February always makes me feel like there is hope for warmth 😎 and spring and summer really are coming.  February is also a good month because we get to celebrate Sayre.  He will be 5-years-old on the 7th and I remember the cold, gray day (night) he was born.  He certainly is a ray of sunshine in our family. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAYRE  🥰

  Kim and Chris spent their Friday date night at Lowe's where Kim was . . . what? Smelling the cedar planks??? Of course she was.

In case you didn't know, Chris has been renovating an upstairs bathroom so they have been Lowe's very best customers over the last couple of months.  But Chris has done a great job and I believe is almost finished.  

This bathroom used to be pink

Also, Congratulations to Jake, who ran 36 laps around his school for the Explorer Elementary Fun Run! (I am really glad I didn't pledge $5..00 a lap!)

This has been a busy week for us. I was over my head with school assignments.  I always feel like I need to have everything done by Thursday night even though the due date isn't until Saturday at midnight.  Somehow I need to figure out how to get a little more balance in my life.  

Tuesday, Adam started my day by sending me this photo that he found (while not taking care of his 7th graders) on, I think, a DoDDs website.  This is my "fro do" from Yokota.  

I'm guessing this was taken in the early 90's.  

I spent Friday housecleaning, focusing mostly on our office.  I sorted through all of my Primary files and took everything out of the closet, going through boxes and bags of all kinds of photo's and memorabilia. The photos below are just a few of the ton of gems I found.  

Eilis and Hollie got into the food coloring -

Adam with hair

My grandfather, Gampy. (my Dad's Father)

And then there was Spencer - I love this smile!

Yesterday in our Prayer Meeting at the Temple we talked about President Nelson's conference address from October 2021, The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation.  If you have a minute to spare this week, please read it or watch it - if your remember there were details and video of the work being done on the Salt Lake Temple, so watching it is great.  

We would love to take anyone out to dinner who comes to the 4 pm session on the Saturday's that we work - this is not a bribe, we just love to spend time with our kids.

Love you all!!!

!