Family – Page 11 – Terry Family Shenanigans

…September…It Came…It Went…

Well, September was a bit of an odd month. Mostly because of school. The girls continued to go every day. Matthew continued to be ‘educated’ (I use that term VERY loosely) virtually from his computer 6 hours a day. It is ridiculous. The majority of parents are ticked off at how schooling is going this year. The whole situation of how COVID 19 is handled is one big joke. The information is mixed, the reporting is inaccurate, it is safe to play sports but not go to school. Basically all adult needs and wants are up and running to some degree, kids are supposed to be the least effected by COVID and schools are acting like it is a death sentence to have school. There was finally a School Board Meeting and they voted to start in person school for the middle school and high school kids. If all goes according to plan then Matthew will go back to ‘in person school’ on October 19th. The three biggest school districts are holding strong to their no in person schooling though. It is awful. I could go on and on but I’ve written enough emails and letters about it to various boards and useless leaders that I don’t want to spend more time on it here.

There was some more notable things that happened in September. Grandma and Grandpa Terry moved into a house just down the street from us so we spent lots of time helping them get settled. There is still a lot of things to do to help them get settled but it is nice to have them close. The girls like to go over once or twice a week after school and hang out with them. Matthew has suddenly started going on ‘bike rides’ that end at Grandma’s house, specifically her pantry where she keeps the soda and jelly beans.

I turned 39. My last year of 30’s. Not sure how I feel about that. Ryan planned a night away for the two of us at Excelsior Springs. We stayed in the Elm’s Hotel and had a nice dinner and went to their in house spa. I loved their quiet room. I sat in a comfy chair and read a book until I fell asleep. I also got a facial. The girl was really good at balancing the comments of how youthful my skin looks with recommendations for products and treatments I need to get so I don’t look old. For my family birthday cake I requested a chocolate layered dessert. Ryan made it for me. It has a crust with chocolate pudding and a cream cheese filling and whip cream on top. Yummy! When I took the first bite I was sorely disappointed to find out that Ryan had forgotten to bake the crust first so it was raw. He claimed he couldn’t even tell and finished eating his piece. I disagreed and requested a cooked birthday cake. His second try was much better.

Emilee found her new favorite hobby! After enduring being dragged to sport after sport and tolerating the games and practices to appease her parents, Emilee found her passion. She started taking horse riding lessons. She counts down the days then the hours then the minutes every week until it is time to go to her lesson. She was learning to post and trot within 30 minutes of getting on the horse her first lesson. We got her some riding gloves, helmet, pants and boots. We are glad she is really enjoying herself. Nervous that someday she thinks she needs a horse.

Matthew passed on playing football this year. He focused more on baseball, and he is doing some basketball training to help get ready for the season in December. After a few lessons at the club, they asked him to be on their 8th grade team. I love watching him play baseball but basketball is a very close second. I just enjoy watching all my kids do the things they enjoy.

Allison moved up another level in gymnastics. She is now on team 5. She has her first meet coming up in November.

Butterflies

We made it to Powell Gardens again this year with the McDonald family to see the butterflies and walk around the gardens. It is always beautiful. With the COVID restrictions we had to wait in line a bit to go into the conservatory but it wasn’t to bad.

The kids played in the fountains for a little while. There was a new kid area for them to dig in the dirt and plant stuff. There was a second monarch butterfly house as well. The weather was not ridiculously hot so it was a nice day.

It was nice to get out and have something to do. We usually go to the Cultural Festival with the McDonald’s in August as well but that has been canceled this year.

It is STILL Summer

Since school ‘ended’ after Spring Break in March, it has been a LONG break. I started working a few days a week in May and the kids are technically old enough to watch each other but to be blunt, they aren’t very good at it. Maybe because they aren’t old enough after all, or because like me their patience with each other is low after being together 24/7 for months. Whatever the reason, it was causing me some stress to come home to arguing kids that had eaten junk food all day, a destroyed house. Ryan’s boss has a daughter who is in college that was not supposed to be home but like everyone else, her plans were canceled when COVID started. We asked her if she would come over on the days that I work and help keep the peace and sanity of the kids. It has worked out great. The kids get up and get ready and do their jobs and then she comes over from 11-5 and takes them to the pool, or does things around the house with them. Matthew is more on his own and can do things with them or go hang out with friends. The girls love her though. They ask if Claire can come over everyday. I am glad it is working out for all of us.

After two years I am signing off as the Girl Scout Leader for Emilee’s troop. She is old enough for Primary Activity Girls now and enjoys going to that. I don’t have as much free time once all the kids activities get going too. We had one last activity together this past week to celebrate the year and their hard work selling cookies. I rented a big blow up water slide, set up the slip-n-slide and they played on those for a few hours. We had pizza for dinner and played some more. Then when it got dark we watched Aladdin on an outdoor screen in the back yard. It lasted about 7 hours. It was exhausting, but the girls had a blast. They were a really good group of girls. I had fun being the leader but I am ready to pass the torch.

Girl Scouts watching a movie in the back yard.

It seemed like things were slowly getting back to normal and school was scheduled to start August 12th. Then the Kansas Governor decided to make an announcement saying that she was issuing an executive order to post phone school starting until after Labor Day. I am not going to lie. It was a big mental blow for A LOT of people, and while she had her ‘reasons’ they seemed unfounded to me. The Kansas school board voted against her executive order, which meant each school district could decide when to start for themselves. The two biggest districts around us decided to just do what the Governor said so they could be better prepared. I am not sure what that means…did they not know they were going to start school on August 12th when they made the calendar and gave it to everyone?! Everyone seems to be sitting around waiting for someone to tell them what to do instead of making a decision and moving forward. Anyway, our school district is having a meeting soon so decide when we will start. It will be Aug 12th as planned, Aug 26th to allow ‘a little more preparing time’ or September 8th. I think if they delay it once they will just continue to delay it and dig the COVID recovery hole deeper and deeper. We need to start and get society and life back on track. A regular school schedule will help with that A LOT. Unless you think I am insensitive to the pandemic, I am not, I check the numbers, I know the risks, I am just in the opinion that we mitigate the risks (reasonably) and keep life moving.

Fourth of July

We thought last year would be our final year in Lincoln Nebraska for July 4th. However, Roger and Rhonda dragged their feet and delayed long enough to get another one in. This one will be the last though because right before the weekend they bought a house in Olathe, right down the street from us actually. Then shortly after the weekend they listed their current house and it sold in less that 24 hours. They are set to move mid August and will be Kansans again.

The Fourth in Lincoln is always a great time though. I will miss our gatherings there. Neighbors all around us do amazing fireworks for hours and we get some good ones of our own. It is just a nice relaxing holiday. This year I asked Ryan to blast some patriotic music while we lit them off, that was inspiring.

It will be better to have a Grandma and Grandpa closer all year round though.

Family RV-cation to the Ozarks

We are in the process of dissolving our RV business. As that process has continued to play out we have ended up with one of out RV’s here in KS. Li’l Sebastian is enjoying the heartland. Ryan decided that if we are going to have it here and are paying for it we might as well use it and enjoy it. He planned a quick family vacation to the Lake of the Ozarks. We loaded up Sebastian and drove down Friday night to the KOA. Ryan has been there many times for work, none of the rest of us have ever been.

It is a nice little town. There are all kinds of things to do. The KOA was pretty new and updated. The first thing we did upon arrival is light a fire and roast some smores. We explored the campsite a little. Then it was pretty late so we started a movie together in the RV then went to bed.

The rest of the weekend was pretty packed with cool activities. We went to a water park, toured Bridal Caves, hiked a few trails including one that had castle ruins to see, we also went to the lake and swam for a few hours. We cooked over the fire for dinner each night and had smores. There was park and a pool at our camp site that we swam in too.

This is a peak at one of the huge underground lakes in the cave.

There was a lot fewer people than usual because of COVID still but that made it not as crowded when we went to all those places. Ryan and I have decided we are ready to pretty much go back to our normal lives. We understand the risks of being in public and getting Corona and we are fine accepting those risks. Just like we do with the flu, and colds, and every other disease we might catch by living our lives. The purpose was to slow the spread to not overwhelm the hospitals and we did that- a while ago- somewhere along the road the goal for some became to have no one else get COVID ever and that is ridiculous. Then the riots and protests and looting has started with ANTIFA and BLM groups. Thousands have been gathering in groups to do that…it is hard for the media and liberals to convince people we have to continue to stay home for everything except protesting and rioting. Anyway, I digress. Back to our vacation.

For some reason the girls were intent on seeing a turtle. They picked their wish well. We saw our first turtle cruising across the highway right as we got to town. He was luckily on his way off the highway. On our hike there was one imitating a rock right on the trail we were hiking. The last one we found was next to our campsite buried in the leaves. He was the luckiest because the girls gave him a snack of lettuce and blueberries before he moved on.

This is the turtle we almost missed sitting on the path we were walking on.

It was a very nice relaxing weekend. I am glad that we did it and enjoyed our time together. The RV survived and is still running. We did dismantle the table because we couldn’t figure out the correct way to turn it into a bed. It is a fairly easy fix though. I followed in the van so we would have a vehicle to drive around once we got there. The first two minutes were exciting to watch as we left. The door flew open, and a couple of the side panels fell open. We had to stop once on the way there because Emilee was trying to move around when she wasn’t supposed to and crashed her face into a window and started gushing blood. Luckily it wasn’t broken and we got it under control pretty quick. After that the rest of our trip was accident and injury free.

Summer Begins!

The kids finished their online Covid 19 schooling and are now enjoying their summer. Things are gradually starting to open again but by no means would I say things are back to normal. The city pools are not going to be opening, but they did open our neighborhood pools. The rule is that we can’t bring any friends with us for now though, which is a big bummer. We have been finding fun things to do still and will make the most of our summer.

Matthew had to imitate a picture for his last 7th grade art project. He picked the picture of a bear in his room from our trip to the Smokey Mountains.

We had a donut truck visit the neighborhood. Allison spotted it and we got way to many donuts.

I am ‘allowed’ to work again. I used to wear a mask and glasses, and of course gloves. Now the new PPE requirements are head cover, face shield, glasses, TWO masks, glove and a jacket. It is hot, hard to breath and sometimes hard to see.

I talked Matthew into letting my use my extra hair color on him. He hated it at first and wouldn’t go anywhere without a hat but has now relaxed and is waiting patiently for it to grow out. Pretty crazy how a color can make you look different.

My presidency and I put together a little drive through ice cream stand for our ward. It was a chance to celebrate summer starting and an excuse to see people face to face. We had a good turn out and it was a lot of fun.

Emilee tried softball this year. She did great for practice, but once games started she wanted nothing to do with it. It took 30 minutes to get her in the dug out for her first game. Then she was fine and did a great job hitting and catching and throwing. The second game she went with protest and still did a great job. I don’t know if we are going to get her to anymore though. She is a little home body.

We found a fun place to have a picnic and then play in the creek or stream with our cousins. The kids were skeptical on our way. None of us had been there before and we didn’t know if the stream was a puddle or deep enough to play in. It turned out great though. It has a shallow still areas, and deeper areas and a little ‘rapids’ area that they thought was great fun. There were fish, shells, crayfish and frogs to chase around. Everyone tried their hand at rock skipping. It was a fun day!

This young man is thrilled to be playing baseball again. It is ridiculously hot, but they don’t care. They had a weekend of scrimmages, then a tournament and a few more tournaments to come plus the regular league games. He still can’t get enough of it.

Mother’s Day 2020

We weren’t under a mandatory stay at home order for Mother’s Day but it is still requested that you stay home as much as possible. Anyway, I requested the children each give a talk on mothers for church and sing me a musical number for part of our church at home sacrament meeting. They all did a good job. They sang ‘Gethsemane’ for me. I was hoping for a new song or a song related to Mother’s Day but I will take it.

May…or was it April Happenings

It is about the middle of May. The Kansas state wide stay at home order ended May 4th. Our county extended for another week. Bringing our areas stay at home order to last a whopping 52 days. Now we are in Phase II of the Covid 19 recovery plan. I believe phase IV is when things are supposed to be back to ‘normal’. The media and politicians are a mess, it is ridiculous to listen to everyone basically bicker and fight and make things up to get their own agendas across. The original idea of slowing the progression of the disease so health care could get prepared has now been changed to-no one should leave their house again until their is a vaccine or cure discovered, and if you think differently then this you are a selfish, hateful, evil person. We will not be done with Covid 19 until NO ONE ever is at risk of dying from it again. Interestingly enough the people I see against moving forward all have a guaranteed paycheck and other than socially their lives haven’t been disrupted that much. People on both sides of the argument have started protesting. The research and numbers from across the United States and other countries-excluding China who had obviously lied from the start, is coming back that while this disease is very contagious, it is not as deadly as first thought. The number of people that have or had Covid is way higher, I’ve seen reports that say 22-44% higher than the numbers show. So deaths are said to be between 4-10% are actually less than 1%. That is using the current death number which is suspected of including anyone that has died since March 13 whether it was from Covid or not. It is really hard to figure out what is fact or fiction on the news end of things. That is what the media is shoving in our faces. The impression I get and see and feel in my little world is that people are wanting to continue to be cautious but are ready to get back to their lives. There are risks all around us everyday. It is impossible and ridiculous to think you can eliminate and control them all. It is also quite evident that there are emotional and economical issues along with other consequences that I think are going to start causing a lot more problems than Covid, the longer things are put on hold.

We have done our best over that last few weeks to make the most of our situation and keep life happy and normal as possible. We have been blessed that Ryan has still been able to work from home. We have not had to worry about food or water or toilet paper or meeting financial obligations. We have been blessed with peace and calm in our situation. All of us have had struggles on occasion emotionally and socially. People are social and emotional beings and we have learned how important our needs in those areas are and require more attention then one might think. Luckily we have all been healthy for the most part as well. Ryan’s arm has started bothering him again, but he was able to get into Physical Therapy and is hopefully on the road to recovery. My finger was the only other trip to a doctor we have needed.

We decided to put in a basketball goal. This turned out to be a bigger project than planned. We ordered the first one and had Matthew dig the hole. Then we set the post and filled it with concrete. A few days later when we went to finish it we discovered there were missing and broken parts. So we tried to get a new one but the people we ordered it from were unable to tell us when that would be possible, if possible at all. So we returned as much of the old one as we could then ordered a new one from someone else. We got that one and it was the wrong one. Instead of a nice sturdy goal it was a cheap crappy one. So we returned it again and got the right one. This one was a square post instead of round so we had to dig a new hole and set the new post. Then dig out the original one enough to put dirt and grass in the area again. Finally we were able to get a basketball hoop in and we have all enjoyed it. Matthew taught me how to do a lay up too.

Matthew learned many new skills with this project. Including how to use a jack hammer.

I finished a project that I have had on my mind for a while. I did a picture wall in my basement. I have tons of frames I have collected over the years and plenty of pictures that I like to look at. I love the idea of a picture wall but I was worried about it not being my usually clean minimalist style and getting on my nerves after awhile. I settled on doing it in the basement because I knew it was going to be busy, but I wouldn’t have it in my face all the time so it wouldn’t bug my clutter avoidance side. I liked the way it turned out and I put a lot of my favorite snap shots over the years up. Just FYI the top far right picture has since been fixed so it is not crooked and taller then the rest. I promise.

We have gone on many walks over the last 52 days. Most around our neighborhood and on the near by walking path but we also explored several new areas too. I don’t know exactly I have just been told that Olathe has over 100 miles of walking paths to explore. We saw lots of animals on our walks including many different kinds of birds, frogs, snails, fish, cranes, squirrels, dogs, cats, spiders, rabbits, turtles and more. Matthew snorted a large bug up his nose on one of our walks. It took several minutes and lots of sneezing to finally get it out. I did not take a picture of it. My brother and his family came to see us for a few days on their way from Connecticut to their new home in Oklahoma. We went on a walk with them and saw a village of fairy houses that had been set along the path.

Ryan and I also celebrated our 18th anniversary. I got a little excited and told everyone that it was our 19th anniversary, but Ryan showed me the math. LOL. We will plan on celebrating together later in the summer. On the actual day I went back to work for the first time in a few months, and Ryan traveled to Wichita for the week to help catch up on some stuff. Also his first time ‘going’ to work in over a month.

This is our favorite new recipe we discovered over the quarantine. Everyone liked it. Matthew said it is like eating at Chipotle.

The elementary teachers all drove by in a car parade to say hi to the students. This was so exciting and a high light of our day.

A few weeks into the quarantine I got around to going through the kids back packs and putting them away for next year. I realized waiting this long was risky and when I opened Allison’s first and saw her lunch sack I was very nervous. Luckily she had emptied it at lunch her last day so when I opened it I was not accosted by rotten moldy food. The rest of hers and Emilee’s back packs was uneventful. I was about done with Matthew’s when I felt a lump in one of the side pockets. I dug it out and pulled out a potato complete with a face and hair. When all the kids saw it they were very excited to see “Beth” again. Apparently it had been several months since the last time they saw “Beth”. She was much more wrinkly and had grown some extra arms and hair. Thank goodness Beth didn’t turn into a pile of mush while tucked away in the dark pocket of Matthew’s bag. Apparently Matthew had made her for some project at school and when he brought it home everyone had met Beth on the bus then he forgot about it and left it in his bag. He even had a picture of Beth with one of his friends that had made a Rapunzel potato. Weird.

Beth as a young potato with her Rapunzel friend.

Most nights we tried to have a family activity before the kids went to bed. We would play a game, or watch a movie, or hang out and visit. One of our favorite games we ended up playing most nights is called ‘Cover Your Assests’. It’s perfect because even Emilee can play. She is actually pretty shrewd and does a good job. Matthew on the other hand is known for having the worst poker face ever and most often looses the game in spectacular fashion because he doesn’t use much strategy either. It was always fun though.

Emilee wanted a picture of her extra big win for one of her hands.

Hair salons have been closed long enough for people who rarely get haircuts to miss one. For Matthew and Ryan who prefer to have their haircut every month they have missed a few. The girls have taken full advantage of their longer locks and enjoyed trying different styles for them. Both have been good sports about letting the girls have fun with their hair. Ryan has also grown his beard and let it grown until this past weekend. Then he decided to have some fun and shave a Hulk Hogan style mustache to gross us all out with. We went on a walk and much to Matthew dismay and my embarrassment drew far to much attention from passerbys. He has also gone to the store and a few other public places sporting his new look. Most people don’t know it is a joke and just think he is a gross weirdo, but his friends have all chimed in with their two cents. He is keeping it to get a reaction from his co-workers tomorrow on his video calls. Then I’m sure he will shave it and come up with some other creepy style. Matthew just looks at him and shakes his head and says, “How do you expect me or anyone to take you seriously when you look like that?!”

I went back to work last week. I am filling in at an office that opened the first day the stay at home order was lifted. It was a little stressful at first. One of their hygienists called and quit the day before because she couldn’t deal with the work and stress of coming back to work. The assistant had a panic attack about 15 minutes after being there. I had a pretty good mental battle of my own between rational and fear based anxiety. I think it will be a real problem for the majority of people when they start going back to work. After the first patient or two there we were able to get the flow down with the new safety precautions and procedures that we will have to do for an unforeseeable amount of time. It was nice to get out though and interact with people. I am going to be working there Monday and Wednesday until they find a new hygienist.

It is interesting to see the price and availability or lack of availability on certain items with all this going on. My kids always enjoy a fun slip-n-slide in the summer. I used to find them for 5-20 dollars. Granted they never last the summer but they can use them enough that I feel they get my money’s worth from playing on it. Pools opening up are still in question for summer so they have been begging me to get a slip-n-slide. When I started looking if you could find them you had to plan on paying anywhere from 100-250 dollars! They were heavy duty ones but they are still made of plastic. Good grief! I was able to find a ‘deal’ on one and told me kids they better take good care of it because this is the last slip-n-slide I will ever be buying. They have used it many times so far and love it. They best part is they can set it up and clean it up themselves.

April General Conference 2020

President Nelson: Welcome to conference. After Sunday morning session we will have a Hosanna shout together.

Elder Ballard: Reviewed history of early life of Joseph Smith and Hyrum and Joseph Smiths sacrifice of their lives for the Savior.Think of an offering you can give to the Lord in the next little bit. Then do it.

Elder James R. Rasband: Story of Alma. He repented and mourned for himself, but also those that he lead away. He was not able to right the wrongs and heal and restore for all those individuals. That is what the atonement is for. To heal and repair the wrongs and mistakes we can not do ourselves.

Sister Joy D. Jones: During a time of uncertainty a woman’s influence on others can be increased ten fold. “The Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.” (President Nelson) Effort. Hard work. Study. Learning is integral to progression.”I plead with you to improve your ability to receive individual revelation.” (President Nelson) Use the spirit to know which of our many hats we should wear and focus on. We can’t wear them all at the same time. Seek personal revelation

Elder Neil Anderson: During times of difficulty in our lives, the Savior will bring moments of confirmation of love and spiritual assurance of past experiences of the Holy Ghost witnessing truth to us. Listen for and be aware of those spiritual defining moments in our lives. Seek and remember moments of personal revelation. Embrace, record, and share (when appropriate) our spiritual memories.

Elder Douglas Holmes: The purpose of the Children and Youth program is to help get the gospel and its principals deep into our hearts. Relationships are important to help and support each other along the way. Develop by gathering, listening, spending time, speaking and sharing with others in our lives. Spiritual experiences are essential to our progression. This will fuel our desire to become more like the Savior through repentance and change. Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to just do what is right, he wants us to CHOOSE to do what is right. Engage in the gospel-ACT.

Elder Henry B. Eyring: The work of the gospel will require all the energy and skill of the saints. We don’t know everything but we do know- we will share the gospel with the world, we will gather together. We do this by growing in spiritual power through repentance, live the commandments, praying in faith to seek personal revelation. Ask ourselves- What would He (Savior) have me do? Prayers of faith like- Joseph Smith and Enos will provide us guidance in our lives. Find joy in the work we are asked by Him to perform.

Elder Ulisses Soares: Retold story of Joseph Smilth seeing Moroni, getting the plates and translating them. We should each gain our own testimony of the Book of Mormon by reading and pondering the words and then praying to Heavenly Father and ask with a sincere heart and pure intent in faith if the words you are reading and studying are true.

Elder John A McCune: Our ability to help others come unto the gospel will be reflected upon by the example we set ourselves in living the gospel. When Lehi invited his family to come to the tree of life, he didn’t leave the tree to get them. He stayed and beckoned them to come to him.

Elder Dale G. Renlund: Story of man that needed a heart transplant. His grandson was in an accident and his heart became available to his grandpa. After the surgery he lived 13 more years. Don’t seek to change God’s will. Seek you have your will aligned more with God’s will. Act on the commandment to “Hear Him”.

Elder Benjamin Tai: Just like a regular physical checkup with our doctor, we should do regular checkups on ourselves to evaluate our spiritual heath. Study the Book of Mormon according to our circumstances (story of man that studied the children’s Book of Mormon and using dictionary to understand as best he could because it was not available).

Elder Gary E. Stevensen: History of the building of the Salt Lake Temple. Steps that are being taken to strengthen the temple foundation from earthquakes. We should evaluate our personal foundations and evaluate ways we can strengthen and renew our personal and family foundations. Family prayer, scripture study, temple attendance and gospel study with Come Follow Me.

Questions to help make sure you have a sure foundation in the gospel.

Do you have faith in and a testimony of God the eternal father, his son Jesus Christ and the holy ghost?
Do you have a testimony of the atonement of Jesus Christ and of his roll as your savior and redeemer?
Do you have a testimony of the restoration and gospel of Jesus Christ?
Do you sustain the president of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as the prophet, seer and revelator and as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise use in priesthood keys?

Elder Gerrit W. Gong: Hosanna and Hallelujah. Easter represents a physical and spiritual restoration.

Sister Jean Bingham: Adam and Eve had same goals and desires even if their approach was different. Families are essential unites of eternity. Satan tries to pit men and women against each other to drive a wedge between them and assist in the downfall of the family. Desire the happiness of your spouse more than your own. Help pick up the slack when one of you is struggles. Work to change and improve areas of personal shortcomings.

Elder Henry B. Eyring: Doctrine and Covenants Section 110. VS 4- I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father. (The Savior has many names and descriptions. Advocate is one of my favorites. I tell my kids that I am their advocate. I remember a talk discussing the significance of the word advocate verses a friend or something else.) Whenever we perceive to solve one problem and receive revelation, we open the door to receive more revelation. The Lord has seen everything coming that is happening and has prepared things for us.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks: The power of the priesthood is used in the church and in the family. In the temple women do not hold an office in the priesthood but are given authority to help with ordinances. Parents should encourage more priesthood blessings in the family. Mortals bodies can be full of light or darkness. What we do and allow into our minds is what determines if we are full of darkness or light. By your fruits ye shall know them.

President Nelson: Began by reminding us why it is important to call the church by the correct name. The Church of Jesus Christ. Introduced the new symbol of the church. It will be used as the official identifier of official church information. Fasting. Asked everyone to join again in a fast on April 10th for the relief from the pandemic, the economy and healing throughout the world.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband: Reviewed and shared many prophecies from ancient prophets and Joseph Smith that have or are being fulfilled. The essence of pure religion is what draws people to the gospel. We must be prepared in heart and mind to receive the Savior whenever the Second Coming happens. NO unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. The truth of God will go for boldly faithfully and independently.

Sister Bonnie H. Cordon: Intentionally shine your light so others can see it and know where to find the truth.

Elder Jeffrey R Holland: He asked himself the question- If I lived 200 years ago, what would I feel is missing? In response to the prophets challenge to prepare for this conference. He would have been looking for God to be speaking and providing guidance and love like he did in ancient times-Prophet of God. He would have hoped for evidence that Jesus is the Christ-The Book of Mormon. Hope for someone with true priesthood authority to fulfill needed ordinances and covenants. Ordinances available for those that lived and died without the knowledge of Jesus Christ could be done for them.

Elder David A Bednar: Our hearts denote what our inner desires are. The gospel santifies our hearts and “turning the hearts to the fathers and the children to the fathers” changes our hearts and brings us closer to our father in Heaven. The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. In 1924 when President Nelson was born there were 6 operating temples. There are now 168 operating temples, 48 additional temples announced or under construction. The work is accelerating and growing. Prophets of all ages have looked forward to our day with anticipation and delight and the work that will be done for the salvation of the human family. This latter day work will destroy the darkness of evil and bring about the salvation of the human family.

President Nelson: Every time they showed a shot of President Nelson during this conference he has been smiling and almost bursting with excitement and joy. He is a true prophet of God and his countenance alone brings hope and comfort when I see him. What does the restoration of the gospel to the earth mean for us? It means families can be sealed together for eternity, it means we can be baptized by one with authority and have the constant companion of Holy Ghost, it means we are never left comfortless or without access to the power of God to help you, it means the priesthood power can bless you as you make and keep sacred covenants. The Lord communicates simply quietly and with stunning plainness. When we have fear and uncertainty Heavenly Father knows that is when we need to hear the Savior’s voice. Hear Him. As disciples of Jesus Christ our efforts to hear him need to be more intentional and purposeful. Hear Him in the scriptures daily. Hear Him in the temple. Increase your time in family history work to hear Him. KNOW HOW THE SPIRIT SPEAKS TO YOU. Do whatever it takes to increase your ability to receive personal revelation. Hear Him by heading the words of prophets, seers and revelators. You will be blessed with power to handle stress and evils that come our way. Today I will be reading and releasing a new proclamation to the world titled, The restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ a bicentennial proclamation to the world April 2020. Then he led all of us in the Hosanna shout. “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ would take the slums out of the people, and then they would take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.” ~Ezra Taft Benson

Elder Dallin H. Oaks: In ways that have not been revealed, our actions in the spirit world effected our time here in mortality.

Elder Ricardo Gimenez: All of us will have storms or moments of stress in our lives at one point or another. No matter what kind of storm or the duration. The only refuge for a storm is the Lord Jesus Christ and his atonement. To one with faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf: Our part is to love God, as we do that he will provide us with things that we need.

Elder L. Whitney Clayton: Fine homes are established by 1. Quality of spirital attributes in the inhabitants. The reflection of Christ in their countenance is seen by others. 2. Make time to study the words or scriptures and prophets every day. Remodel your home if needed to have family and personal studies. 3. Follow the blue print created by the Lord for the temples. Compare this to keeping the commandments, steady discipleship. Use our temple recommends as often as possible. 4. Refuges from the storms of life. Those who keep the commandments of God will be prosperous and be able to weather storms in life on their own. Faithful living will provide strength, fortitude and peace through their trials.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson: Love, example, and use of the Book of Mormon are how we should share the gospel with others. “Do not burn my book. Go to your room and read my book.”

President Nelson: Reminded us of the new Proclamation, the church wide fast, and all other guidance we were given through the talks of this conference. Even with the temples closed you can still draw upon the power of your priesthood covenants made in the temple. Apostolic blessing: Bless you with peace and increasing faith in the Lord, bless you to repent and draw closer to the Savior each day, bless you to know that Joseph Smith is the prophet that brought the restored gospel, bless you with healing. There were 8 new temples announced including one in Shanghai China.

The themes that stood out to me for this conference is the blessings of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The importance of seeking, recognizing, listening and following personal revelation from the Holy Ghost. Learn how to hear Him.

April Fool’s Day

This is a day that I usually prefer to pass by unnoticed and then pretend to be disappointed when someone remembers we missed it. Most of my family seems to be on the same page with my opinion, with the exception of Allison. She anticipates it for months and has almost the same giddy excitement she has for Christmas or her birthday when it gets close. With the entire Nation on stay-at-home orders I think in general most people paid more attention to it this year, simply because of lack of other things happening. Allison had a long list of tricks ready to go.

She placed a piece of card board in all the toilets. Thank goodness she hasn’t discovered other ‘options’ for this classic trick, that I will not even mention here because she does eventually read this.

She put tape across several doorways. This happened to be the day I did laundry and often was carrying things in front of me so I couldn’t see as well. So I personally ‘fell’ for this one at least 5 times and so did others. She was very pleased with herself.

I also found tape covering the faucet when I turned it on in my bathroom.

The one she did that made me chuckle the most was drawing on Emilee’s arm while she was sleeping. Emilee came in and said, “Mom, I don’t remember drawing any of this on my arm.” She still draws on herself enough that it was a total possibility she did it, but was confused she couldn’t recall it.

Allison’s pride and joy prank for the day was getting a hold of Matthew’s cell phone and changing her contact to “Campbell” who is Matthew’s crush. She then texted him like she was Campbell. Matthew figured out pretty quickly that it wasn’t Campbell but he thought it was her sister. He even told Allison about it and she was giggling while she sat right next to him and continued to text. He figured it out shortly after that. Then I helped him change it back and change the password on his phone so she couldn’t get into it anymore.

The winning prank of the day was by me though. Thanks to my neighbors. They pranked me first with the following pictures.

This is the Governor of Kansas. I was shocked when I saw the schools would go through July.

Once they new they got me they said they were looking it and would send me more info when they found it. A minute or so later she said here is what we found. and send me this.

I was still a little confused and thought it was not very appropriate of the Governor of Kansas to do something like this. Then I saw the subtitle-the Hogan’s are the neighbors that sent it to me. They got me good. Then I decided to pass it forward to my kids.

Allison was mad for a good 30 minutes before she calmed down. 🤦‍♀️