Week Ending August 17, 2013

Sunday we were up early. Ted was banging around in the kitchen, but for some reason, Seth slept through it all until about 7:30 and then he chilled in his bed for quite a bit longer. He was very cheerful. Ted set about preparing blueberry pancakes while I fed Seth some cereal. The kids arrived with their families for breakfast before church. At church we sat on the back benches as usual so we can see people as they arrive. I introduced everyone as they came in—I am so proud of my family.

After church Heather’s family came back to our house to change and leave for home. It’s been such a good weekend and I have really enjoyed being together. It is hard to believe we won’t see them again for about 9 months. It is really the hardest part of being here. We said our goodbyes and they were gone.

After church one of my students that graduated told me she has decided to go on a mission and will get her papers in as soon as possible. I’m really thrilled. She has been sort of apprehensive about school and it just didn’t seem like the best thing for her. I hope she gets to go soon.

At home we enjoyed being with Steven’s family. We ate and visited, played a few games, then visited and ate some more. We played another game then they went home. I will really miss them when they are gone.

Monday early Steven called to say they were ready. We met them at the hotel and gave them a few boxes to take home for us. We went to breakfast together and enjoyed the food and the visit. I continue to be amazed at Steven’s insights into the scriptures. He recently edited a book his father-in-law wrote. They are a good pair.

After eating we said our goodbyes and parted. I am so sad to see them leave. I know it was a blessing having them here. I don’t think it makes it harder to serve, but it makes me more aware than every how much I love and appreciate my family. I told Steven's boys how much I appreciate their letters. It means so much to have that small connection to home.

At home it was back to reality, I got a text from a mom telling me her son wants to do the workbook in seminary now. I am really disappointed, but I may need to move all the kids over to workbooks. It won’t be much of an experience if just the one family ends up doing the online and I’m not sure if the other kids will do it. In the evening we had home evening. We had Snicker Salad because it was one student’s last night before her mission and she had requested it. We played Cranium and had a good time. There was a large group there. We invited all to institute, but we don’t meet until next week so we’ll see then. When we got home we were both exhausted.

Tuesday I had a long talk with my CES coordinator about teaching methods and trying to help the students get into the scriptures more. He gave me some good information and some good things to study. Most of it was what we got in the MTC, but I didn’t fully understand it then so I haven’t studied it in depth.

Shopping at the pawn shop--some new, some old

Wednesday we were supposed to read with a family, but we called and got voice mail. We left a message and said we would not come unless they called. It is too dicey to just go over there. We went to Gallup early and did some shopping. From there we drove to seminary. Only one girl had her assignment done. The next year is going to be a major adjustment for them. They need to do 80% of the workbook activities to get credit, so there won’t be room for slouching. We finished the Book of Revelation and I bore my testimony about the New Testament and the scriptures and the value of daily studying of the scriptures. I encouraged them to make it a habit to read every day and to reread the books over again to gain strength from them.

Next week I will pass out the materials and we will be ready to start the new year. I’m looking forward to finally getting going. It has been a bit frustrating to have to wait for the online program, especially since we may not end up doing it. In any case, Ft. Wingate will be starting soon as well.

Pollen Trail dancers

Pollen Trail dancers

On the way home we stopped to watch the Indian dancing at the courthouse. It was a group called Pollen Trail and it was probably the most interesting one we’ve seen. Cody Jansen, one of our early institute students, was crowned the Queen of the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. She was there so they introduced her and she said a few words. All the girls from the Wingate Elementary School dorms were there as well. It was a beautiful evening.

Pollen Trail dancers

Thursday I went early to the church to sort through the stuff Heather and Emily had collected. I was totally amazed at the good stuff that was sent. I was overwhelmed at the generosity of their friends. I nearly cried. I got everything sorted and set up for quilting. When it was time to start no one was there but me, not even the Relief Society president. I was almost in tears, but I prayed for help not to be discouraged and the Lord answered my prayers. I decided I would move ahead and work on the quilt and make the best of it. About 11 AM a lady wandered in. Apparently, she had found the door by the Primary room propped open with a rock. The lady sells burritos at the side of the road every weekday morning to people on their way to work or the school. We wave to her when we walk to the church to exercise. I gave her a flyer yesterday and invited her to come.

I had been having trouble with the sewing machine, but I rethreaded it just as she came. She knew how to sew, so she sat at the machine and I cut and pinned fabric. We worked until about 12:30 then I heated up my chicken nuggets and we ate. She stayed until about 3 PM sewing. Once when she was waiting for me to get some pieces pinned, she literally fell asleep. I let her sleep until I had pinned another piece, then I woke her and told her it would be OK if she wanted to leave. She stayed and sewed until I thought we were at the end. She said she’d be back next week. She asked a couple of times if we only do this on Thursday. I told her that was the only day. I told her to bring her friends.

We didn’t talk much while we worked because we were a ways apart, but we had a good visit while we ate.  Her granddaughter went to BYU. She has a granddaughter living with her that has a master’s degree in water resources and works for the Navajo Nation. It turns out that yesterday was Code Talkers Day so the employees of the Navajo Nation had the day off which is why there was no one at the senior center when we went there.

After she left I finished cutting and pressing the squares we’d made. I had to pin the last fabric strips on some of the blocks, so I went ahead and sewed them since the machine was still up. I cleaned everything up and put it all away. I even figured out how to get the tables back on the cart without too much effort. I checked the doors again then came home. I was very tired. It was almost 5 PM when I got home. It was a long day.

After Ted returned we tried printing a couple of talks we needed for the mission conference next week end. After the first page the printer made a loud noise like crunching then wouldn’t feed any paper. We tried everything we could think of. We found a broken plastic piece in a tight spot in the paper tray and several small white plastic pieces. We couldn’t see where it should have gone, but the printer wouldn’t feed paper no matter what we tried. After a long time trying we finally gave up.

Friday was my birthday. I heard from friends and family and it was a good day. My son left a voice mail wishing me a happy 46^th. When I called him back it was happy 48^th. I hope I don’t age that fast in the future but I guess he gave me several additional years so I shouldn’t complain. Since seminary workbooks are on back order, I had to copy the first week’s lessons to give to the students this Sunday. We’ll go a week at a time copying. It’s really going to be more challenging without our printer. We tried to print the talks from my flash drive but discovered the printer at church needed a different format. I resaved the file at home and we went back to the church later and printed the talks on our way to lunch. Ted took me to lunch at King’s Dragon buffet (Chinese food). We ate way too much but enjoyed it.

Sunset over Gallup

In the evening I went to the church with the president for the night quilting class for one sister. As it turned out, no one came but us, not even the sister who wanted it. We started to work on a pillow top. We cut some fabric and laid it out so it could be sewed next time, but she didn’t want to get the sewing machine out unless we were going to have someone come. We were both a bit disappointed. It turned out the lady who was going to give her a ride made other plans and didn’t tell us but she knew neither of them was coming.

Pyramid Rock

Saturday we left earlier than usual for the temple so we could stop to check out printer repairs. We took the Relief Society president with us. We had a good visit on the way. We actually had quite a good time all day. We got to Albuquerque in time to stop by the printer repair shop and drop the printer for an estimate. He said he would be able to tell us within the hour. While we waited we stopped at Trader Joes and got a few things. We then went to Kohl’s to use the balance on Ted’s gift card. He got three shirts. We had passed the beginnings of a farmer’s market, so we drove back by  and walked around and supported the local vendors. The most interesting place was a lady who knits and crochets things. She had some really cute things using some really fun yarns. We visited with her for quite a bit while I picked her brain. I bought a headband to use for a pattern. The repair man called to say it would cost more to repair the printer than buy a new one, so we drove back to his place to pick up our poor printer.

After having all that fun, we headed straight to the temple to catch the 11 AM session. Ted dropped us at the door then parked the car. We hurried up and got ready then waited. It became apparent the session was not starting until 11:30. They had recently adjusted the schedule and we hadn’t known that. We had a wonderful experience once we got started. There was a good Spirit there.

After leaving the temple we grabbed a bite to eat then shopped at Costco. We then went across the street to Office Depot to get a printer. One model only had the demo left. The other had just come in and was not on display. We got the new one. At the cash register an offer came up for $10 off if we bought the high capacity cartridge set. We had been told how much the standard cartridges would cost so I knew the high capacity was more than I wanted to pay. As it turned out they didn’t stock it. I suggested that since they couldn’t deliver on the deal we should get the $10 off anyway. The manager agreed and we got the printer for the discounted price. (It turned out when we got home that the USB printer cable was not included, so we still are without a printer.)

How green is our valley

After this adventure, and after figuring out how to get everything into the car, we started for home. It is a long trip and it had been a long day so we were tired. I was really grateful when we finally arrived. We unpacked the car then tried to find a home for the food in our limited refrigerator and cupboards. I tried to set up the printer and got really frustrated when I found we were missing the cable. We had returned home earlier than ever, but it seemed like the fates were against us getting a good night’s rest.