Rain, Rain go away!

Wow, it has been raining a lot lately. The puddle in our back yard was drying up a little last night and this morning, but got more rain this afternoon, and it is bigger than it was before, and there are more puddles back there. I sure hope we see some sunshine soon. The farmer that rents our land was able to get his corn in before it started raining, but not able to fertilize it or put weed killer on it, so field looks real fuzzy with plants. My lettuce and radishes and marigolds are loving it. Picked some lettuce for dinner tonight. Was really good. I planted it in planters then put it on a table, have seen evidence of bunnies around the table, but they can't get the lettuce! YAY!!!! Now if we can keep the critters out of our other veggies, that would be great.

Beautiful Memorial Day

What a great day it was today. Temp was just right. Dear hubby planted the garden today. Sun was beautiful. I went for a long walk in the back 40 today, listened to wildlife, and music on my ipod.

What a great Sabbath Day! We had our stake conference at our ward today. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake City. Great Speakers! And we had our granddaughter all weekend. I love that our temp today was 80! We have finally seen the female Baltimore Orioles and hummingbirds. They started coming Saturday. Now the Orioles are eating the grape jelly almost as fast as I can get it out there! Seeing the females back just hits home that spring is officially here. No more cold weather! Yea!

Beautiful Spring Day

What a beautiful spring day! It is 82 degrees (normal for this time of year is mid 50's). Quite windy though, and we are in for some thunder storms tomorrow. Enjoying today though! Busy finishing my projects for school. Only 2 more weeks left, then off for the summer. One more semester to go. I graduate in December. I am working on 2 websites for classes. One is in Flash, and the other is in my advanced web design class. Next semester I will be putting together a portfolio web site. I think I am going to start working on it over the summer though.

Two of my works from Design 1 class are in the Student Honors Art Show. It is Faculty selected work from the fall and spring fine arts classes. How cool! First time anything like that has happened to me. I will definitely be putting that in my portfolio.

I will post photos when I get my works back.

Easter

Crocheted a couple of bunny pins for my daughter and granddaughter for Easter. Also made an Easter egg cake.

Great Day

What a gorgeous day we had today! It actually got up to 53 degrees! The wind was still a little chilly. This weekend is General Conference, can't wait to hear what our prophet and other speakers are going to talk about this time. I always get a lot of messages from their talks that seem to be geared right towards me and my life. It is so wonderful to have a prophet, who communicates with Heavenly Father on a regular basis, to tell us what we need to do to get back with Heavenly Father.

There is a short film about my church helping after Hurricane Sandy. It is on CNN iReport. It is really good. Please go and watch it. It is up for an award, so please cast your vote at the top of the page for it. The link to the page is http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-881281

A quote I like

“There are so many people out there who will tell you that you can't. What you've got to do is turn around and say 'watch me'.”
Layne Beachley

First Robins!

Just saw my first pair of robins! Spring must be on the way, although you wouldn't think so today. 34 degrees and cloudy. The geese have been stopping in our fields for 3 or 4 days now. Very noisy out there. Yesterday I saw a swan flying into the field. Beautiful animal. Very large bird, with a very long neck. Knew it wasn't a snow goose (white goose) because of the large neck, and it was about twice the size of a goose. Very cool. Now I have to wait for my Baltimore Orioles and Hummingbirds to come back, then I know spring is here to stay!

Pictures of my Orioles on a feeder attached to my kitchen window, and in the cherry tree out our kitchen window:

Beautiful Sabbath Day

What a beautiful Sabbath Day! Any day the sun is shining is a beautiful day. It is still a little chilly here, although it is 42 degrees, the wind is blowing out of the north, off Lake Ontario, so that makes it feel a lot cooler.

Some of the Osmonds are holding a rally to support Marriage and family. I wish I could go.

I love this proclamation from our church. If more people put more emphasis on the family this world may be a better place in which to live.

The Family

---

A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORLD

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.

The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

ET

This was ET our black cat that passed away recently. He was 17 yrs old.

Pictures from Nauvoo and Carthage

Sunday, March 10, 2013

What a gorgeous Sunday! the sun is shining, it is almost 70 (67) degrees here in Appleton. Church was great, was able to stay for choir practice today, that was fun. Have my granddaughter Jamya today, that is always fun. She is 7 yrs old now. She helped to collect our eggs this afternoon. She loves animals soooo much. She took our dog for a long walk in the back fields this afternoon too.

Very spiritual in church today. The 1st counselor of our stake came to be with us today. That is always great. I like him so much, he is such a nice guy. We had great talks in Sacrament, and in all the classes today. Loved it so much!

Beautiful Day

Today is a beautiful day, the temp is almost 40, here in Appleton, NY. The sun is shining brightly. I have finally been able to transfer this blog to my gmail account, so hopefully I am going to be able to write in it more often. I can't believe it has been four years since my Crusher cat died. We have had our other older cat pass away recently. His name was ET. He was a black cat, just as sweet as could be. He was shy around strangers, but once he got to know you, he loved you. He was very loyal, even though he was not doing well, he would somehow get himself across the house to be with you. I will miss him dearly. We now have the one cat, his name is Eli. he is about 3 yrs. old now. We have one dog, Jenny, and 7 chickens - 6 hens and one rooster, who is just learning how to crow. Hopefully this summer we will have some new chicks.

This winter these chickens have laid at least one egg per day, and sometimes two. I thought when the weather was cold - it has been a really cold winter - they would slow down on the egg production. We have been giving away eggs because we have so many of them.

I am back in school, learning web design. It has been a good journey. I have one more semester to go to get my AS degree. I really like learning the code to make a website.

I got downsized out of my job at the Lockport Union Sun. Last October they decreased my department from 8 people to 4. They did it by seniority. I was number 5, even though I had been with the company for 23 years. I have not found a job yet, so concentrating on my studies.

Loss of a Good Friend

The last week has been a very emotional one. First, last Sunday morning we recieved the shocking news that Julie's boyfriend Kelly had passed away in his sleep. Kelly was in his early 30's. We had a family reunion on Sunday, and Julie and the boys came. Mike and his family came up to be with the boys. My son and daughter in law came home for the week. That was great. They are leaving tomorrow to go back home. I will miss them. It was nice having them around again. Then this morning when I went to take my shower I discovered our 19 year old blind cat had passed away during the night. His name was Crusher, because he was an orange tabby cat and he looked like orange crush. I am going to miss him. He was a good cat. He never went near the road. We couldn't let him out after he went blind this winter, because we were afraid he would wander away and not be able to find home again. He got really skinny this spring, although he was eating well most days. He had his days where he didn't move much because I think he had arthritis. I have posted a picture of me and him when he was about 15 yrs. old.

I have been off this week. I have been learning some things on my scanner/printer. I have been able to make prints from negatives (35mm) and I can make prints from slides also. I have not done that yet. I have been learning how to make slide shows from my photos also, and have been trying to make dvds of them too.

We went to Nauvoo in mid March. Nauvoo is in Illinois on the Mississippi River. Nauvoo is where the saints went after the exermination order was put out by Missouri Governor against the Mormons(Latter Day Saints). They had quite the city, that rivaled Chicago at the time. We had to leave a day late because a huge snowstorm went through and dumped 3-4 feet of snow on us. We got up Sunday after it ended and dug out the driveway enough to get our car out and packed and left. When we got to Wrights Corners though it had stopped snowing totally and it was sunny and beautiful the rest of the way.

We stayed at the Nauvoo Villas and Condos. We had a 1 bedroom condo with a kitchenette and a living room. It was very nice. Off season it was only $59 a day. I compared it to the hotel rooms around Nauvoo and it cost the same but we got the added features of the kitchenette and living room.

The first day we were there we drove down Parley St. just as the 1800's saints did when they were driven from Nauvoo, and looked back at the temple. It was very moving.
We also went to the show that the Missionaries put on every night. It was excellent. I took some pics of it. I am posting one here. You click on it and see a larger pic of it. You can see the orbs around the characters. These are spirits. I knew they were there before I started taking pictures. I could feel them all around. It was awesome. No my camera did not have any dust or water on the lens. I clean it off before each picture. And if I take two pics of the same thing, the orbs will have moved about, so it isn't lighting or shadows either.

I guess the graph doesn't update automatically on my blog. I am up to page 25 now.

We have a new presidency in the Church now. It is President Monson, Henry Eyring 1st Councilor, and President Uckdorf (not sure on spelling) as second councilor.

This week has been a little tough. We lost our beloved Prophet last Sunday night. Gordon B. Hinckley was 97 years old. He is now with his beloved wife now. And I am sure that the other prophets who have gone before him greeted him as he passed throgh the veil, as well as Jesus and our Heavenly Father. He was a great man. He had a great sense of humor. He was very humble, and you always felt better after you heard him speak. We are going to miss him here in the mortal world, But we will be blessed to see him again on the other side. There is a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. I am taking that challenge, even though it means reading 5 and a half pages a day. I am posting my progress chart here so you all can see how I am doing. I hope it works. The challenge starts tomorrow - Feb. 4th.

I can't believe it is almost Christmas. I love this time of year. I love Christmas and I love that Heavenly Father sent his son Jesus Christ (our big brother) to save us. "It's the most beautiful time of the year" the song goes. I think that is so true. I have finally gotten all the snowflakes done for Linda and am drying them now. I am posting some pics of Jamya helping make cookies this year.

This is something I found on the internet I thought was cute.

Your fairy is called Oak Elfwitch

She is a cheerful sprite.

She lives in forests of oak and lime trees.

She is only seen in the enchanted moment between sleep and waking.

She decorates herself with leaves and berries. She has delicate green wings like a cicada.

Get your free fairy name here!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year