The Call

We were anticipating Janna's mission call last Friday, but it didn't come.  What a disappointment, but it came Saturday!  Hoorah for Israel!

First the guesses,  I hope I got everyone:

Me - Liberty Jail Visitors Center (Liberty, Missouri)
Hughie B. - Mongolia
Bailey G. - Spain
Sam B. - France
Marla M. - Brazil
Jeremiah D. - New York
Joseph D. - Puerto Rico
Ammon D. - Taiwan
Cassie D. - Holland
Dexter D. - Italy
Ruben D. - Missouri
Mark R. - Rome, Italy
Jo R.- Helsinki, Finland
Robert R. - South Carolina
Paige R. - Pensacola, Florida
Scott R. - Rapid City, South Dakota
Nancy H. - Hamburg, Germany
Heidi B. - Spain
Danette S. - Russia
Janessa H. - Philippines
Kathleen J. - Ohio or Italy (Yikes!  Only one vote.)
Tammie H. - Japan
Annie S. - Kansas
Kim F. - Germany
Laura C. - France
Jeffrey H. - Sacrament North
Erica P. - New Zealand
Berkeley P. - Oregon
Jennifer S. - Overseas 
Anita G. - Independence, Missouri
Cei K. - Portugal
Michelle T. - Canada
Emma R. - New York
Don and Kathy O. - New Zealand
Beth E. - Canada
Candy R. - The Carolinas or South America
Jeanette M. - Japan
Sally R. - Oklahoma, somewhere warm
Jacob L. - Florida
Brittany L. - Japan
Kendra K. - Argentina or New York, New York
Zoe B. - Hollywood, Florida
Charles O. - Seattle, Washington
Aimee I. - Paris, France
Sydney B. - Lancaster . . .
Kellie H. - Boston, MA or Argentina
Alyssa A. - Lancaster
Emilyann B. - New York
Ricky F. - Texas
Mike T. - Pocatello, Idaho
Stephanie S. - South Carolina
Thomas B. - Thailand
Rebecca B. - Paris, France
Natalie B. - New Zealand or Montana
Veronica M. - Kansas
Tracie D. - France, somewhere in Europe
                 or maybe Washington D. C.
Nicole B. - Guatemala or NYC
David E. - Dominican Republic
Teancum Q. - Korea or Texas
Jared Q. - Temple Square
William B. - Jacksonville, Florida
Rick B. - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Wendy B. - Texas
Evelyn B. - Mississippi
Will B. - Alabama
Eddie B. - Texas
Dave L. - North Carolina
Lisa B. - England
Beth L. - Michigan
Kate R. - Michigan
Jana T. - St. Louis, Missouri/Dallas, Texas/Ireland
Perri L. - Spain
Jessica L. - Utah
Doyle M. - Temple Square
Julie M. - New York
Michelle G. - Tonga

The Call:  Florida Orlando Mission
               Leaving - July 17, 2013 (Janna's dad's 60th birthday)

Referred to as "The Happiest Mission on Earth"

Runners-Up:  Billy Blair guessed Jacksonville, Florida.  Bill served in the Florida Jacksonville Mission over ten years ago.  Things change, as in the boundaries; we found out that there are places in the Orlando Mission where Bill served when it was in the Jacksonville Mission.  We're making special note and maybe Janna will get to serve in those same areas.
                      Zoe Burgess guessed Hollywood, Florida.  This is where she currently lives.  It is in the Florida Ft. Lauderdale  Mission; close, but no prize.  Ft. Lauderdale is where my sister served almost 35 years ago - Spanish speaking.

Winner:  Well I'm giving it to my nephew, Jake Lockhart, for his more generalized answer - Florida.  He's coming to visit so he'll get a Disney prize when he comes to town.  Congrats Jake!

"I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord,

Over mountain or plane or sea;

I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord,

I'll be what you want me to be."

Hymn No. 270 "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go"

Text: Mary Brown, 1856-1918

Music: Carrie E. Rounsefell, 1861-1930

Back on the Wagon

I had a bit of a setback this month.  I got injured for one.  I fell walking at the mall, twice, and tripped three times in between my falls.  What was that all about?  After 45-minutes of nearly killing myself (hitting that tile floor felt like getting hit by a Mack Truck, twice) I figured I better get out of there while I was still alive.  I haven't walked since - so obviously I am exercising less.  I don't know when I'll start walking again. I am still riding my stationary bike.

Being weakened, I didn't think about eating less, but ate more.  Mid-month I also went to a wedding and a funeral (more food). Anyway, I caught myself close to the end of the month.  I was starting to gain back a pound a day.  I caught hold of myself and regrouped mentally. I still hurt from the fall, but I can see I'm getting better, so I'm grateful for that.  It will be sometime before I totally quit hurting (or is that even possible at my age).  Anyway, I'm feeling optimistic once again, but I definitely lost some losing time.  YIKES! Becky's birthday party last night - heart attack on a plate (Chicken Alfredo) and homemade chocolate mint ice cream, none of which I should have had.  It was YUMMY!

March 1st is a new day.  Is it any wonder, I started out the year with:  On the Program for the REST OF MY LIFE!  It literally has to be that way.  I'm back on the wagon.

February 1st 236.6 (had gotten down to 231 early this month.)

March 1st  235

Lost an additional 1.6

Total loss since January 1st  15.8 lbs.

Don't dig your grave

with your own knife and fork. 

~English Proverb

A Family Tradition

Ricky went to the Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission

Billy went to the Florida Jacksonville Mission

Tommy went to the Texas Houston South Mission

Janna_________________________________

(Fill in the blank.)

 

Janna's mission papers have been submitted. She's given her availability date as June 17th. Tommy and Haley will be married. School will be out. Work will be over. She'll be ready to go, but where is she going?  Like her brothers before her, we're playing a little guessing game.

Let the guessing begin! 

Janna should receive her call in a matter of weeks.  If you'd like to join in, feel free to email me, call me, or leave a comment with your guess.  I'll make a post later with all the guesses.  We'll see if there is a lucky winner.  Last time I made a Texas Sheet Cake when we found out Tommy was going to Texas.  Of course, the winner happened to live here in Lancaster.  So . . . I don't know what I'm giving, but I'm giving something; you'll just have to wait and see.  I'll put up all the guesses with the winner when Janna gets her call.

"Sisters,while you do not have
the same priesthood responsibility

as do the young men to

serve as full-time missionaries,

you also make a
valuable contribution as missionaries,

and we welcome your service."

President Thomas S. Monson
"As We Meet Together Again,"
Ensign, November 2010

Elder Reynders

Scotty or I should say, Elder Reynders, left January 9th
for the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.
He was there for three weeks.
His mother is forwarding his emails
so we can hear how he's doing.


Leaving home - Clovis, CA

Uncle Adam and the cousins picked him up in Salt Lake City

Greeted at the MTC in Provo, Utah

What is the purpose of life?

Who am I?

Why am I here?

What happens when I die?

Elder Reynders arrived in Minnesota last week.
He is ready to teach and answer these questions.
He will be guided.
He will find those searching for the truth.
I have no doubt!

The BEST to you Scotty - Elder Reynders!

Time to Weigh In

I should have posted this a few days ago, OOPS!

January 1st - 250.8

February 1st. 236.6

I've lost 14.2 lbs.

Wondering how?  I'm daily tracking my weight, calories, and exercise at loseit.com.  Sounds tedious, I'm getting use to it and it's working. I've got a freebie account there and I'm grateful for the support it gives me. I've got a few cheerleaders at the house too. YEAH!  Let's hope I keep it up.   

I did have one set back and I'm still recovering. I fell walking at the mall last weekend. Guess I need to pick up my feet better and quit shuffling.  If you can believe it, I fell, tripped three more times, and then fell again.  I had to get outta there before I got killed.  Anyway, I'm recuperating.  I'm not walking at the mall right now, but still riding my stationary bike.  Here's hoping for more weight loss in the month of February and no injuries.

The only way you get that fat off

is to eat less and exercise more.

Jack LaLanne

Our Computer

YIKES!

 

Some people seemed destined to have car problems, teeth problems, health problems.  I guess we've all got something we're dealing with.  Ours is evidently computer problems.  We bought a new computer and within a week it just wasn't functioning anymore.  Rather than struggle like we did with the last one (for over a year) and then found out it wasn't us it was the computer, we decided to just take it back.  All of a sudden our ol' clunker of a computer doesn't seem so bad, in spite of it's seven year age and limitations.  What a mess!  Our consistent torment with computers goes on.  It made me think of a T-shirt I saw someone wearing once:

"You know how you have one of those days,

Well, I have one of those lives."

Here's hoping for a better computer situation - someday!

On the Program for the Rest of My Life

Happy New Year!

 

It's resolution time.  I'm going to lose weight this year instead of gaining - famous last words.  How many times have I said it?  How many times has it been my goal?  I wish I could start with a picture, but with the computer complications I've been having I'm not going to deal with it.  (I'll add one later. Suffice it to say, we need a new computer. Blogging will be easier and better when we get one and hopefully that will be this year.)

I weighed in this morning at 250.8 lbs.  I'm a good double what I was when I got married.  YIKES!  I will be writing about my doings throughout the year.  This is my number one goal I will focus on and will continue to focus on, hence, my blog post title:  On the Program for the Rest of My Life.

Family Home Evening this week was from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's latest general conference talk Of Regrets and Resolutions, he said:

"Let us resolve to follow the Savior

and work with diligence

to become the person

we were designed to become.

Let us listen to and obey

the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

As we do so, Heavenly Father

will reveal to us

things we never knew about ourselves.

He will illuminate the path ahead

and open our eyes

to see our unknown and perhaps

unimagined talents."


HERE I GO!!!

Did You Have a Merry Christmas?

Gifts of time and love
are surely the basic ingredients
of a truly merry Christmas.
~Peg Bracken
 
I admit, Christmas came to quick for me this year.  With working everyday and the last day of school being December 21st, I just wasn't ready for it all.  I suppose I always try to do too much; but with getting older, I couldn't push if I wanted to.  Instead, I went to bed and Becky took care of some of the last minute details. Thank You!  We even skipped Christmas dinner today with the idea that we would do it tomorrow when more of us were here. We've had our moments together today.  I'm grateful for less.

Best Wishes!

Have a Jolly Holiday!

I've been working more than my usual substitute norm since school started this fall. Here it's Christmas and I've worked everyday this month. Busy, busy! I just wanted to get a little greeting out there so you'd know I'm still around and hoping to get back on the blogging bandwagon.

Wishing you the best

and hoping you're having a

JOLLY HOLIDAY!

Janna the Elf

During a Christmas celebration last Saturday on Lancaster Blvd. Janna was an elf. She's a bit of a blur because she's in a giant snow-globe. She was in there for three hours - waving, wishing all who passed by a Merry Christmas, and getting her picture taken a lot.

"Well, way up north where the air gets cold
There's a tale about Christmas that you've all been told
And a real famous cat all dressed up in red
And he spends the whole year workin' out on his sled

It's the Little Saint Nick . . .
Run, run reindeer . . .
He don't miss no one!"

by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys

Engaged!

Got the news yesterday. They were walking on the beach. They had been collecting shells. Tom called to Haley, "There's something in this shell . . ."  She came.  She saw the ring. He proposed - NERVOUS,  SURPRISED,  EXCITED .  .  .  PERFECT!

So happy for these two, Tom and Haley.

Marriage brings

greater possibilities for happiness

than does any other human relationship. 

Elder Russell M. Nelson

"Nurturing Marriage"

Liahona, May 2006

Did You Vote Today?

Trying on a few masks,
Jake and Jennie when they came to visit in October.

"Nobody will ever deprive
the American people of the right to vote
except the American people themselves
and the only way they could do this
is by not voting."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

They Came, They Went

They came, they went and because of their visit I'm back on the blogging map. My niece and nephew came to town several weeks ago. Angie (coming from North Carolina) brought her husband Edward; and Jake (coming from Salt Lake City) brought his friend Jennie. We had a wonderful time!

Of course, they came to see Poppy, but we always get the fringe benefits of those who come to see my dad. Happily, Edward, dare I say, super computer geek, (super - as in he has literally saved my life with this computer of ours); he got me straight on downloading pictures so hopefully I'm good to go until something else goes haywire on this thing.  I'll finally get to post about my trip to Utah and other stuff that has been going down around here.  Thanks Edward!

Edward and Angie at the San Diego Temple

Visiting family gravesides at the La Verne Cemetery
Angie's great-great grandparents on her mother's side.

HIKING

Angie, North Carolina girl
amazed at Red Rock Canyon

North Carolina boy - Edward
Checking out the foliage and landscape of the Mojave Desert

Tommy, Haley, Jennie, and Jake

A visit with Poppy.
Jake, Poppy, Angie, and Edward

Edward on the verge of a grueling game of Dominion!

 

Angie and Jake at the graveside of their little brother
Steven David Lockhart

He died at three weeks old from SIDS. He'd be 25 this year.

He's buried next to my daughter, Martha Ann Blair.

Hope to see everyone soon!
Edward and Angie with Hugh and I
Fun info about Edward:
He's related to Blair's in Vermont
See any resemblance between Hughie and him?

Cousins - Angie and Cassie

Even though Becky and I went to Angie and Edward's wedding last year, everyone else hadn't seen Angie in five years and it was a first trip for Edward to California.  We were glad they came and everyone was pleased to meet Edward; grateful Jake and Jennie made the trip too.  It was an awesome week.

"Y'all Come Back Now,
Ya Hear?!!"

Ask the Sister Missionaries

"A mission

is a voluntary act of service

to God and humankind."

Elder Russell M. Nelson

Janet's mission is different because she serves at Temple Square - a visitors center and she works in the chat room of Mormon.org. Not every missionary serves this way.  Sometimes they let the sisters serving on Temple Square go out and serve in the "regular" mission field; and that's exactly what has happened to Janet (Sister Reynders, I should say). As of this week, she is currently serving in the Washington Spokane Mission. She'll be there for the next 4 1/2 months. Her first area is in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. Her new address through the mission home is listed on the sidebar under her picture.

Sister Reynders standing in front of the
Spokane Washington Temple
with Sister and President Mullen
(her new and temporary mission president).
Janet will eventually return to Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

I'm so excited for her.  What an opportunity!  That's why I'm repeating Elder Russell M. Nelson's words from general conference with the added word "sister":

Ask the [Sister] Missionaries!

They Can Help You!

Elder Russell M. Nelson

General Conference, October 2012

Read it!

Ask The Missionaries

At general conference last April, President Thomas S. Monson in his opening remarks said:

"We meet each six months to strengthen one another, to extend encouragement, to provide comfort, to build faith.  We are here to learn.  Some of you may be seeking answers to questions and challenges you are experiencing in your life.  Some are struggling with disappointments or losses.  Each can be enlightened and uplifted and comforted as the Spirit of the Lord is felt.

"Should there be changes which need to be made in your life, may you find the incentive and the courage to do so as you listen to the inspired words which will be spoken.  May each of us resolve anew to live so that we are worthy sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father."

President Thomas S. Monson,
"As We Gather Once Again"
Ensign, May 2012

Those words apply to every general conference and with that said, this weekend we had the 182nd General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It has come and gone.  Two days of watching, listening, discussing, and pondering what we learned from the many speakers. Hopefully my enthusiasm will not wane. I need to continue to bask in the light I have been given. I have understanding I need to incorporate into my life.

We also had a luncheon Sunday at our house with new friends and the missionaries during the break between the morning and afternoon sessions of conference. The weather was so nice and it was great to be with everyone. Our meal only added to a wonderful day.

This is one of my favorite talks from general conference this weekend.  Elder Russell M. Nelson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at the first session on Saturday.

 

Young men can serve a mission sooner, 18 instead of 19; and young women 19 instead of 21.  With this announcement my nephew, Scott, will have his missionary application in ASAP.  He was ready and waiting for this early opportunity. With this announcement their will be an anticipated upsurge in the number of missionaries serving.  Need some help?  Like Elder Nelson stated:

"Ask the missionaries!"

 

Scott on Thorley Mountain,
ready and waiting to serve
as an 18-year old missionary.