The Highlight of the weekend was talking to Elder Berry. Took us a while to get the connection working, and when we finally got to talk to him, he could not see us. But most important, we could see and hear him and feel of his amazing spirit. He is having a great experience and teaching us every week with his letters. They bring a spiritual experience to our home each week.
After talking to Braxton we headed to Merrie's for our Mom's Muffin's and Girls day. It was a huge success. We have been getting together for several years now around grandma's birthday, each year one family puts it together so we can visit and learn more and remember what Grandma and grandpa did in their lives. This year Grandma Parrish got the brilliant idea to use muffin tins for our plates since Grandma Rula never liked her food to touch, and she loved the Magebly Muffins that Chad used to run in the mall.
Hollie was in charge of the welcome game- We played Friendship Speed Dating.
She did a great job explaining it and getting everyone involved. We did learn that it was funnier if you were not sitting across from someone in your family.
Many of the cousins said we cold of played it longer, they were really enjoying them selves.
It was really fun to have so many come, we missed the ones who could not make it, and we were so glad that Melissa flew in from Illinois.
Most of the group before Lunch.
Kimmee had asked one of Grandma's friends to come and give a talk that she had given in the ward a while ago on the importance of being a mother, and striving to do the things Heavenly Father wants us to do and become. Simple everyday actions like reading the scriptures and having personal and family prayer, strengthen our children for extra ordinary experiences. Need to get a copy of her talk.
Grandma also, thought we shoudl do a service project instead of doing a craft or something. So she called the Fillmore Hospital and we did a service project in remembrance of Duane and Rula Bartholomew. They need blankets - they see so many accidents at the Fillmore Hospital.
WE made Grandma's favorite muffin's, I made orange chocolates for the first time. Grandma had to come dip them, they were so good. We also had fudge and divinity two of Grandma's other favorites.
Everyone brought salads and Chad barqued chicken strips, everything was so yummy.
Grandma was worrying, since we were not getting the chicken done as fast as everyone wanted to eat.
Grandpa was a lot of help getting everything to Merrie's and helping set everything up.
The Muffin Tins were a hit for the plates. It was so fun, I had thought we would not get enough food in the little cups and everyone would be hungry. But everyone was stuffed, and there was more than enough food.
Grandma made everyone a book with the recipes of the muffins and breadsticks.
This is one of the poems we put in it.
If you give a mom a muffin,
She’ll want a cup of milk to go with it.
She’ll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will come and spill the milk.
Mom will wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She’ll remember she has to do the laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She’ll trip over the shoes and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She’ll look for her cookbook.
(How to Make 101 Things with a Pound of Hamburger)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The checkbook is in her purse,
Which is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
Then she'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two-year-old.
While she is changing her two-year-old, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She’ll remember she was supposed to phone a friend
to come over for lunch.
Thinking of lunch will remind her she was going to have a muffin.
She will pour herself some more milk.
And chances are,
She’ll want a cup of milk to go with it.
She’ll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will come and spill the milk.
Mom will wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She’ll remember she has to do the laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She’ll trip over the shoes and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She’ll look for her cookbook.
(How to Make 101 Things with a Pound of Hamburger)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The checkbook is in her purse,
Which is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
Then she'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two-year-old.
While she is changing her two-year-old, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She’ll remember she was supposed to phone a friend
to come over for lunch.
Thinking of lunch will remind her she was going to have a muffin.
She will pour herself some more milk.
And chances are,
If she has a cup of milk,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.
Grandma giving away the drawings, I had made a cut apron and Melissa's little girl Brielle got it. She was so darling. We were so glad they came.
another Poem we included in the recipe book
Made a pillow with this saying on it and Crystal won the drawing for it.
Saturday was a great start to Mother's Day. On Sunday all the mom's with missionaries and military boy had been asked to speak, I was not nervous to speak about Braxton and share his letters with the ward. He has written such great letters. I had been thinking about it for a couple of weeks and even had asked him what he would want me to tell. He wrote a letter several weeks ago with this paragraph-
Yesterday in church, in the gospel principles class we talked about the "convent people" There is a new missionary that just got here like a month ago that is giving the classes. The dude has only been out for one month yet he is a powerful teacher. Anyways something that he said that I really liked was that a herd of sheep only recognize the the voice of their shepherd. So if some other dude tried calling them over, they wouldn't come unless it was the voice of their shepherd. The covenant people recognize the voice of their shepherd, its a familiar voice. So when we share the gospel, the chosen recognize the message, it is something familiar to them.
I've come to know how important the preparation for a mission is. There are missionaries that have such little time but are so powerful because of their preparation before. Knowledge is power. If I would have just payed attention or at least gone to seminary, it would have made me a more effective missionary. I hope Bronson, Hollie, Britton and Miriah (I inserted the names of the kids in the ward as well here) are reading this. Bronson, if you were anything like me, you probably didn't get much out of seminary, I hope you did but if not, you got a little bit of time to prepare yourself to go. I've set the goal to memorize all the scripture mastery from all four books before I get home. So if i can do it, you can do it. I promise that you will use those scriptures on your mission. if you study them now, they will come to your mind when you are teaching somebody on your mission and you'll know just where they are so you can use the scriptures to convince people that this message is true. don't be like me and think that you will learn it all on your mission. if you do it now, you'll be that much more powerful.
After Todd has asked me to speak, I stared to listen to conference talks from when I was on my mission and begin to listen to the talks given by Elder Wirthlin, since when he was a new apostle he first assignment was to come to our mission and make a Stake in New Brunswick. This is one of the stories he told in 1982 and Sunday morning it came back to my mind as I had pondered the things Braxton had said and all of his letters that I had reread. Braxton had Said that Knowledge is Power, but in everything else he said, his real message was PREPARATION IS POWER!
There is a story about a young builder who had just gone into business for himself. A wealthy friend of his father came to him and said: “To get you started right, I am going to have you build a ranch house for me. Here are the plans. Don’t skimp on anything. I want the very finest materials used, and I want flawless workmanship. Forget the cost. Just send me the bills.”
The young builder became obsessed with the desire to enrich himself through this generous and unrestricted offer. Instead of employing top-grade labor and buying the finest materials, he shortchanged his benefactor in every way possible. Finally, the last secondhand nail was driven into the last flimsy wall, and the builder handed over the keys and bills, totaling over a hundred thousand dollars, to his father’s old friend. That gentleman wrote a check in full for the structure and then handed the keys back to the builder. “The home you have just built, my boy,” he said with a pleasant smile, “is my present to you. May you live in it in great happiness!”
We are the young builders, sometimes we get so caught up in what the world is telling we need to be and do that we forget or don't take the time to make sure we are taking advantage of all the best things the Lord has given us to do to build a strong foundation. Power is in the Preparation.
I ended with one of Braxtons favorite scriptures. Helaman 5:12And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation where on if men build they cannot fall.
I am so grateful for the missionary program and for the gospel. I know the Book of Mormon is true and I love my family so much, we are so proud of all of you.
Dad and I trying to take a selfie on the plane as we left for Chicago.
Dad and Brock had meetings starting at 8:00 each day, so Marjorie and I took the Blue Line (train) in to town each day until about 5pm. It was so fun, it rained the first two day and was just overcast on Wednesday.
There are flowers everywhere- Tulips, daffodils and many more kinds and ground cover. It was so amazing.
This is outside the old Water Tower
The Water Tower was pretty tall too
Looking down the street at all the plant beds full of tulip. This block had all white tulips.
We went into a famous candy store. So much to choose from and so many different option of how to buy candy. We bought Fudge.
Some of the Streets...
Loved the Skyline...
This street had pink tulips...
Going down the Magnificent Mile...
The famous Bean.
These buildings had water running off of then from the top with the picture showing on the sides.
Ppretty amazing.
These next four are the Chicago Art Museum, and they had the Vincent Van Gogh bedroom art on display, it was really crowded since it was raining and also the last day to see the show.
Vincent has an amazing story, I enjoyed learning about him and what inspired him to paint. In the museum I like the little rooms best, they were amazing and to see the detail, was incredible.
the Blue Line...
Looking back at the city from Grant Park
The buildings around the park.
Buckingham Fountain
The beginning of Millennial Park...
This is the River they Turn Green on St. Patrick's Day
Going to the Cub's game, was so fun being with Brock and Marjorie. Brock was teaching us all about baseball. It was so enjoyable and so fun. We wanted to have a Chicago Dog but ended up with just a hot dog. We didn't see the Chicago stand until dad had bought the dogs. Dad was so happy to be there and having so much fun after a long day of food safety training.
Dad being a photo bomber...
The last day... more beautiful planters around the city.
In the middle of one of the shopping centers they have this miniature model of the city. You can see how high the Willis Tower is compared to the other buildings.
Going to the top of Willis Tower...
Looking down from the top... on the South side
This is the north side of the building, we could not see out at all.
Getting to the airport and seeing the line and hoping we would make our flight, we were an hour and a half getting through security.
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