Monday May 13

It wasn't a very busy day today, but it sure felt busy.

This time of year there is just SO MUCH to get done around here along with all the stuff we are already working on.

So it feels like crazy town.

We both worked out, Dad gym, me 3 miles.

Man...I hate Monday runs.

They are so hard!!!!

Back at home I did laundry and Dad worked on sprinklers.

The pump is giving him trouble so he spent more time on it that he would have liked to.

I painted as much as I could reach on the back of the garage with the small ladder.

I will have him put up the big ladder tomorrow and hopefully finish it!

But I had to shower and then go do grocery shopping before picking Elsie up for speech.

So I did that....ended up buying mattress in a box for Cassi.

She has not had a very comfy bed and with her finally going up there instead of the couch, we thought a new bed might be nice.

Anyway, Elsie and I went to speech.

Back at home, Dad had made a platform for Cassi's mattress to fit on the bed frame, because a box spring wouldn't work with the memory foam very well.

Then he made hamburgers for dinner.

The kids spent some time doing homework and some art for a 'Life is Good' contest that Vern wants them to enter.

Dad and I spent some time outside.

Enjoying it, but also feeling the stressors that come along with all that needs to be done!

Then we came in and had FHE.

Dad shared with us the stuff he learned in the priesthood fireside they had last Wednesday.

The stake leaders each had their own talks.

Brother Loveland spoke about barnacles and how they can weigh down and wreck havoc on ships.

And that there in a channel in the Columbia river that is fresh water that the ships like to go through because barnacles can't live in fresh water.

So it cleans then off the ship.

So that is a great parable about repentance.

Then Brother Fujimoto spoke about the pearl in an oyster.

The pearl actually starts as a (not bad) parasite.

The oyster slowly surrounds it layer by layer and it grows into a larger pearl.

He likened this to truths we are seeking and learning about.

We learn more about these things step by step, precept by precept.

So just like pearl in the oyster, those gospel truths become beautiful pearls to us.

Then the stake president, Pre. Keihl gave a story about the bears in Yellowstone.

Many years ago, the people would leave trash around and the bears would eat it, then the people started feeding the bears.

It became unsafe and the park started putting trash bins around and telling people not to feed the bears.

But there was a problem.

Those bears had taught their babies to go get food from the easy places, peoples cars, campground etc.

So they never knew for themselves how to get food the way they should.

This comes down to our own testimonies.

If we rely on our parents testimonies , and then we leave the house, we don't know where to turn.

This is why it is so important for us to find out for ourselves what we believe.

It was a great FHE....minus the fighting.

So we picked the word SEEK for our brick foundation wall.

-SEEK the clear waters of repentance

-SEEK for those pearls to build upon

-SEEK to build our own testimonies