I'm getting a late start on this week's blog post, so I will try to keep it brief. There was quite a bit going on this week so that's not going to be easy.
Last Friday (after I wrote last week's post) we got gyros for dinner from a local Greek Orthodox Chuch (they sell them a couple of times per year and they are really good) and watched an episode of Once Upon a Time. After that, we joined the Zoom call to celebrate Mom's 90th birthday. It was great to see everyone, to share memories of Mom, and to sing some favorite family songs.
On Saturday I had stake choir practice, followed by a RS luncheon / activity. For lunch there was a variety of soups, salads, rolls, and pies. I made a banana cream pie to take to that. We also talked about spiritual gifts and did a few activities related to that. The rest of the day was spent mostly doing Seminary lesson preparations. I finished preparing Monday's lesson (besides making a few copies, which I did on Sunday) and figured out a plan for Tuesday's lesson. We did not stay up for the BYU football game (way too late, and we were really tired) but were glad to find out Sunday morning that BYU won the game. (I completely forgot about it but Frank remembered to look it up.)
Sunday morning I had choir practice; I'm starting to learn the songs a lot better thankfully. The YSA ward had stake conference somewhere down in DC and Seth didn't want to drive down there so he came to church with us. After church I took a nap and also talked to Jared; Frank went on a ministering visit. Seth went to the church with me to help me set up tables for Seminary (the YSA ward usually does that for us). Seth went to mission prep that evening.
On Monday morning I taught a lesson about the 2nd Coming. Actually, it was two lessons related to the 2nd Coming combined into one lesson. It went pretty well. When I got home (after buying groceries), I finished preparing Tuesday's lesson which involved going back to the church to make some copies. I also had some planning things to do related to Seminary--quite a few emails to send and text messages to answer! I took some time to practice the songs for stake choir and I got to talk to Scott for a while too. When Frank got home, we went for a walk. I had a very slight sore throat all day (I noticed it the most when I was practicing the songs) but it didn't turn into anything serious, thankfully! For family night activity we played a couple of rounds of Bananagrams and Frank won both times. Seth went to the YSA FHE afterwards.
Frank didn't go to work on Tuesday because he had a rough night. He woke up sometime in the early hours of the morning choking / coughing (something went down his windpipe...not sure if it was from his CPAP or what). He was coughing pretty violently for quite a while and then he wasn't able to go back to sleep for a few hours. Thankfully, I did go back to sleep quickly after Frank came back to bed and I knew he was okay. Although Frank took the day off work, he ended up doing work for two clients--one of them that is about an hour and a half away from here, so that took a good chunk of his day.
I felt like Tuesday's Seminary lesson didn't go so great, but Tammy said it was really good which was nice to hear. It was an "assess your learning" lesson, which we have periodically. I enjoyed listening to podcasts that day while I got household chores done. Besides the regular Follow Him podcast, I've also been listening to the Voices of the Restoration series that they do with Gerrit Dirkmaat and enjoying that a lot. When Frank was driving home from his client, he called me to tell me that he had just found out that a friend in our ward, Wally Whipple, had passed away the night before. This was a total and complete shock. Brother Whipple and Frank were good friends. They have cooked food for ward activities together for decades. (His other cooking friend, who moved to Alaska several years ago, was killed in a car wreck in June--so sad to lose them both this year!) Brother Whipple died in his sleep--not sure of all the details yet; it might have been his heart. He was a really kind man who quietly served in many ways. We will miss him a lot!
On Tuesday I also got to talk to Tanner, I read through my next Seminary lesson (for Monday), and we talked to Dawn to do some planning for Thanksgiving. For Christmas this year we have decided to simplify a lot--each of us is going to give to only one person. Since we will all be together this year, it seems like a good year to try something new. We also want to spend less on "stuff" this year and have a little more to spend on things that we will be doing together as a family. I think it's going to be a lot of fun! Jared figured out a rotation of who is giving to who and sent it to us on Tuesday. I am giving to Seth, Frank is giving to Tanner, and Seth is giving to Scott.
We had a guest teacher Wednesday morning as we often do. We chose this guest teacher with the topic in mind (Religious Freedom) and she did a great job. She is very involved in the community in civic matters and has a real passion for standing up for religious freedom. She brought a flag and we all said the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of Seminary!
I felt really tired after I got home, so I took a nap before attempting to work on Monday's Seminary lesson. That helped a lot and I was able to get Monday's lesson almost completely prepared. Frank and I went on a walk and that evening I had Book Chat. (And Seth had Institute.) We discussed Where the Lost Wander and now we are reading Heidi, which I actually have never read. I got a digital copy for only $1 and just started reading it tonight. One of the women in my book club had a baby with her. All her children are grown and she explained that this baby belongs to a sister in her ward who is getting deported and is currently in ICE detention. The sisters in her ward are all taking turns taking care of this baby since his mom is gone. (The baby's father works and is also going to school two days a week.) It was a good reminder that every immigrant--illegal or not--is a person with a family and a story.
I didn't sleep well Wednesday night so I was tired on Thursday but really didn't get a chance to take a nap. (I did go to bed a little early on Thursday night and slept well.) While getting household chores done, I listened to more podcast episodes. I finally had a chance to put away my summer clothes and move all my winter clothes into my closet (they've been in the guest room). I also read through my two Seminary lessons for the week after Thanksgiving. I want to get started on them since we'll be traveling next week and I won't have a lot of time to prepare them then. After work, Frank had to go back to do more work for his client that is 90 minutes away, so he got home pretty late.
Today I went to the temple to do Initiatories. The process was quick today (more workers than patrons), so I was done in about 30 minutes. It's always great to be in the temple, though, no matter how long I'm there.
After I got home I got the budgeting done which took a while because we'll be gone next Friday so I basically had two week's worth of things to do. Tonight Frank and I went out to dinner and then went to the mall so I could get my wedding ring checked and cleaned. We did some browsing at Barnes & Noble also.
That brings you up to date on us. I have a busy day tomorrow too so I should post this and go to bed!
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