This blew me away!

Bro. Toronto is in sixties,  served a mission as a young man in South America.  He said he had been on his mission maybe a year and his companion just new out of MTC.  Anyway he said they were tracking one day and knocked on door of this man who cheerfully greeted them and said "I know you, you are missionaries from the Mormon Church."  Bro. T. said yes and he welcomed them in.  After some introduction and casual talk he said to them, "How would you boys like to come and have a hour to speak to my students about your religion?  Wow, Bro. Toronto was a bit taken back.  The man continued to speak and said "I am a teacher of a Theological Seminary Class and would be pleased if you would come speak at our assembly on Fri.   He said he and his companion looked at each other and Bro. Toronto  knew his companion wasn't quite ready for this. ha.  Bro. T. said he was nervous but excepted his invitation to speak. Have to tell you here that Bro. Toronto is a great speaker and I can see him doing this.... told him one day that he and Bro. Erickson are running neck to neck as my favorite speakers. he laughed/  so back to the talk , the professor said" fine see you this wk.and you can speak for a hour"  they then confirmed the day and time.    Well Bro. T. said he did some serious praying and showed up at the Professor's Building and the professor right off told the class " listen up class today we have Mormon Missionaries here to speak to us about their Mormon cult and don't forget to take notes." Bro. Toronto thought oh great!
Well that remark didn't stop him .....only brought the spirit stronger to bro. Toronto.  He started and went on to tell them about the church that Christ had while here on earth and how all that was lost when  Jesus died and His Apostles died and how his Teachings and Priesthood needed to be restored.  the Savior waited for the right time and appeared to the young boy Joseph and went on to say that Christ is a resurrected celestial  being with fresh and blood, not some mystical person that fills the whole universe but a person like you and I but a celestialized exhalted being . We are made in His image as it tells us in the Scriptures!
well Bro. Toronto said he did this likeBro. T.  barely got started again when the professor jumps up and says "class now take notes."  three times as he could hardly get a good start when the professor jumps up again and said "class hope your taking notes on this."   and so this time  Bro. T. said he then  turned around and actually pointed his finger at the professor and said you said i can have a hour and i want that hour with no more interruptions! He agreed to his promise and never jumped up again, Bro. Toronto said he likely felt bad being reprimaned in front of his students. But he noticed many agreed he should have the floor.  Now you have to know Bro. Toronto to appreciate how he spoke out to this professor and to appreciate his demearor.....   anyway the professor agreed not to interrupt  him again and he set down for the remainder of  Bro. Toronto's talk.  Bro. Toronto got his hour and saw heads nodding in agreement with many of the things he said.  I loved it!  He said he felt he was given the spirit as he spoke that day! He testified of Christ!   He felt many of the things he said touched hearts that day.  So would he ever know the results of that day, likely not.  Would it cause any to think, maybe!  He said he may never know....but he said i do know that even if I got just one person to thinking that day, it will have been well worth while!
He said no other church comes even close to having this enlightment and knowledge that we have! 
   I loved this talk,  it touched my heart and built my testimony of the Savior and His work even more.  Our Savior has a body / but one difference / it is a spiritual celestialized heavenly body. He overcame the world! Gosh, loved his talk!   I know its true!  The Church of Jesus Christ  called by his name, of latter day saints/  for thats what they called followers of Christ in his day, Saints!  His Church with all his Teachings Restored is back on the Earth!  I feel thats pretty Wonderful!   love you guys, mama

Christmas 2014

 Just reminding myself to blog our Christmas here.

List Of Songs I Enjoy!

Yesterday When I Was Young
And I Love You So
What A Difference You Made In My Life
Smokey Mountain Rain
I Believe
In My Life
You Looked at me
O Divine Redeemer....more to come


MUSIC WASHES AWAY FROM THE SOUL 
                                THE DUST OF EVERYDAY LIFE!!
by Berthold Auerbach

Visit to Leslies

Went to Leslie's for Soren's baptism but it was postponed.  None the less, it was still a wonderful chance to visit the grandchildren,  Aria, Soren and Ander plus Rob let me use his flight miles so it didn't cost me anything. Wow, that was so nice of him.   While there got to visit  Rob's mom's home and his brother's. 

Santa Cruz.... at beach... too cold to swim but with wet suits some people were out there. 

Bank I got for Soren.

Boys going off to school. 

Leslie and Aria    Leslie and I
Scout helps with decorating the tree.

                                 The trip started out kind of crazy with  getting there and then coming home.  Certainly had its moments.  Going, the plane had engine trouble so we circled and came back to Orlando and finally after a hour or so got moving again.  Now returning home,  Rob took me to airport and we didn't foresee any problem but got stuck in traffic bumper to bumper for near two hours and we knew right then I wouldn't make the flight.  Think goodness Rob knew what to do. I felt so sorry for him.  Think he was stressed over it but he got on top of things pretty fast and had me call a number and he talked to the lady and they rescheduled me for another flight which left in a hour and we felt sure I could make that one. Which I did. :) 

Rob did really well and was pretty patient during the whole thing. Maybe he was a little stressed but was calm and for me I really have lived long enough to not sweat the small stuff  as they say. :)

I saw some great sights and will post them here and for sure it was really nice seeing and spending time with the family. 

Jen's cat Plo

Jen has wanted a cat forever and this is " Plo" who she hand picked out of a small group there in Texas.  Now she calls him the cat from H ---. ha.  People tell her he is just a baby being six months old and will outgrow some of his craziness and nipping at her feet.  Took a few pictures of him while visiting her. 
Anyway this kitty gives Jen some hard times and I tell her its ok to find him a new home if its really what she wants to do.  but she says no!  she really does like him now and then and for sure he is company for her BUT?  guess sometimes he is a real pain. :)
I will add more pictures here of Plo as time goes by and let you know if he is warming up and becoming the

" lap kitty" Jen so badly wanted!  :)

Myself through the Years

ABOUT ME.....

At this time I am 73...been married fifty three years.
I have 7 children .....five girls and two boys
I have 13 grandchildren
Grew up in Vincennes, Indiana
Favorite place we lived...probably have to say Brunswick, Georgia in my young days.  Had some fun times with my friend Betty Stackhouse...
Person most like to meet... years ago would had to say Kathy Lee and Regis /  today B.of M. prophets that I have read about.
Favorite Singer...years ago was....Ronnie Milsap , Donny and Marie, Kenny Rodgers, Glen Campbell, and so many more.  list is endless ....loved to hear  Kenny Rodgers sing "Through TheYears"  ...dad and I both enjoyed all the old romantic music.. and today Alan Jackson singing  "Remember When "is one of my favorite!!
What drives me crazy....O my,  dirty dishes in sink that dad leaving his shoes all over the place,  towels not hung up after used and put onto hook in bathroom.. and last would be dad not taking his used dishes to the sink. ugh!   retirement!!   ha!
Things that scare me.....roaches for sure and  getting older somewhat /don't like the thought that i might not be able to do for myself one day.Yikes!
Favorite pass time....puzzles, blogging, sudoku, reading, decorating my home. O and thrift stores. ha.
Places worked....After high school at a glass factory. dry cleaners short periold, three years at Sears Outlet and eight years at Walmart and a Video store years ago when  Jen was a toddler and the owner let me take her to work with me. She would play in the store while i worked. 
Favorite tv show.... HGTV , love the Property Brothers!!
Favorite meal... corn on cob,potatoe salad, chicken,  dessert banana nut bread
Most amazing scene....guess would have to say Niagria Falls and Grand Canyon
My philosophy.. never judge another unless you have walked in their shoes.
First car I drove.... was a studebaker/ Lillie Todd taught me to drive and that was my brother Roscoe's first wife.... first car after we married was a 1953 Green Chevy.
What i wanted to be as a young girl....Opera Singer / influenced by  movie "Showboat" and "South Pacific" or a Professional  Skater!  loved to skate/ will brag cause felt was second to the best in our little town at our roller rink. ha.
Story will tell one day.... how i overcame having to deal with some major set backs as a young child and teenager ... tryed to keep my chin up!
 Best friend growing up.....for sure its my brother Bump!!

Our Twilight Years/ Donna and Dottie

I tell Donna this is our twilight years and whatever we want to do , now is the time!  Donna and I often talk about how fast the time is passing and how we are getting older and likely for the most part we don't even realize its happening.  But yes the years are sneaking up on us, and its here. And yes we are trying to stay positive!  I tell Donna she is not allowed to go before me!!  ha. Told her I checked on it and we have ten to eleven good years left to do whatever we want to do. Feel certain she will outlive me. Donna has a real love of life and of people which will keep her moving along like the energizing bunny. ha. 

Have this great poem which will fit in here just perfectly here. First time i found it I couldn't stop laughing and shared it with Donna.  We both laughed sooo hard!   I will  also post  a picture of  Donna and Dottie here in our older years.  ha.   Funny how all these years we have been living pretty near each other but never did I dream we would ever end of in the same town. guess it was ment to be!   Its been a blessing for me for sure.  Now for the story.

 The Three Sisters /  Knock On Wood

Three sisters ages 92, 94 & 96 live together.  One night the 96 year old draws a bath.
She puts her foot in and pauses.  She yells to the other sisters, Was I getting in or out of the bath?
The 94 year old yells back, I don't know I'll come up and see." She starts up the stairs and pauses:
"Was I going up the stairs or down?" the 92 year old is sitting at the kitchen table having tea, listening to her sisters. She shakes her head and says, I sure hope I never get that forgetful!" as she knocks on wood.  Then she yells, " I will come up and help both of you as soon as I see who is at the door. "
  So so funny, shared with Donna and we both cracked up laughing!!

Visit to Texas

Well got back from my visit out to see Jen and the big state of Texas.  Here is some pictures i took.  I miss her already and her cat Plo.

               
View from her apt.  thats Texas country!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Plo loved to get on our puzzle. ha                                           

 Got tv hooked up. yay!  lots of day shows anyway. ha.

Visit to Leslie's in Ca.

So had a wonderful time with Leslie and boys in Ca.   To sum it up i got to rock baby Aria alot which i loved and played games with the boys.  Photo's here soon of fun visit.     Here is list of games I played with boys:
Twister
Pop the Pig
Go Fish
Connect Four

Ander loves taking care of Aria.  Soren too and let me tell you this is the happiest baby I have ever seen!!
Seriously, always a smile , always happy!!                                     

My Baptism

This was taken on my baptism day.
My dad baptised me in what was called the gravel pit. ha.  They had no fonts in the church  for baptisms back in the  those days.
 Anyway it was kinda like a lake but around it was tons of gravel and it was where all us kids went to swim during the hot summer days. We likely had no money to go to Rainbow Beach as often as we would like so this was the next best thing. Don't  remember alot about this day other than being a little nervous.  :)

The Law of the Harvest

Love this!!

The Apostle Paul taught about God’s harvest:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:7–9).

Just as earthly seeds require effort and patience, so do many of the blessings of heaven. We cannot put our religion on a shelf and expect to harvest spiritual blessings. But if we plant and nurture gospel standards in the daily life of our family, there is a high probability that our children will grow up to produce spiritual fruit of great value to them and to future generations.

Three New Grandbabies!

Gosh, has been long long time since wrote anything.  I guess will start out by saying  we have had three new grandbabies since last posted , Heather had Jamison , Stacey had Axel,  and Leslie had Aria.  That makes 13 grandchildren. Wow!

Jamison

                                                 Axel                                                                                                                                                              Aria          
                                                                                                     

  Here they are,  our  latest members of the family.                                                                 

Times Remembered

Dorothy Harrington whom i was named after. I would baby sit in her home and she had Big Windows all around the front and it was kind of scary at night and even worse lots of cold came in that big room. ugh.

Watching the Hit Parade, Gunsmoke, and The Dinah Shore Show on Sat. nights while baby sitting for the Marley children.
Bump and I going to the movies on Sat. morning with bread wrappers or soda bottle tops.
King our Collie dog, not even sure where we got him.
Having surgery done on my eye and expecting to look Beautiful! didn't work out so well.

Bump and I walking to the New Moon Theater and we would cut threw this neighborhood and follow this path going over a big hump along the way and Bump would tell me a dead person was buried there.Yikes!
It was kind of freaky.

Bump coming into my bedroom late at night and putting a pillow under my bed and saying it was the" Body Snatchers." from that scary movie in 1956 that we had watched.  Yikes! He would scare me everytime. :)

Roscoe's Corn Field

Bump and I would love to go to Roscoe's home out in the country.  I remember we would go into his corn field and play hide and seek.  Wasn't easy finding anyone in there. ha.  He also had grape vines going across a  pond with little water in it.  Those days there were sooo much fun! He was married to Lillie then and she was always willing to let us come and spend the night.  Bump and I would wrestle like we were in a fighting match ring  and if got too rough then  Roscoe blew a whistle and say go to your corners. ha.  There was always something fun to do there at Roscoe's and in the great outdoors! 

Jen's trip home to visit us

  It has been a joy having Jen come home to visit us , have looked forward to it for sooo long.  However she was not enjoying the heat here but now it has rained for the couple days so cooled things down alot and she liked that.  She said she was wanting to see rain and a thunderstorm. ha. She got her wish!  Second day here we had a little family get together for her over at Sherry's home.  Tryed to keep her busy, we went to the Trout Lake nature center,  not impressed much,  went to target,  to walmart , to visit Frankie, Watched a couple 3D movies with dad, went to dog pound and looked at cats. Jen would love a cat but she can't have one where she lives now.  I enjoyed Jen giving me  a couple massages on two evenings which was great!  My leg had been giving me problems and the massage felt great and has helped so much!! Thank you Jen! For sure she has a gift for it!! Here is picture of her donut puzzle which she worked hard on while here, was a fun puzzle for sure .  After,  she helped me finish up a couple that i had  previously started.

                      It was fun Jen!!

                                

Memories

 Uncle Joe sent me these cool pictures! They were things your dad and I were familiar with back in our day.  Will write a little about each picture  so you will know more of what it was like for your old parents back in the good old days!!

 This is the first reading book we learned from.  Dick & Jane , and their dog Spot.  Don't recall the baby's name but they had this red Radio Flyer Wagon.
 

Dad was always taking me to the A.& W. Rootbeer stand on some of our dates.  The rootbeer was great and  they brought the food right up to the window of the car, didn't have to get out. It was busy place on
 Sat. nights.                                  

 
this was more or less what the washer looked like that my mom used and I heard someone say once that my mom actually got her hand caught in the wringer.  ugh!  So after clothes washed then my mom would hang them on the line to dry.  Think my mom enjoyed  hanging the clothes up and have the sun to dry them.  She felt they smelled so good after drying in the Sun!  I think about it and  wonder if they were very soft.  Today we use dryer sheets and it guarantees they are soft. :)



Here are the shoes all the girls wore back then, they were called Saddle Oxfords. You can see why! Looks like a saddle you put on a horse doesn't it. ha!







 This is how  we got curly hair back then. I actually can remember rolling my hair up and putting bobbie pins in place to hold it so could  enjoy some curls next day.  I also remember having hair rolled up into rags to make it super curly! sounds crazy huh.



  Here is the first dinnete set  dad and I bought when we got our first home, well we rented it and put alot of work into it. It was yellow and I thought it was sooo nice.  
Dad and I rented our first house out in country. We had to drive about five miles to get into town but that didn't last lone, moved right back into town after about four months because we didn't want to be there and have to drive back and forth when the snow set in.
We bought all used furniture for our first place to save money.  
Playing jacks was sooo much fun, wonder why kids don't enjoy it today. ha.

"You can rock it you can roll it at the Sock Hop! " Bump you remember that I'm sure! :)  Boy, did you and I cut a rug!! ha.  Bump was the best brother ever.  We did almost everything together!




I remember when Mary Marley whom i babysit for first plucked my eyebrows, they were sooo beautiful  i thought! She was beautiful and she helped me to find a new look !  I sure did appreciate what she did for me to help me feel better about myself.

Miss this kind of phone, even if I
do love my cell!
I remember the movie " Dial 9 for Murder."ha.  Sure miss turning those dials!
When we went into a resturant you usually found this music box and you flipped the doors from the top till found your favorite song and then dropped in your quarter and pressed the red button on side ,then up came your song.   O how we loved to find the song of the month. We sang along or danced. 

 Find your size! Wow every Sat. night Bump and I hit the rink!! Man it was the best of good fun times, what do kids do today?  Gosh, we loved that rink in Vincennes so much and could I ever move on those skates. ha.  Even dance on them.  ha.  Our friend from church ran the place so that made it really extra special.  It was the best of all hang outs!


Going to the outside Drive Inn and taking a big stack of popcorn, well it didn't get much better than that!

Our sister in law Lillie  took us kids many times / she loved doing things for us/ she reminds me alot of our Valerie. Lillie was great fun even though later on she and my brother Roscoe divorced. She taught me to drive and i think she played a big part in the early years of both Bump and I. For sure she left Bump and I with some pretty good  memories. 

                                                      ta ta, mama