Daughter - in - law: Amity

7:49p
I have had an itchy runny nose all day.  Feel draggy with cold symptoms. I hiked up Webb Hill at noon with Lily, without a hat, with a black t-shirt, hoping to help burn it out.  Poor, good sport, Lily.  On the way down she kept hunting for shade. When we got to the park she quit.  I grabbed a gallon of cold vinegar water and went out front to wait for her. Molly joined me shortly.  The second time I threw the tennis ball for Molly I threw it towards Lily who was just rounding the corner of Judy's house 5-10 minutes late. She went straight into the fish pond!  I ended up with a little bit of a headache. Probably dehydration but it is gone now.

As you probably know by now, I love fun and excitement.  I got the biggest kick out of Amazon.coming Srandon P Smith 2 gifts to arrive tomorrow, Tuesday: Visions of glory, 64 crayola crayons one of which is called raw sienna.  Visions of Glory was back down to 11$ like when Mouis bought it last year. They jacked it up when the interest was intense: $17

I called DarloD and told his answering machine that eggs are on sale for 1$ a dozen for our breakfast caseroles on Thursday the 24th.  I texted Thames Stasinos the same last night at 11p and got a response!

Last Sunday, 8 days ago, Rod gave 2 lessons and a prayer. I gave one prayer in SS. Yesterday I got to pray in SS and accepted a request to call all the 24th volunteers for Quinn Carter through Pres. Rave Black.  I love being known and depended on. That 5th Sunday when Leon Lee explained how Rave was gone, Terek was gone, would I pray to close the conjoint meeting is a perfect example of Rave knowing I am always there and always willing.

We had the most awesome EQ discussion/lesson yesterday. Thames shared following the counsel of Elder Worthin and giving his family blessings. Wife, Marinda, McKenzie. McKenzie has been called a giant by her mean classmates. Thames wept as he blessed her and felt what the Lord wanted her to know. Jim Adams shared the recent blessing of moving here last year and uprooting his family. Something he dealt with as a child and never wanted for his kids. Style is on a mission in Peru now but had many more friends here than in Eagle Mountain where they have lived the last 10 years. Cars and girlfriend have occupied their corner. Austin16 says Dad this place is 100 times better than there.  Quinn Carter who reminded us he can't read, read about the tongue of angels in 2 Nephi and it was quite long and in his careful speaking I was able to feel the message of the verses. Tim shared how he has learned about his children as he blesses them because the Lord tells them things he had no clue about. Besides, tears we had gallant laughter time after time with Tim conducting. I wondered what the nice reverent RS thinks of us through the curtain!  That is the hazard of having our EQ there!  I shared my listening to conference '94 and hearing about the tongues of angels and asking in my journal: HF, have I ever spoken by the tongue of angels (HG)? if so when? and what did I say?  That was part of the messages I left with Barter's while HT last Sunday.  I keep wondering, what influence have I had on the ward? Is my openness and humor an expanding force in the ward?  We keep hearing we have the best ward in the stake.  10 wards, 300k names indexing goal, 900k the stake goal. If part of it is because of our size, too bad, they are the ones who put Belford Place back in our ward 5 years ago.  William Blaggard said good job Vern in the hall as we were last to EQ.  I slowed and responded, Will, one thing about me is I like fun. He said, that's not a problem, it helps make the feeling lighter.  I had just written the first letters of the words to the second line of: The World Has Need of Willing Men as suggested by Dustin Salmon.  When we sang that line, I bounced on the letters with my finger to show which word we were on.  Just a little fun. Rulon Sagley was grumpy and resistant about choosing a hymn.  He ended up saying he repented and told me number 343, a blank page which I turned to and showed him.

Speaking of grumpy. . . Amity was a bit pointed and disagreeable last night. I asked Rod if he would share his password with me for Ancestor.com so I could see his ancestors and she was a bit questioning and resistant.  I was short and to the point so I did not ease her feelings at all.  Her tension or brittleness began to become apparent to me and I wondered why.  We were on a walk around the park and I invited them to share something hard or bad from this last week. Rod had already shared he got a B- on his English final test/paper. Anxiety wiped him out. Oh I felt for him. I compared it to training with a difficult rifle and having the target in the site but not being able to pull the trigger. I suggested there are probably much better analogies remembering Amity's aversion to guns. I invited them to tell me the word I was hunting for to describe it.  Rod said, My life.  And I agreed. I heard Amity making thinking noises but she was responding quite quickly to anything that was said, as was I as usual.  What? Me uptight too?

Then the treasure: Rod shared how upset it made him feel to have Amity labeled as lazy when she declined to cut the watermelon and her grandmother got it stuck in her craw and wouldn't let it go. Rod ended up responding, you guys are lucky she has lasted as long as she has with you this week. Grandma said, are we really that hard to get along with?  As we talked we agreed that GM is martyring when she prepares food and she spins off all kinds of mud as her wheels slip in the kitchen.

Rod wanted to find a solution. Amity declared that her GM is just super critical.  I suggested him saying, You guys, you may be used to speaking this way after all these years but we aren't.  He concluded he could say, I am not OK with you speaking like this.  I reminded them they can always time out, which they are pretty good at in most cases.  I shared Cille's experience of Touris explaining to a boyfriend how certain talk made her feel uncomfortable, especially blaming talk. And that his response was, well don't feel that way.  Her kids are not prepared for the harsh world when they have been living and practicing Sark Clayton's language of feelings, acceptance and validation and conflict resolution in their home these years.  I disagree. They can't help but be used to it.  They have gone to school how many years. But her point is well made. And I shared it with RnA.

So and hour later I am walking the dogs at the golf course and Izy finds RnA walking towards us!  The only people I saw at the golf course last night. So unexpected.  Rod said they had already walked 4 miles at Sun River golf course to vent anxiety earlier than the walk with me.  Stressful week.  I had been thinking about Amity and was happy to see them again. I reassured her that this last week probably did lots of damage to her little Amity and it might take some special treatment and time to heal her and get her back up to strength.  I gave her a hug after asking permission. Sure I accept hugs she responded.  She also admitted when she got home that she wondered where all her irritation was coming from.  She was angry and hurt inside. Makes total sense!

As we left to walk they invited me to bring my drop off stuff for Marita Rates and Spruce Randall.  I spent 58 minutes on the phone after my nap, with Spruce Randall. He had called twice and left me messages about the letter and talk I had taped to his door after ringing it twice.  He loved Rent Parker's talk.  He said it was exactly up his ally. Hurray!!  I was brilliant dropping it off at his house!

Earlier this week I had texted him twice and hadn't heard anything back so I wasn't sure his phone was accepting texts. I told him Terry Foote's didn't.  He asked me about my magic jack messages and I reassured him that I got them both but was napping and didn't pick up.

I dropped him off 4 books. Two copies of Visions of Glory (one with all my personal writing in it. He says he has been reading like crazy but I encouraged him to start writing too.), And This Nation Shall Endure, A Consecrated Life.  He shared with me on the phone and out of body experience he had when working for the tent and sleeping back factory we had here in town in the 70's.

Hello Spruce,

I am not a forget-you-home teacher! I remember you every week. I just dropped off a talk at you house. It is from a ward member. I wrote to you in red.  Vern n RicY 12:53p

I sent a copy to RicY so he would know I was remembering him as well. My new companion.

So, kudos!!! for the wonderful success with Bruce Randall yesterday.  He explained he had used a roll and a half of TP with his stomach flu he thinks came from some bottom of the freezer burritos he bought.  : (  Man can I relate to the stomach flu/food poisoning!

So thank you HF for the opportunity to nap plus use my Sabbath so well yesterday.

PS. Katy Rusty and Kelly Spasey were our High Council speakers yesterday.  I told Katy after her talk: I knew 10 reasons why she was asked to accompany him.  I thanked Kelly for not cutting his talk off. He had wonderful things to share. So absorbing and personal and about the HG versus pride. He has gotten so confident and open in his willingness to apply the gospel to his own personal experiences.  Wow, what a king!  A king speaker.  He said thank you for not running he and Randy and someone over the other night on my bike when I rode to the library and the Post Office.  I asked him if he heard my surprise at seeing their dark silhouettes in front of me on river road as I headed for the sidewalk?

Mason Chappell told me I could have all the women that become available for dating.  They always get too mad at him!  So cute.  To be pursued at a later date.