4/8 to 4/14

Not much tell about this week. An update on the medical situations.  Willard finally got his appointment for his surgery.  It will be on Thursday the 24th at 8:30.  Trenton found out that he has a torn ma-discus in his knee and will have it operated on this Thursday.  I am going to have a Colonoscopy done on June 28th. 

Spring in the front yard

Spring is so much fun to watch all the bulbs come up.  It was especially fun this year because Willard planted the bulbs in the front and it is fun to see what he planted and where.  I love spring with all it flowers.

Friday, we spent the day cleaning up the yard and the garage and then on Saturday, I took some of the stuff to DI's.  Then I went over to Velma's and she gave me some of my mother sheet music from the 1940.  It was so much fun to see the old music that my mother enjoyed. 

Sunday night Betty and family joined us for dinner.  I fixed Chicken Parmesan and for Whitney I fixed a Garden Burger Parmesan and she said it was good and if met her dietary desire.  Then we played Imagine IF. Some of the answers were very interesting,

Garren Imagining if..

I finally got my Bears from China and Krista sent me over her story.  I added on to the bottom of the story to include the bear project.  Here is the story of the Baptismal Bear.

The Baptismal Bear.

By Krista Norton and Linda Hill

Once there was a precious little daughter of our Heavenly Father who was much like you. Even though she made mistakes like we all do, she tried to choose the right, because she loved how she felt when she did. She felt warm and happy.

When the time came for her to choose to be baptized, she was very excited. Choosing to be baptized was such a wonderful choice! She could feel Heavenly Father’s love as she looked forward to that day. She prepared carefully, because she understood that when she was baptized, she would make special promises called covenants with Heavenly Father. And as she studied the scriptures about baptism, she noticed something interesting: there were three “bears” to remember!

First, she knew that when she chose to be baptized, she wouldn’t just be part of her own family; she would be part of a big, eternal family: the family of the Lord Jesus Christ. As she became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she would take on the name of Christ. Just like she shared her family’s name, she would always bear Jesus’s name, and she decided she would always try to do the things that someone in Jesus’s family would do. (Mosiah 26:18, Mosiah 18:8-10)

As she thought of how hard she would try to choose the right, she felt warm inside. She knew that feeling was the Holy Ghost telling her she was learning good things and choosing the right. She knew that the Holy Ghost would speak to her mind and heart, to help her bear testimony of what was true. (D&C 8:2) That was her second “bear”: She would remember to carry and share that testimony for all of her life, as a witness of Jesus Christ. (Mosiah 18:9)  She knew that her testimony would help her be strong when she had tough choices to make, and it would help people around her choose the right, as well.

The more she thought about people around her, the more she wanted to help them. She felt love for her family and friends. She even thought about people she had heard about in school, and in the world around her, who needed help. She knew that Jesus loved them, too, and she knew that Jesus would want to help them. Then came her third “bear”: she would covenant to help them bear their burdens. (Mosiah 18:10)  She would help people around her do the things that Jesus wanted them to do, and feel the love that He has for them, too. She would work with them to solve problems. She would help them feel loved when they were sad or frustrated.

Her heart and mind felt so light and happy! She knew that the three “bears” she had found would help her remember her baptismal covenants. It was easy for her to remember them that way, and each week when she took the Sacrament to renew her covenants, she listened carefully to the prayers. She would always remember to bear the name of Jesus Christ; she would always remember to bear her testimony and let it guide her actions; and she would always remember the covenant she had made to help others bear their burdens.

She knew that as she remembered those covenants, she would be able to keep making right choices. The warm peace and love she felt from Heavenly Father would continue. She would be worthy to have the Holy Ghost with her all the time, to help her. And those special blessings made her feel even happier.

She shared her thoughts with her mom and her mom was so excited that she had discovered such a special way to remember her baptismal covenants.   She suggested that they take one of her little  

stuffed Teddy Bears and make a baptismal bear to help her to  always remember her baptismal covenants.

They made a hat that said "His Name" to help her always remember that she now represented Jesus's family.

  

Then they pinned a heart on the chest that said "Testimony"  to help her remember that she needed to always have her testimony of Jesus Christ strong so that she could be ready to share it through her actions or words.

   

Then her mom made her a  little bag  that went over the shoulder of the bear that said " One Another's Burdens"  This was to help her remember to be kind and compassionate: to listen and to lift others when they are sad.  When they were done, the Bear sat on her dresser and helped her remember who she was and her purpose in life through out her day. 

 She was so thankful for her baptismal covenants and her baptismal  bear that helped her remember her special promises  she made  to her Heavenly Father.