Friday night Grandpa and I went to see the pageant. Matt Jones, and Dorthy (a sister in our ward whom Grandpa home teaches), came with us to see the pageant. It was as great as ever. Grandpa was very concerned about me getting a sunburn, so he set up two umbrellas to cover me. One umbrella covered my legs and the other the rest of me. It was quite the sight. It did keep the sun off though! Saturday afternoon the day we all were dreading came. The day when the girls Jacob and Tally have been fostering had to leave. Jacob and Tally have done such a wonderful job giving a foundation of love and the Gospel to the girls. What a special service fostering is. To give love and care as though they are your children, also knowing that at any time they can be whisked away leaving a whole in your heart. Our love and prayers go out to Jacob and Tally. I woke up not feeling very well. I am hoping to be able to get things together so that I can go to Sacrament Meeting. Attending Sacrament Meeting means a lot to me. I love to be able to go and feel the Spirit there. To see the light and goodness of the members. It truly gives me joy and strength! I am so grateful to be able to partake of the Sacrament so I can renew my covenants with the Lord. I am grateful for the messages of truth that are given from which I can gain insights for my own life. I am grateful to be able to see friends and feel of their love. I am disappointed when I have to miss out on this. This week Matt and Karen celebrate their 10 year anniversary. Grandpa and I are also celebrating an anniversary. This year is our 34th year anniversary. I have an appt with the Ophthalmologist in Quincy on Thursday morning. Since Grandpa and I are going to be in Quincy then we decided to wait until then to celebrate. Grandpa is going to take the day off work and after my appt we will take the rest of the day to enjoy together.

I sure love Sunday. It just seems like everything is fresh and new and full of light. I love going to Church. Partaking of the Sacrament makes everything fresh and new. Each week we are renewed and covenant to be as our Savior Jesus Christ. I love being among the members. I love feeling of their spirits, and of their light. We had to get our car fixed. Grandpa was hearing a sound that was not normal. He took it into a place we have been to before. They checked the car out and proceeded to tell Grandpa that there was some big things that needed done and that it would cost us almost $2000 to take care of these issues. Well that was definitely not what we wanted to hear! The car repair place also said it wasn't very safe to drive the car until these things were taken care of. We are very thankful to Great Grandpa and Grandma Pierce in allowing us to borrow their truck during the time our car was out of commission. Well back to the cost of repairs; We were not wanting to put that much into the repairs. Grandpa and I made our problem a matter of prayer. We prayed for direction and help in hearing promptings. As Grandpa was talking to Roland he was told of the name of a mechanic in Carthage who did good work and was fair in his pricing. Grandpa brought our car in and had him evaluate it. Mr Steinhour looked at it and said that he could do the job for about $200. Grandpa had him do the job. The car is running well, and Grandpa is pleased with the job Mr Steinhour has done. We are both really grateful for the answer to our prayers. Tomorrow we will be having someone coming to stay with us for awhile. His name is Matt. Matt has a wife and 3 children, or his wife is about to have their 3rd child any day now. Matt is going to start working at the Nauvoo Temple. His family isn't able to come right now. Their home hasn't sold yet. Matt needs to be here to start his new job, and to find a house for his family when they come. July is typically a busy month for Grandpa. It is time for the Nauvoo Pageant. Grandpa volunteers at the concessions trailer. He helps 2 days a week cooking up the food, and helping with the cleanup. Grandpa's schedule for a normal week in July is: Monday get up at 4:00am. Make lunches. Make breakfast. Have scripture time as we eat breakfast. Grandpa starts work at 7:00am. (During the week, Grandpa's morning schedule is pretty much the same) Each day at work they start with a thought and prayer! Grandpa does plumbing jobs all day. He ends work at about 3:30pm. Then when Grandpa comes home he does what needs to be done around here and he fixes dinner. Tuesday after work Grandpa goes straight to the concessions trailer instead of coming home. He will get home about 9:30 - 10:30pm, give or take a half hour or so. Wednesday after work Grandpa will come home and take care of things around the home and get dinner. Every other Wednesday he has High Priest Group meetings. Also in the evenings Grandpa does things for the High Priests and he does indexing. Thursday he goes to work and does the concessions. Friday is date night, except for the 3rd Friday of the month, that is Ward Temple night. Though I can't usually go, both Grandpa and I feel it is very important to have Grandpa go. Grandpa serves every other Saturday in the Temple. He serves from 6:00am to 1:30pm. Saturday afternoon Grandpa gets all the stuff that needs to be done around the house and all the extra projects that can't be done during the week. Saturday evenings he prints up the program. Sunday mornings we listen to the BYU station, and fold the programs. Grandpa gets us breakfast. Some Sunday mornings he does Home Teaching, some Sundays he has meetings with the Bishopric. This year our Sacrament Meeting doesn't begin until 2:00pm. Sunday evening Grandpa fixes us dinner and he makes calls for the High Priest group. So that is Grandpa's week. Maybe that is why I a so tired. I am being tired for him :)

What a wonderful Surprise Birthday, and Vacation! Grandpa and I had so much fun! It was really sad when everyone left for home. We are so grateful for all the great memories, and all the pictures! Spending the week with the family made us realize just how blessed we are to be a family. Each one of our family is so special and has an important role in our family. Each member is full of talents, and are using them to do good. As you may know that one of my favorite scriptures is Third John 4. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." My joy is full!

I cannot believe that it is the end of May already! Wow, this month has just flown by. We only have 17 more days and everyone will be here!!!! We can hardly wait! We are so excited!!! Grandpa has been working on the attic room. He still has a lot of work to do, but he has also gotten a lot done too. We just made a big purchase the other night. We bought a small upright freezer. We have wanted to buy one, and now that we will need more freezer space while the kids are here we thought now would be the right time to bite the bullet and do it. We got a 12.1 upright frost free freezer. We bought it on sale so we really got a good deal. I have wanted to get a freezer for years, so this is great. Grandpa went grocery shopping last night and now we have food in our new freezer! Grandpa got into an accident a few weeks ago. He didn't get hurt, but the car really got crunched. The collision repair shop told Grandpa that he can pick up the car today. It will be nice to get our car back and turn in the rental. Our insurance covered all but $1.00 a day on the rental. Grandpa has enjoyed driving the rental. It is a Toyota Camry. It is a much higher class car than our little Aveo, but I am really grateful not have to worry about a car payment right now. In the accident Grandpa was driving down the main road in Keokuk. Grandpa heard an emergency vehicle and turned to look to see where it was coming from. As he did this the truck in front of him stopped. The truck had no damage. The police officer gave Grandpa a citation and his name and the story of this accident appeared in the Keokuk newspaper. Grandpa also has to appear in court because of the citation. They do things really different here. He is scheduled to go into court the same day I have my appointment with Dr Bozdech in Quincy. Luckily my appointment is in the morning, and he isn't scheduled to go in until the afternoon. We should be able to make it work. Tonight Grandpa and I are going out to dinner with some good friends. Randy & Kathy Douglas, and Dale & Cheryl Hunt. We are going to the Bistro to eat. I suggested it, so I am really hoping everyone likes it. It may not be my favorite place to eat, but it is one of the better places around here. I am feeling really uncomfortable about this evening because if my wheelchair. I know it may seem silly, and I guess it is, but the logistics of getting me up to the table and not being in the way is a really big concern. Grandpa told me not to worry about it, that it is not a problem. I guess I should take his advise and not worry so that I can enjoy this evening! :)

It is amazing to me how fast time goes. Here it is the 27th of April already! June is fast approaching and I hope we're ready for when everyone comes. We are so excited. I am glad the time is going fast! I hope that my health will be good and won't deter from all the fun. It seems that I am having more down days than days that I feel good. On my last visit to the doctor he said that there was nothing more that they could do for me. My job now is to find joy in where I am in life. I do love life. There are so many blessings to partake of. I know that on my bad days there is always help. If not from those that are here; then those who are beyond the veil. We are never alone and will never be given more than we can endure. I know this promise is real, because I see it fulfilled again and again in my life when the pain is so bad or a depression wants to set in. I pray and ask for help and help comes. Sometimes a meal is brought in, or a phone call or a friend may come for a visit. Sometimes the help comes from beyond the veil when a total peace comes to my soul, or sleep comes and frees me from the pain. I can't be up long before I get tired out. I usually just go to Sacrament meeting when I am able to make it to church. I know that Heavenly Father loves each one of us. We are His children! Jesus Christ is our Savior! The Atonement is real. Because of our Savior we will live again and can be reunited with our loved ones! I finished the Eragon series by Christopher Paolini that Matt gave me to read. I have just started reading Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. I enjoy reading. I am also starting a project for Christmas. I hope that it works and I get it done. That's all I am going to say about it, because I don't want to ruin the surprise. I am going to ask to be released from my callings. This is a very hard thing for me. I do really enjoy them, but things are jumbled a lot in my mind. I tell Grandpa that I am not in my right mind anymore, and he says that I should be because I am left-handed (People who are left-hand tend to use the left side of the brain, where as people who are right-handed tend to use the left side of their brains). Grandpa is also taking over paying the bills. Well, I guess it is about time to begin my day. It is cloudy out, but the birds are still singing. Buster is asleep at the bottom of the bed. There is a lot of traffic going by my window. I guess people are still on their way to work. Today should be a good day!