St. George, Utah

 

Saturday we went up to St. George for the day.  We were able to celebrate my brother-in-laws Birthday with breakfast and a hike.  I got to see my sisters "new" player piano.  It's actually quite old, and they are having fun fixing it up. 

 

The timing was such that James and I were able to attend the funeral of Ethel Bayles, Devin's grandmother.  It brought back memories of when I met her 8 years ago at Devin's funeral.  It was good to see the Bayles family again.  I have a great love for them and all they have been through.  I am often reminded of what a good man Devin was, and am grateful for his example.

 

Also in St. George we were able to get together with James' brother Jason and his wife Becca.  They were passing through on their way to Idaho back from their time in Arizona.

Thanksgiving

James and I went to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving.  We got to meet our nephew Alec, and see all but one of my siblings and their families.  We had a lot of fun hanging out with family.  We got pictures with some family members, but missed opportunities with others.  It was particularly fun to see the youngest kids that we've only seen a few times and the cousins playing together.  Of course all the nieces and nephews are growing up fast.  We were happy that my Uncle David and Julie were there to celebrate Thanksgiving with.  I really have much to be grateful for.  Family is at the top of the list.

Being a military BRAT means not giving blood

My Dad was in the Air Force, and we moved a lot growing up.  In 11^th grade I started my 11^th school.  I loved my experiences.  I still enjoy traveling and exploring the world.  We were very close as a family.

I’ve lived in the following locations:

Sacramento, California

Las Vegas, NV

Lakenheath, England

Mountain Home, ID

Adana, Turkey

Clovis, New Mexico

Moenchengladbach, Germany

Provo, UT

Austria

Alexandria, VA

 

I got an email at work requesting blood donations, so I thought I would refresh my memory on the eligibility criteria for blood donation.   Note that I lived in England from 1977 – 1980, Turkey from 1982 – 1984, Germany from 1986 – 1989, and Austria from 1996 – 1997. 

Here’s the link to the American Red Cross donor eligibility rules related to VariantCreutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD).

In summary, you can’t donate blood if you met any of the following criteria:

1) 3 or more months in the United Kingdom from 1980 – 1996.

2) 6 or more months at a military base in Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany from 1980 through 1990 or 6 or more months at a military base in Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Italy or Greece from 1980 through 1996.

3) 5 or more years in European countries since 1980.  The list includes Austria, Germany, Netherlands (Holland) and Turkey.

I strike out on all three accounts.  Even if I am older and could fill a bag within 20 minutes (previous reasons for not being able to successfully give blood), I don’t think I’ll be allowed to donate blood anytime soon.

Daily Preparation

Wednesday night I forgot to charge my phone.  Because I had spent quite a bit of time Tuesday night playing games, the battery was nearly dead.  I wasn't meeting James at our usual time and place after work, so I turned the phone off to conserve what battery I did have let.  It was hard not having use of my phone during the day, and to make matters worse, I only got one message to James about extra bad traffic before the phone died all together.  It's a first world problem to be sure, but it reminded me a lot of the story of the ten virgins.  I wasn't prepared.  I hadn't charged my phone.  I didn't have an extra cord to charge my phone at work or in the car.  It was cold outside, and my lack of preparedness affected more that just me. 

We read about the story of the ten virgins in chapter 25 of Matthew.  The consequence for those who were not prepared was that they were not received into the presence of the Lord.  D&C 45 also talks about the ten virgins, how "For they that are wise and have received the ^atruth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their ^bguide, and have not been deceived". 

As I sat in traffic Thursday, I reflected on how I am doing spiritually, and how much I want to be welcomed into the presence of the Lord.  Preparations from my youth and previous service are not sufficient.  We must prepare regularly to have the Holy Spirit as our guide.  We need to constantly build and share our testimonies to be prepared for the challenges of today.  Recent counsel from church leaders have even indicated that we need to increase our efforts to hasten the work of the Lord. 

I definitely have room for improvement.  It's easy to spend time playing games, or otherwise become distracted by my own comfort or entertainment.  There are times relationships are hard and I am tempted to ignore them rather than work to fix them.  Satan is a great deceiver.  I'm grateful for the prayers of others on my behalf.  I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I am grateful for reminders of how I need to live.  I am grateful for gentle reminders of how I need to improve.  I am grateful for inspiration.  Heavenly Father wants us to pray ALWAYS.  Life is hard, but I know that if we remember the Savior, we will be lead and guided.  If we loose our focus, we will be lead away and will be unprepared.

I'm glad that I was able to reach my destination Thursday night in safety.  James was waiting for me at the temple, where we were able to enter together into the House of the Lord.

Museum Tour

To celebrate Native American Heritage month, the Census Bureau arranged for a tour through the museum/storage facility in Suitland.  It was interesting to see how everything was stored.  Most items were stored by geographic location, except the boats, totem poles, and other large objects.  There was embroidery work done with porcupine quills, doll clothing made out of animal intestines, bent wood boxes that were only connected on one side, amazingly small baskets, foot-long ear pieces, and so many other fascinating things.

 

 

 
 

Where does all the time go?

It was Veteran's day, so we had a little extra time for turtles, trees, Wii, playing at the park, computer lessons, board games, and hot chocolate by the fire.

November Birthdays

My attempt at a chocolate fondue castle cake to celebrate birthdays.  

Fall Color

Sharing talents

The last weekend in October turned out to be a little tricky.  Joseph and Jonas had campouts plus all day Saturday merit badge meetings, so we didn't get to spend time with them.  Since we had stake conference and the Fredericksburg ward had their Primary program on Sunday, we arranged to have the younger kids on Friday and Saturday this weekend.  We had fun swimming, going out to eat, getting foot massages from Jenna, custom bracelets from Hyrum, and decorating cupcakes.   James was able to make his leadership training Saturday afternoon and we both were able to attend the adult session.  We missed our stake conference meeting Sunday, but we did get a text regarding who the new Stake President was.

 

I'm glad that the children were able to participate in at least one of their Primary programs.  At the beginning each child introduced themselves as a Child of God.  Jonas also indicated that he was a good brother, Hyrum said that he was good at games, Jenna likes to make new friends, and Joy said that she is a good dancer.   

 

Budget Impacts

For fiscal year 2013 Census was able to put hiring, travel and training on hold to save money from the sequester to avoid mandatory days off or other cuts.  For 2014 we were not so lucky.  Wednesday afternoon I got an email about a mandatory meeting.  Thursday morning 86 of us found out how the budget short falls would affect us.  Our positions were being cut.  We were given the option to take a temporary assignment to another area of the Census Bureau in order to keep our jobs.  The hope is that our budget situation will improve and we would be able to return to our positions in 120 days.  If funding stays at current levels that won't even happen.  I definitely feel like I am 'taking one for the team'.  Starting Nov 4 I will be working in Human Resources.  I guess I'm glad that I still have a job, but I'm not sure what to think about this sudden career change.