Goldens' Water Leak; Abe's Family Arrives; BYU Game

This post will begin where the other one left off with the Golden family at Disneyland. They had a fabulous time. 

It wasn't too awfully crowded, so they were able to get on the rides they wanted. 

They tried their hand at artwork drawing the character Groot.

Dallas produced his own kind of artwork with this photo featuring Rebecca, Spencer, Caroline and Madison. 

Imagine the scene of the Goldens in "the happiest place on earth" when Rebecca texted us during a Thursday night BYU home game and asked if we could go to to their home and check their thermostat. 

They have a Nest which they are able to program when they are away from home, but for some reason their internet wasn't working. They were worried it was affecting the thermostat and didn't want the house temperature to get too low for fear of the water pipes freezing.

The weather had been frigid for several weeks, so it was a legitimate worry. 

Glen told her we would stop by after we got home from the ball game. Just as they suspected, the house was extremely cold!! Glen tried to set the thermostat, but realized that it was on the preset that makes it go down to 42 degrees when both phones are away from the home. BRRRRR!!!! 

Dallas asked if Glen would go reset their internet router to see if that would fix the internet issue. Thankfully the router was down in the utility closet in the laundry room. I say thankfully because when Glen opened the door, he could see the water heater was leaking. 

Strangely, the water was coming out of the top of the water heater and running down the side of the water heater. 

Glen used towels to mop up as much water as he could. Unfortunately, I noticed all the water was not going down the nearby drain. It was also seeping under the back wall which is the wall that goes into their newly-remodeled family room. Their brand new carpet was wet. OH NO!!!!!! 

Once the water was turned off, the water quit leaking, so that was a good thing. We got a fan going on the wet carpet and left hoping the furnace would stay on and the water pipes would not freeze anywhere.

That turned out to be a very late night for us. Glen went down to check on the house the next day and found no more water. Hurrah!! The house was warmer, so that was good, too. 

Dallas and Rebecca were able to find a plumber in their neighborhood who charges reasonable fees and was able to check the water heater that very next day. He was able to get a new water heater installed before the Golden family arrived back home Saturday evening. What a blessing!!!!

The Goldens could continue their trip knowing their home and their water would be warm when they got home. That's enough to keep a smile on their faces.

Friday was the day Abe's family boarded a plane headed from North Carolina to Utah.

They got here late that evening, but not too late to stop for Cafe Rio (their favorite!!) take-out for their late dinner.

It always makes me smile when I see a line-up of toys indicating there are little ones in the house.

The next morning we served French toast as per Newland's request. It seems to be a popular favorite among the grandchildren. 

It was a great way to start GAME DAY!! Abe and Klarissa headed out early so they could enjoy spending time in Provo, which included a shopping trip at the BYU Bookstore.

Is it obvious this family loves the "Y" as much as Glen does?? Go Cougars!!!!

BYU was playing Gonzaga that day and everyone was pumped to hopefully see the Cougars beat the Bulldogs. (Fingers were crossed...) 

Abe had an extra ticket and invited Ben to go with us. We picked up Natalie at her cosmetology school and met the group for dinner at Brick Oven.

Klarissa wanted a photo of Glen's salad which always manages to have a brown hue to it. I told her she needed my colorful salad to provide a good comparison. Point made!!

Our group was too big to fit on one table, so our family sat at the small table and the Jackson family sat on the big table. Klarissa's parents had flown in from Florida to spend the week here as well. Klarissa's brother Morgen had his family there, too.

Ingrid took Abe's three youngest back to Morgen's home to watch them during the ball game. The game attenders were Morgen and Mike Jackson, me, Glen, Ben, Abe, Klarissa and a very excited Newland wearing his new BYU outfit. 

Newland had the best time walking the perimeter of the Marriott Center picking up all the free BYU giveaways he could see. 

Let's just say that despite all the excitement of the fans waving their long light sticks, it wasn't enough to propel BYU towards a win. Boo hoo!! Oh well. It was still a lot of fun for the Thomas and Jackson families. 

Before Abe's family headed off to church, I wanted to get a photo of them. Newland and Monty got in place instantly.

Pretty soon Wynne was in place.

There's Magnus joining his siblings. Everyone SMILE!! Our ward had stake conference that day, so Abe found a ward in another stake for them to attend at noon.

When they got home from church an hour later, it seemed like a great time to pop some popcorn to hold everyone over until our mid-afternoon dinner. Monty had not experienced the popping yet. 

We had to indoctrinate him into the Thomas family tradition of Sunday popcorn.

Glen and I had gotten up early to go to our branch sacrament meeting before heading to the prison for those meetings. Let's just say it was a very long two hours for me that day. 

There were several new inmates attending. One of them was very vocal. He is a young man and had so much to say and sometimes said things toward the speakers in a very confrontational way. 

During Sunday School, he wanted to comment on everything that was said. I was exhausted by the time we got home. I had admired the inmate Sunday School teacher who remained so patient with that man and the others who made long, drawn-out comments. 

He was able to take each random comment and take one little part of what was said and bring it right back to the lesson. It was amazing! 

I had to laugh at what David Wheatley texted out to the Olympus Branch leaders after we got home. President Bell and his wife were in Hawaii and missed it all.

We invited Rebecca's and Ben's families over for Sunday dinner. Of course Caroline was so happy to see her babies. And there were even more babies for her to enjoy that day.

After-dinner entertainment was playing games. It's always fun to hear everyone laughing and having a good time while playing together. 

Quotes of the Week

 It is a time-honored adage that love begets love. Let us pour forth love--show forth our kindness unto all mankind.

--Joseph Smith

We move toward loving our adversaries when we avoid anger and hostility toward those with whom we disagree. It also helps if we are even willing to learn from them.

--Dallin H. Oaks

Indeed the pattern the Lord follows when we exercise faith in Him and follow His counsel in small and simple things is that He blesses us with small daily miracles, and over time, with marvelous works.

--Steven C. Wheelwright

Counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems.

--Russell M. Nelson 

Quotes of the Week

 Don't face the world alone. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding' (Proverbs 3:5). It was intended that life be a challenge, not so that you would fail, but that you might succeed through overcoming.

--Richard G. Scott

Through Jesus Christ, we are given strength to make lasting changes. As we humbly turn to Him, He will increase our capacity.

--Becky Craven

You are children of a loving Heavenly Father, who sent you into the world with unique gifts that you promised to use to bless others.

--Henry B. Eyring

When sore trials come upon us, it's time to deepen our faith in God, to work hard, and to serve others. Then He will heal our broken hearts. He will bestow upon us personal peace and comfort. Those great gifts will not be destroyed, even by death.

--Russell . Nelson

Sarah Hosts Family Guests; January Birthdays; Goldens in Disneyland

Las Vegas has been the location of various family members recently. First visitors Sarah and Jeff hosted were Natalie, Rachel and Rachel's friend Eden. They enjoyed a girls' weekend vacation exploring that city.

The girls spent the nights at Sarah's house. She's a great hostess.

Ben had a work trip in Vegas and took Haley and the little boys with him. They stayed in a hotel, but they made time to have a game night with Sarah and Jeff. They were excited to go see a magician and have Sarah tend Kade and Levi. 

But...disaster struck!

Ben started throwing up and was very sick. The date night was called off. Fortunately, they were able to get their money refunded. They were also fortunate that Ben was able to make the drive back home to Utah the next day.

Rebecca cut her long golden locks and I was admiring her new shorter length of hair. 

Natalie got her hair cut, too. I was actually shocked she consented to get her hair cut. She was really attached to her super, duper long hair. I think it looks so cute! 

We picked her up to take her to dinner at Outback before one of the BYU basketball games. We like being able to stay in touch with her.

Jan's birth month celebration continued when we got invited to Lane and LaVona's home for a Mandarin take-out dinner. 

LaVona was really into the Valentine's spirit and it was fun to see her fancy table decorations. We love our friend group!!!

Our news lately has been pretty dull, so buying a new garage vacuum made the update. 

A very fun activity I enjoyed was a baby shower for Preston's wife Danielle. It was held at Austin and Lindsey's home. Rebecca went with me.

Amanda's family always throws a nice spread. We could pick between three different kinds of soup. Amanda's breadsticks, cake pops and cupcakes were delicious as well. 

Everything was decorated so beautifully in the baby pink theme. 

I was so happy to see my cousin Angie and her daughter at the shower. It was nice to have a long chat with her after the shower with all of us standing around listening to her share with us about her son Isaac who is a new missionary serving in El Salvador.

We started off the January birthdays with Dallas at the beginning of the month. Then we had our triplet birthday. January 25th is the day we celebrate Emma and Logan and Sarah.

Jacob was out of town so his family went to Olive Garden without him. 

It looked like Sarah celebrated her birthday all day long, being spoiled by her husband. Fun!!

Lincoln's birthday was the next week. He was very excited about getting a new big wheel motorized vehicle. When we FaceTimed with him, he stopped for a minute to let us sing to him. 

Ben's shirt absolutely made me laugh when he walked in the door all ready to play games. 

For some reason, I am not too fond of a game called Pandemic when we are in the middle of a 2-year global pandemic!!! But the game players had a great time playing together.

I spy more family visitors at the Excell home. Dallas and Rebecca's family stopped by for a waffle lunch on their way to California. Thankfully the weather was excellent for their drive.

Then on they went the rest of the way. So happy to hear they arrived safely at their hotel that evening.

What a cute family photo at Disneyland!! Let the good times roll!

My niece Rachel received her mission call and shared it with family and friends on Instagram Live. Her assignment is the Washington Spokane Mission and she will be speaking Spanish and will be starting the MTC the middle of June. 

Our friends Steven and Patricia are vacationing in Hawaii right now. As she is sending us photos of their beautiful surroundings, I sent her this photo. It has been so extremely COLD here lately. BRRRRRRRR!!!!

Now here's an Abe story to finish off this post. Enjoy looking at him with Newland and Monty while I share this experience.

Last month when the new mission presidents were announced, Glen had looked through the list and told me the only couple we knew was the couple we had recently had dinner with. I decided to go ahead and look through the list just in case I recognized someone Glen might not know.

The name York Galland stood out to me since Abe's second mission president's name is Galland. I texted Abe to see if he knows if President Galland has a son named York. 

Abe then reached out to the Gallands to congratulate them on their son's mission call and he was able to have a sweet back-and-forth conversation with Sister Galland. Of course she was interested in what had been going on in his life. She also shared with Abe some of the things she remembered about him while serving in the mission together. 

I was so glad Abe shared these correspondences with us because of learning of those memories she had of Abe. While going down memory lane, Abe shared some things he had learned from her. It was a very lovely email interaction they had.

Then imagine our surprise when Abe shared with us that he was notified by the Gallands' daughter-in-law last week that Sister Galland had very unexpectedly passed away from a brain bleed the doctors believe was caused by complications of Covid. What shocking news!!

Abe thanked me for acting on inspiration to contact him about York's mission call so he could have one last email exchange with Sister Galland. 

I gave him credit for acting instantly on his inspiration to reach out to the Gallands. Tiny, seemingly insignificant acts can definitely produce unforeseen future blessings in people's lives. 

This quote of President Thomas S. Monson has come to my mind: "We watch. We wait. We listen for that still, small voice. When it speaks, wise men and women obey. We do not postpone following promptings of the Spirit."