Free to Be

We hear people say they want to be free.  I am not talking about prisoners or citizens of a totalitarian nation.  Americans with what look to be pretty decent lives.  Especially young people.  Some of whom live at home - free of rent or mortgage and all the responsibilities of a family. What is it they want?

What is does FREEDOM mean?

Freedom from what?

There is no such thing as COMPLETE freedom.  There are natural laws that govern the universe and our lives.  There are also man-made laws.

We are free to make our own choices and do all kinds of things.  We are NOT free to avoid the ramifications.  

I can choose to jump off a cliff.  I am not free to avoid the splat that is likely to follow once I do. 

I am free to not pay my bills.  I cannot also choose to have excellent credit or to be free from bill collectors if I don't. 

I am free to eat like a pig.  I am not free to look and run like a gazelle if I do. 

I am free to steal, but I am not free from prosecution and probable jail time if I do.

I can choose to be rude and selfish, but I cannot also choose to be loved and respected. 

There are circumstances that can limit our freedom.  A disabled person may not be free to even walk across the room. But for the most part, our freedom is bound by good sense and an awareness of law.

If I want physical stamina, I must eat right, get enough sleep, and exercise. 

If I wish to choose eternal life, I must choose to obey God's laws.  I can violate those laws if I want, but the consequence is not being eligible for celestial life. 

If I want peace of mind, I need to do the things that I know are right. 

I can choose my actions, but I cannot choose the consequences.

Felicity

Have I told you about my cat Felicity’s health problems? It’s gross. On (rare) occasion, she would yowl and cry in pain and then defecate on the floor, not the cat box, in a small number of drops, sometimes with blood in the somewhat runny stool. Especially as there was blood involved, I took her to the vet. What? In September, I think. X-rays, urinalysis, I don’t remember what all, but about $600 worth. And no real answer. But it was decided to put her on special cat food for the urinary tract and not let her eat the less expensive food we have been getting from Costco nor allow her outside anymore. Since then, the incidents seem to have become even more rare. But she is quite unhappy about not being allowed outside or in the garage where the regular food is in a self feeder.

We have to get special expensive food that Chewy had the vet verify that she should get it. BUT. Joseph’s cat Velox really likes Felicity’s food and we don’t actually have a place we can feed F without V being able to get there. So, I spent about $165 on a special cat food dish that reads the cat’s microchip and only opens for the right cat. Of course, it takes some time and training for the cat to get used to it. The cat sticks her head under an arch which reads the chip and slides open the dish cover. When the cat moves away, the cover closes. You train the cat in steps. At first the cover is open and barely moves so the cat hears the motor and sees a very little movement. We are now at step two so the cover moves not even two inches. Felicity is not thrilled with this so we will be at this step for a while. Unfortunately, that leaves the dish mostly open so Velox can get food and she is not pestered by the sound or noise because it doesn’t do anything when she approaches. I need to give Felicity less food at a time so she doesn’t leave as much for Velox. I usually give Velox a tiny amount of food when I feed Felicity so V won’t go after F’s food. That doesn’t work. They run and trade places. CATS!

We persist, however, because it seems like it’s helping. One day Felicity managed to both get in the garage for a while and to get outside. The next day she had trouble. Cause and effect or coincidence? Don’t know, but trying to keep her restricted.

Felicity got used to her feeder.  We went back to the vet in early April - carefully maintaining social distancing. I wondered if she might be in pain that I didn't know about - aside from her episodes.  We put her on twice daily pain medicine.

email to my cat's doctor April 21

Dr. Koncz,

It's been a bit over 4 weeks that Felicity has been taking her pain medicine.  I cannot say that there has been a change in her behavior.  She is lazy and seldom playful. I think it may be just her personality.  Even though when she was younger she was a bit more playful and I know she is not that old.

Could be partly her weight.  I pick her up every morning and every evening to give her her medicine and she feels just as big and heavy as ever.  You know how every once in a while you hear about some woman who thought she was pregnant but actually had some big tumor?  I would wonder about Felicity except that would have shown up in the earlier tests, right? 

She has had one episode since she saw you.  Last week only a couple minutes after eating, she cried and vomited. Still recognizable food. Didn't see anything else in it.  I am not aware of her having gotten outside or to Velox's food.  It was the first time she had an episode close to eating her prescription food.

At first, I was feeding her 1/2 cup food in the morning and 1/4 cup at night.  One problem with that was that she still had a little morning food left in the evening.  To give her her medicine, I would go to her.  She would waddle away as quickly as she could and hide under the furniture where I couldn't get her.  Partly because of that and partly because she was not losing any weight, I switched to giving her 1/3 cup in the morning and 1/3 cup in the evening.  I get her food ready and put it out of reach.  I get her medicine and sit down on a low stool near where she eats.  She has learned that she will get her food after she has her medicine so now she will reluctantly come to me so I can pick her up and give her the medicine.  As soon as she has it, she hops down and I give her the food.  She is very good.  But I am not sure that it is helping. 

Her pain medicine is nearly done.  Do you think we should renew it or give it up?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day she threw up after eating her dinner.  I am sure she had not gotten out or had access to other food.

She finished her pain medicine Friday night..  Today is Monday. The only difference I have noticed in her behavior is that MAYBE she is eating slightly, very slightly less. 

Most of the time, she seems ok, just lazy.  I wish I knew.

salt talk

Barbara Robarts <motherof8robarts@gmail.com>	Apr 18, 2020, 4:20 PM
to Disney, Ryan, Acadia, Aurora, David, Teresa, Miriam, Ruth, Thomas, Debi, Joseph, Andrew, Benjamin, Bethany, Esther

While my friend Norma and I were FB chatting recently, she mentioned that in the years she had lived where she is now she had never been asked to give a talk until recently.   (she is one of the few people who actually love to give talks)  She was scheduled to speak and then the quarantine, so she didn't.  I asked her what she was going to talk about.  I think she was going to talk about The Proclamation on the Family. Then I asked what was the favorite talk she has given. 

I think Norma told me,instead, about a talk she has thought about and would like to give.  She reminded me of these scriptures

      Matthew 5:13 ¶ Ye are the ^asalt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

     Luke 14:34 ¶ ^aSalt is good: but if the ^bsalt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?

35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

    I told her it made me nervous because I am not pure salt. 

She responded: "Knowing that the Savior wants to encourage us and not depress us, I pondered why. President Oaks wrote an article in the Friend about salt in Jesus' time." (I found something in the June 2013 New Era. ) "From that, I thought about the things I know about the properties of salt." (Norma loves science.") In Israel, they still can get salt from areas that have flooded and are drying out. You can mix dirty salt with water. It dissolves , while dirt does not. It will float and can be tilted off or skimmed off. Heat will dry up the water and you will have good salt. "If we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we repent and skim the dirt out of our lives. Baptism with water begins the cleansing process, the Spirit finishes it. Partaking worthy of the Sacrament renews the process. "I don't think Jesus was trying to discourage those of us that are not so pure salt. He wants us to realize that through the action of faith, just like real salt, we can be recovered and made pure by using water (baptism/Sacrament), wind (the Spirit), and the warmth of the sun (Son of God)."

Sounds like a good talk to me. I hope she gives it someday.

The favorite talk I gave was about Corianton, son of Alma. Son of a prophet, sent on a mission, Corianton allowed himself to be distracted. Big time. I have often wondered how the fame of a woman grew so much in a day without the kind of communication we have. I mean everything was word of mouth or written and carried from place to place. I suppose he could have heard travelers talk about her, maybe seen a picture someone had drawn. But it seems strange to me that that would be enough to cause a man to leave his mission and  travel across the country to be with a woman, especially a woman with a bad reputation. He knew he would never be her one true love.  She was not into true love, just "good times" now. But, anyway he left his mission and went off to see Isabel. Alma really tells Corianton off and lets him know how serious his sins were.  Why did Alma rebuke Corianton? He did wrong, but what's done is done, why go on about it?  What was the point of telling him how bad he was?  If he is a loser who has blown his chance at salvation, why bother? Because he could repent and be forgiven!  Because he could be good and clean again!  Corianton repented and was able to be a missionary again and teach people the word of God. Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we don't have to  be cast off and forever doomed.  We can repent and be clean again. 

    I see that Norma's talk and my talk were ultimately about the same thing. 

    What is your favorite talk that you have given?  and/ or What is the talk you would like to give? 

     

acadia.roser@yahoo.com	Apr 19, 2020, 1:16 PM (1 day ago)
to me

Happy Sabbath!

I was unaware of the 5 seasons in the Sonoran Desert. That is really interesting, thank you! Recently I learned that the saguaro cactus takes 50 years to develop each arm, so when you see those big cacti with 5 arms then that means they have been around for a very long time! 

My favorite talk was probably my first talk ever when I was 12 about benevolence. It really taught me how to begin your life with Christlike attributes. The talk that I would like to give is about true joy. I will write it and send it to you!

Miriam Robarts	Apr 19, 2020, 7:50 PM (18 hours ago)
to Disney, Ryan, Aurora, David, Teresa, Ruth, Thomas, Debi, Joseph, Andrew, Benjamin, Bethany, Esther, me, Acadia

Those are good talks and they do go together. They could be two parts of one talk.

For my own talk: My favorite is when it's over. 

fat cat, fat bird

     I may have told you that my cat Felicity has had some health issues.  Every now and then, not often, thankfully!  She cries like she is in real pain and either poops on the floor - when normally she is very good about using the cat box - or throws up.  So a few months ago I took her to the vet.  They ran a bunch of tests that did not tell us what the problem is, but found problems that we didn't know about.  She had bladder stones - which does not cause those symptoms.  The x-ray showed a strange narrowing at the end of her intestine.  No idea why.   They MIGHT learn more if we do a $2000 plus test.  The doctor realized that is a bit much and suggested we try some treatments.   We don't let her outside where she might get something strange to eat.  We don't let her eat the regular cat food from Costco.  I buy her expensive prescribed food. I also give her laxative every day with her food..  We can keep her out of the garage where the regular cat food is out for Velox.  She doesn't like being restricted, especially from going out.  Velox wants to eat Felicity's food.  I don't have a place to put food where we can keep Velox out and just feed Felicity.  I got Felicity a special dish that reads her microchip and only opens for her. 

    She went back recently for a re-check.  She has had fewer episodes.  Usually it happens after she has escaped to the garage or outside briefly.  The bladder stones are gone, too.  So that's good. The vet said to continue the treatment.

    But she is too fat.  So, they recommended lower calorie prescription food.  Right after I had gotten a new 7 lb bag from Chewy.  argh.  So I spent a bunch more money on the low calorie bag.  Poured them both into a garbage bag and mixed it up.  I am also measuring her food and only giving her about 1/3 cup in the morning and 1/3 cup in the evening with laxative.  She does not seem to be losing weight.

    Know how I know?  I have to pick her up twice a day.  I asked the vet if she is in pain.  It's hard to tell with animals sometimes.  She is way lazier than Joseph's cat. Felicity lays around and sleeps all day.  Velox does crazy cat runs now and then and plays with little things she finds lying around. Personality or pain?  The vet prescribed pain medicine for me to give her twice a day. 

     Felicity does not like taking her pain medicine.  For awhile she waddled quickly away every time I approached her.  And hid under the furniture.  Finally, I connected her meals with her medicine.  When she tells me she's hungry in the morning and again in the evening, I dish up her food (and laxative) and put it out of reach.  Then I fill the syringe with medicine (which I squirt into her mouth).  And sit down near her food.  If she refuses to come, I go about my business for a bit.  Eventually, she will come within reach.  I pick her up, squirt in the medicine  - slowly so she doesn't choke, pet her, and put her and her food down.  

      She seems just as lazy and sleep-all-day as before and she is not any lighter to pick up.  I will call the vet in a week or so for an end of month consult. 

      Also, several months ago, we noticed that our cockatiel, Mr. Kismet's beak was overgrown.  I took him to a  bird vet 30 miles away.  They trimmed his beak, told me I was feeding him the wrong food which can cause beak trouble.  So he gets vet recommended food from Chewy now, too.  He just went back to the vet again.  Who filed his beak which was slightly not very overgrown, trimmed his nails, and told me that he, too, is overweight.  I guess he likes the healthier food. So, now I am supposed to cut back on his food. That's a little scary because I worry about birds starving. 

      Yes, pets can be a bit of bother and sometimes expensive, but I still think they are worth it.

     Btw, both Felicity's vet and Mr. Kismet's vet complimented their patient for being very sweet.

     I am overweight, too.  Good news / bad news. I am my own owner and get my own food. 

     That reminds me.  Time to fix dinner. 

     

I used to write to Acadia

Easter evening email to my children (who are not my housemates) and the grandchildren for whom I have email addresses

I realize that I would like to  connect with all of you more.  I am not very interesting, but hey, Acadia put up with my letters while on her mission, why stop now? and why not spread my net so to speak.

I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend.  What was your favorite part? 

Hard to choose!  I loved getting pictures and a video of the Hinds finding eggs Saturday and the videos of the musical Rosers.  I loved taking the Sacrament at home while thinking about Jesus' sacrifice, atonement, and resurrection.  I know, that's a regular thing, however it seemed extra special to me today. 

 

Video:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yQoN2Tcfb9zVsGEd8

https://www.facebook.com/sariah.roser/videos/10158471207508000/

https://www.facebook.com/sariah.roser/videos/10158471229318000/

I know that many have you have participated in Welcome Home Drive-bys.  We don't have many missionaries out from our ward.  We do have one sister who is a spiritual/emotional support person for missionaries in Hong Kong.  But!  she came home a couple of months ago.  Yet, she is still a full-time missionary.  She spends hours every afternoon and evening - or is it evening and night - on the phone with her missionaries who are 15 hours ahead of us.  Anyway, we haven't done any Welcome Home Drive-bys.  We have done Birthday Drive-bys for 3.  But! we have done 4 drive-bys.

The first two drive-bys we learned about on NextDoor.  The third one I was told about at a (teleconference) Relief Society Presidency Meeting (I am secretary).  One of the counselors told us about a Primary girl whose birthday was the next day and that her mom wanted a drive-by.  Andrew and I drove out near the house and put up our sign on the car.  10o'clock came and we were the only car there!  But we drove by the house yelling and waving.  Birthday girl was out there with her mom and  sister, but she looked confused.  I texted Mom.  Did we have the time wrong?  No, we did not.  We had the day wrong! Her birthday was two days later!  That time there were lots of cars. 

Joseph does not want a drive by for his birthday. Andrew does not want one, either.  

I have been listening to LibriVox recordings of Lucy Maud Montgomery's books.  (Usually when I am pulling weeds.  Which I have not done for a few days.)  Now I am in Short Stories 1902-1903.  And most days I like to watch The Waltons.  Charming and simple.  Which story world would I rather live in?  Well, I love the Waltons, but they are living in the Great Depression.  There doesn't seem to be much economic worry on Prince Edward's Island. Oh, well, I can't live in either, but I can try to be nice, honest, and hard working like most of those people. I guess we are all learning to better appreciate the simple things now.

Not to say that you are simple things, but I appreciate and love you.

Stay well. Be happy. 

Love, 

Grandma Barbara

Mom

bounce back

email to my granddaughter Acadia on the day she came home from her mission (April 7), but she never got it as we were told to stop using her missionary address and I think her civilian email box is full

Well done, good and faithful missionary!  I have enjoyed your testimony, your letters, and your music.  I hope that communication will not cease now that you are on to the next phase of your life.  

Wasn't conference wonderful?! as usual! Many talks touched me, of course.  With comfort, with correction, with cousel. The Finest Homes stands out in my mind particularly.  I remember a couple of more that I thought at the time, I want to go back to this.   Of course, over time I will review them all, but I know that some I will more than others.

We had an adventure. One evening, was it Saturday?  a police helicopter circled our area giving a message over the loudspeaier.  Unfortunately, that often reminds me of the adults in a Charlie Brown movie.  After several passes, we understood the warning that there were two fugitives in the neighborhood - a couple of men 20-30 - white or HIspanic - stay inside, lock your doors, if you see them call 9-1-1.  Later, the voice addressed a particular house on a street nearby stating that the they were surrounded, come out with your hands up.  Repeatedly.  And then things were quiet.  Somewhere in the middle of all this, before the house was surrounded, there was a knock at our door! We were not expecting company, of course.  Shortly after the helicopter started circling, Joseph had one of his hand guns.  At the knock, Joseph went to the door.  Holding the gun out of sight, he opened it.  I was concerned that someone, anyone, might see the gun and shoot him!  But he was careful.  He has studied gun safety and gun laws.  He knows what to do.  Just as I thought (and I think said) that often the delivery people knock when they leave a package, Joseph opened the door part way and a female voice said, "Sorry! Wrong address."  It was a delivery person.  How nervouse she must have been with the police warning! So our adventrure ended anticlimatically.  Fortunately!

May all your adventures end happily! (or at least, anticlimaticly)

Love, 

Grandma Barbara

Document the Corona Virus Facebook Post

It's a popular thing right now to document on Facebook what is happening with this Corona Virus pandemic.  This is what my daughter Sariah (Chandler, Arizona) posted:

Just so I never forget..... April 3, 2020

-Ryan has been working from home everyday for 3 weeks (and we consider ourselves extremely fortunate that he has a job that 1) can be worked from home and 2) does not appear to be in jeopardy) [Andrew has been taking classes and doing tutoring on-line. Joseph has been going to work]

-Many cannot work.

-Many have lost their jobs completely.

-Gas prices are really low... Under $2.00 in some places [California - I saw gas at $2.25 at Costco. For California, that is low!]

-We haven't filled up for gas in over 3 weeks and still have more than half a tank of gas in my car. [I sometimes drive Joseph to work, have done a couple of grocery runs and ding dong ditches. I am trying to keep the car above half a tank, so I have done a couple of fill-ups. Once at the very exciting $2.25]

-School cancelled for the remainder of the school year

-All schooling is done remotely using Google Classroom

-Schools are providing full meals all week every week for all children under 18

-No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, then 10 or more.

-Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home.

-Don't come closer than 6 ft of anyone you do not live with.

-Panic buying sets in; the stores cannot keep stocked on toilet paper, disinfecting supplies, paper towels, laundry soap, and hand sanitizer.

-People line up 6+ hours before a store opens in hopes of getting one of the above items. [I don't know how early people are lining up, but there are often lines to get into a store, especially at opening]

-Even at opening, many store shelves are bare.

-Amazon and local grocery stores are hiring like crazy

-Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other.

-Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors, even well after opening.

-Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed.

-Parks, trails, entire cities locked up.

-Zoos and amusement parks closed.

-Disney and other theme parks closed.

-All cruises cancelled.

-State and National Parks are closed.

-Entire sports seasons cancelled.

-Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.

-Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled.

-No funerals

-No masses, churches are closed.

-All LDS church is at home church now. Ryan administers the Sacrament to us each week in our living room.

-General Conference has zero live audience, not even the choir will be present. No church buildings will play it, must be watched from home.

-All LDS temples are closed.

-Tens of thousands of LDS missionaries outside the US brought home and put in quarantine with their families. [ What a treat for the families!!]

-All missionaries in US and Canada that have a history of asthma, respiratory issues, or other health risks have been sent home to quarantine with their family

-All remaining missionaries are ordered to stay home and only contact through technology. They are allowed to call home more than once a week to receive family support.

-Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.

-Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.

-Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.

-Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.

-Fines are established for breaking the rules. [in some areas]

-Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.

-Press conferences daily from the President and the governors. Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.

-Government incentives to stay home.

-Barely anyone on the roads.

-People wearing masks and gloves outside.

-Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.

-Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.

This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020.

BUT this, also, is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020...

-Families are together, all day, every day.

-They go for walks and hikes.

-They play boardgames together.

-They sit out in the backyard and just talk and enjoy the peacefulness of not having anywhere to be.

-They eat every meal together.

-Everyone is eating more home cooked meals.

-Parents are more involved in their children's education.

-More practical skills are being taught by parents.

-They are sharing more stories of their childhood with their children.

-More journal entries are being written.

-More letters and emails are being sent.

-More books are being read.

-People are finding creative ways to stay in touch.

-People are finding creative ways to reach out to and serve others.

-Celebrities are putting out videos from home to entertain and encourage.

-Online businesses are offering free access to tools that may help with communication and/or education.

-Strangers are cheering each other on.

-Neighbors are checking in on each other.

-True gratitude for what really matters is being realized and expressed.

[-We are learning to use and appreciate distance communication. Meetings and games by phone, Zoom, and other platforms.

Why, you ask, do I share this status?

In one year, it will show up in my memory feed, and it will be a yearly reminder that life is precious, not to take the things we dearly love for granted, and to remember what matters most. It will also be yet another reminder of how we all, in spite of our differences, never fail to come together in times of crisis. [Maybe I should post this on Facebook?]

We have so much!

Be thankful. Be grateful.

Be kind to each other - love one another - support everyone.

We are all one!

29You, Ruth Hinds, Miriam Robarts and 26 others

5 Comments

Love

sibling check in

My sister Lainee,
Klamath Oregon  March 22 

Good morning my beautiful family, I wanted to reach out and see how you are doing. This is indeed an unusual time....I know that we are all feeling the strain of the events in some way. How are you coping?

Lainee

Where to start.....we are ok. Financially this will hurt. But we have tightened our belts before. My tenant Stephanie was tested for COVID-19 a week ago with no results yet. Carrie is a nurse and between the two of them I feel exposure is inevitable. We have made some strict rules about how we will address visitors and how to keep germs at bay. Levi said it best yesterday. We just don’t want everyone sick at the same time. Levi’s family is currently living with us. When school closed a week ago my students were trying to finish up our yearbook. I am working feverishly from home trying to get it done. I have had a cold and a stress headache for a week plus now. I am working on finding peace and joy in little things. I think I will be able to finish the yearbook today. Because Brian is a substitute teacher he is not working so we have lost his income. I am expected to return to work next Monday unless circumstances change by then. We have to continue to provide curriculum for students while they are away from school. I have to start working on an at home art curriculum as soon as I finish the yearbook. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to work on me. I do believe everything happens for everyone’s benefit.

Lainee

Brian and I are type A also

Debi

Michael and I are doing okay. The coffee shop is still open for take out and to buy beans. He mostly works at home but has to go in a couple times a week. Food wise we are fine. I just defrosted our big freezer and it is full. Barbara, are any stores in your area offering in line ordering and delivery? That might help. Michael spends a lot of his down time on the NA Chat room He was already chairing a couple meetings a week but with all the meetings being cancelled, the chat room has exploded. Right now all is well.

1

MON 12:49 PM

Kris

Gary and I are doing really well. I have loads of TP (isn’t it strange that “this” is something in particular that I have “always” stock-piled ?).

I was out at the grocery store (for the last time) over a week ago , and I replenished all the fresh items that I could. With Gary being in the top tier of the “high risk” demographic, we had made the decision that we were really cracking down on “self-containment” from that time forward.

Like many of you we have plenty of “not-as-perishable” food stuff, and a quite full chest freezer. If this quarantine lasts for MONTHS I am sure that I will be regretting not having more “canned” veggies and fruits (we almost always eat them fresh or frozen), but we will just “get creative” with all those things which we do have!

I have been enjoying our time at home, doing “lots” of Family History work and Gary is (as typical) monitoring his Market investments with guarded optimism.

I am greatly missing our time in the temple each week, and the mingling with friends, family, and my YW at church, but we are making good use of all kinds of technology, to stay in touch !

Alisha and Scott are doing okay at the moment.....
Scott is still working, though Alisha’s part-time “sub-ing” at the elementary school has ended. Adam is also currently still working, while Kimmy literally “just started” a second job, two weeks ago, working at a Children’s Hospital .

I am so grateful for our loving Heavenly Father, who has counseled us through the words of his Living prophets (for decades and decades) to “be prepared”!
I know that this is not the last time “our reserves” may be used, and I plan to replenish (when appropriate and able) and to be even “more prepared” for the next time.

Kris, I remember you showing me yo