Left: Elder Elend giving lesson (farthest back) to man in gray sweater; left overs; our mailman.


NOVEMBER 27, 2008 THURSDAY

Because today was Thanksgiving, it also became our P-day instead of last Monday. We went out this morning looking for sweet potatoes, pumpkin in a can for pumpkin pie, brown sugar and pecans for pecan pie. We found sweet potatoes, but they were small and expensive. It cost $15.00 to buy enough for a normal size casserole dish. It took awhile to find pecans and they are expensive too. We couldn’t find pumpkin or brown sugar anywhere. Fortunately we had one small can of pumpkin an enough brown sugar that the Mellors left when they went home. We also bought some already made pie crust that is ready to put in a pie dish. You just have to unroll it and whamo, the pie shell is ready. We made the pies and they turned out pretty good. The sweet potatoes that Diana made were just delicious. She mixed in some marshmallows we had left over from the rice crispie treats we made a week or two ago. I also goofed up one of the pie shells. I tried to cook both at once, but the one slipped off the back of the rack upside down which put the dough on the oven element. Ruined. So after the one pie was finished baking, we went back out and bought another pie shell and did that one over.

By this time the Elders came by and picked us up to go over to Norma’s for Thanksgiving dinner. The AP’s, DL’s and we were there as well as Fabian, Norma and her son, a friend of Norma’s and her husband, the Frioud’s and Sister Maurer and her daughter. It was a very pleasant evening and even in the middle of the hubbub Elder Elend gave the Joseph Smith story to the friend of Norma’s husband (non-members). We new he was going to be there and so were looking for an opportunity to teach. So even though it was a Thanksgiving celebration, it was also a missionary activity. Things broke up around 10:00 and the Elders dropped us off at home. Elder Middleton is so tall and skinny that we are always looking for ways to fatten him up a little. On the way home he mentioned he really liked the pecan pie so we sent the leftovers home with him. We did tell him we needed the casserole dish back however.

Diana wants to mention that at one point in the evening Fabian said he’d eaten so much he’d have to do extra exercises tomorrow. Diana said, “why don’t you give me 10 right now?” So everybody started egging on everybody else as to who could do the most push ups. So almost everybody took turns doing push ups. Even the friend of Norma, who is about five feet tall and weighs about a minute, got in one the act. She actually amazed everyone by doing 20 legitimate push ups, which was more than anyone had done. Even I was able to grunt out 11 pushups for which I’ll pay for tomorrow. After that we played the game we did in FHE a few weeks ago. The first person in the circle said one thing he was thankful for. The next person would have to repeat it and then add his own. The third person had to repeat what the first two had said and then give his own and so on and so on. This time it only went around once instead of three times so it wasn’t so hard. It was a way good way to express some things we were thankful for.

We are alway grateful for the email messages we get from everyone. This is one blessing we have that I didn’t have forty some odd years ago when all there was was snail mail. We love all of you and on this Thanksgiving Day we give thanks to our Heavenly Father for all of you. We know some are having especially hard trials right now and we pray for you everyday. God loves us and the Church is true.