44 Wonderful Years Together - Happy Anniversary - June 13th -

Our 44th Wedding Anniversary will be celebrated on June 13th -  My dear husband is so much a part of who I am and is my first and only love for the eternities to come; I thought today that I would post some precious thoughts about this awesome man that I has been blessed to be married to for the last 44 years.
I met my husband in Drivers training class in the summer before I entered High School. I was attracted to him and he for me also.  Our first date was on November 17th of our Junior year. We dated during our Junior and Senior year.We graduated from High School together and then attended the University of Utah. 
The following Spring he left to serve a 2 year LDS Mission in Northern California. We wrote letters to each other weekly for those two years.While he was serving, I finished the year at the U.of U. and then transferred to BYU where I finished a degree in Nursing.  He came home in March 1967, we were engaged in April  and Married on June 13th in the Salt Lake Temple. We were privileged to have been married by President Ezra Taft Benson who was one of the
Twelve Apostles at that time. It was a beautiful, joy filled day for us.

 After our Honeymoon we came home and both worked until he started school at the U.of U.  During this time I worked at the LDS Hospital in their Medical Surgical ICU and he worked part time and went to school. We  had our first two boys during this time. He gradutated in Pharmacy 1973.
Through the years we have lived in the following areas, Northern California, Utah, Nevada and Washington. We had our next four children while living in California.
We presently are living in Utah. We are the parents of 6 wonderful children and their beloved spouses.  We have 30 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter.



There is not time to list all of the attributes of this awesome man  so I will just list a few and then share a couple of moments.
He loves our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ and is a true disciple of Christ.
He is a loving Father, Grandfather, and Great Grandfather.
He is a very giving, kind man and has a compassionate heart.
He is very loyal to his family and to his faith.
He works hard and is very dedicated to his temporal work and his callings in our church.
He honors the Priesthood he holds and has given countless blessings to our family,to me and to others.
He is a great brother to our families.
He loves the temple and serves faithfully there.
He loves helping others and we now serve together in the Inner City Mission for our church.
Plus
He can cook really good and does quite often.
He also detail cleans items in our home. Usually something I haven't even noticed needing it.
 I can not even count the number of times he has blessed and gotten up and walked  or rocked one of our children. He has always in every way helped me with our children's needs. He has given our children wise councel through the years. He loved working in the scouting programs with his sons over the years and supported all of our childrens activities.
Over the years our children were trained to go to his side of the bed if they had needs. One reason was we made a deal that he would get up with any of the children that needed help in the night so I could take care of a new little one. Later we always had our children come into our bedroom to tell us when they came home at night. One night one of our daughters went to my side of the bed and as she touched me; I woke up screaming. Now you know another reason they didn't  come to my side of the bed.
For my 55th birthday he secretly flew my parents, brothers and their spouses up to our home in Washington as a surprise for the weekend. It was such a happy time for me and one of the last times that my father was aware of what was going on around him. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease shortly after that visit. We all had so much fun. We attended the temple together; this was a sweet moment. Both of my brothers had been inactive for years and were now back into the church and had taken their families through the temple.
Also, at that time he gave me a present that was remarkable. I had told him that  when I was young there was one gift  which I didn't receive for Christmas. This gift was an Annie Oakley Pop Gun. For this birthday, I received an Annie Oakley Pop Gun and autographed picture of Gail Davis who played the role of Annie Oakley on TV. This was such an emotional and sweet  birthday gift from him.

He is a devoted husband in every way. We have had 44 wonderful and loving years together. We have faced many trials through the years but with faith in our Savior and our Heavenly Fathers plan for us we have grown even closer. We look forward to our earthly years together and our eternity.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY DEAR HUSBAND, ROGER

 A few pictures through the years

Roger's graduation from the University of Utah



Fun In The Snow Just This Year



We are now off celebrating for the next four day.

Where Did The Time Go??

Wanna just write? Without wondering if it’s just right?

Indulge in five rich, delicious minutes of pure writing.

Tell your readers you’re linking up hereThe Gypsy Mama and invite them to dig in too.

And most importantly, go visit, read, and compliment the five minute chef who served something up right before you.

HERE'S MY FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY

I hit the floor hard this morning as I jumped out of bed ready to take on the day. I have been praying to be better organized and able to get my priorities in order. Well as usual that didn't happen. I had on my list to do our budget which is 3 days late, pay bills hopefully on time,  organize myself in my new calling as a Inner City Missionary, make several calls for the mission, set a time for surgery on my ankle as soon as possible, do my normal emails, blogging, and face book. I made a quick decision to do my priority list first; which was to do the budget, pay the bills, and organize myself. Now it is 4 pm and I haven't even started on my other items. I also had great hopes of finishing my monthly journaling. Some of the priority time was filled up quickly by talking on the phone with my 90 year old, Aunt Alene. I had conversations with two friends from the ward and one high school friend that I talk with occasionally. Maybe this is where the priorities fell apart. However, I do think that people come before anything else and that is true especially for family and friends.
I am finding that blogging takes a fair amount of time and that I need to control my time there; but again I now have blogging friends that I want to read their blogs and share my thoughts with them also. I just don't know where the time goes.
The worst is that I really thought I was going to complete everything on my schedule and still have time for cleaning the upstairs. The dust is thick, the laundry unfolded, and I need to vacuum. This isn't going to get done. I think I will be lucky if I actually get a dinner on the table. We then need to go out to Bountiful to see my 97 year old Aunt. I was out there yesterday for a visit and she wanted my husband to come and give her a blessing. She isn't a member of the church; but she does believe in Priesthood blessings. I do think that is one priority that we need to do for sure. If any of you in the blogging world have a way that you handle the timing of blogging; let me know. Help!!!

? Five Minute Saturday!

 I do not want to ever forget the last wonderful two weeks!
There was once a book that I read that was called: "A Day Late, A Dollar Short And It's OK". So I was thinking about doing a blog called Five Minute Friday and I didn't get too it. I was wondering if it was OK  today to do Five Minute Saturday instead.
I just arrived home last night from Idaho Falls after spending 5 days with three of my precious Grandchildren, Christian 12, Taylor Jo, 10 and Averi 9 years old. I had such a good time with all of them. The great part of the visit was that the upstairs TV wouldn't work; so we spent a lot of time just talking, laughing and just enjoying the chit chat of talking with pre-teen children. Averi, who is nine years old is blind and she had Therapists come in each day and help her to get ready for school. They were teaching her how to dress herself, put her lunch in her backpack and make her bed. They are also working with her on eating.She had had a very hard time with eating due to the trauma of having a trach and feeding tubes for 5 months when she was in the PICU at Primary Children's Hospital. She is now holding the spoon full of food and they were working on teaching her to scoop the food out.  The miracle was when I was feeding her and I left her for a few moments and she scooped out her own food and ate it. This is a huge step for her. It was liking watching your 1 year learn how to walk. We all clapped for her and she was excited about it too.
The week before I was in Idaho, I was up in Spokane Washington caring for my youngest daughter who just had surgery and her sweet family. Her children are Michael 11, Sarah 10, Kaitlyn 7 and William 5. Again these are so awesome grandchildren and I had such a good time with them too. They were still in school so I didn't have them as much; but I did take care of William and that boy is in constant motion. He is so smart and he kept coming up with the darn est thoughts. Anyway, when he is around you can't stop smiling.
Each of these sweet grandchildren I find that they are intelligent, creative, talented and they are forming other great qualities. It was a joy to care for them all.
I am home now and ready for a long nap. 

 This pictures are not included in the Five time -

Sarah 10, Michael 11, William 5, Kaitlyn 7

Christian 12 - Preparing Averi's food

Taylor Jo 10

Averi 9, Feeding herself

Averi

Got five minutes? Here’s a great way to spend them.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat without editing your voice.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Pony up the comment love for the five minuter who linked up before you.

I love reading what you write – it’s five minute art that lasts a lifetime. And it gives me a chance to give one of you a little somethin’ somethin’ from DaySpring, who I love more than cotton candy!

Coincidence or Providence?

 I often hear individuals talk about running into a dear friend they have not seen for a long time. They renew their friendship and their lives are blessed. Is this just a coincidence; I think not! My husband and I moved back to Utah 5 years ago after many years of living in three other states. A short while after being here I found out that one of my dearest friends was moving back to Utah. We hadn't communicated very much through the years; usually just a Christmas card.We are now just a few miles away. We have renewed our friendship and our lives have been deeply blessed. She has been there for me and I have been there for her during some difficult challenges that we have both faced. 
I have had moments when I know beyond doubt that my prayers were heard and a Tender Mercies Of the Lord was given.
We all receive these  but sometimes we do not recognize them as such. Since thinking about tender mercies; I have become more aware of these moments in my life. 
Here is a sweet story told by Gerald Lund in his book Divine Signatures - The Confirming Hand of God on pg. 195-97
"Ellen Breakell lived in Preston, England. She and her husband Alexander Neibaur, were some of the first converts in England when Heber C. Kimball came in 1837. As the call came for the Saints to immigrate to America, the Neibaurs responded and came with the first company, arriving in Nauvoo in 1841.
After they arrived in Nauvoo that fall, Brother Neibaur set up a dental practice. When the church was enduring a new wave of persecution in 1845 and Brigham Young called on the Saints to prepare to leave the following spring and head west, the Neibaurs responded again. They sold all they had to finance an outfit-wagon, livestock, food, and equipment - to go west. They went to Winter Quarters and stayed there for more than a year while the first pioneer companies went west. The next spring 1848, the Neibaurs once again sold everything they had in order to continue west. This left no money for trail-worthy boots or shoes, so Ellen crossed the plains with her feet wrapped in rags. 
They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in the fall of 1848. conditions in the Valley were very difficult and for the next eight years there was still little money for anything other than necessities. Not until 1856 did Ellen save enough money to send off to a mail-order house for a pair of high button shoes .
  

and she knit herself a pair of stockings. One can only imagine what a joy it must have been for her - and women will probably appreciate that more than us men.
Though it is not specified exactly when the shoes arrived, it was not long before the October General Conference of that year. That proved to be a momentous conference. On Sunday, October 5, Brigham Young stood up and announced that they had just learned there were two more handcart companies out on the plains and that the Saints had to go rescue them. Brigham called for wagons, teams, food, blankets, and clothing, including shoes, from the Saints to be sent with the rescue wagons. In an inspiring example of covenant and sacrifice. Ellen gave her new pair of shoes and the stockings to the rescue effort. 
After all of those years of going without, Ellen sent off her shoes with the rescuers. Here, in her granddaughter's words, is what followed:

"Customarily, the Saints in the Valley lined the streets to welcome the weary companies as they entered Salt Lake. You can imagine as Ellen stood on the street that day to greet the beleaguered handcart pioneers, was she watching faces, or was she watching feet to see whose footstep she had lightened? Much to her surprise, when she recognized her shoes, she also realized that the woman wearing those shoes was a dear friend of hers from England who had joined the Church after Ellen had left her native country. Through her sacrifice,she had unknowingly helped to rescue the life of her dear friend."

Through the years I have had many wonderful friends and treasure our friendships. Many of these friends I feel were my friends in the pre-existence. They are my sisters and our meeting and becoming friends was not a coincidence. They have all brought great blessings into my life.
I know this was not a  coincidence but Providence.


Iam so grateful for the gift of friends and tender mercies from the Lord.

 

A Prophet's Telephone Call To Me !

President Gordan B. and Sister Margorie Pay Hinckley

 I received a surprise telephone call on March 27th, 2001. The story of this call was recorded in my personal journal.  I haven’t really talked about this call except for when I have felt the spirit direct me to do so. It was a sacred moment to me and I will always treasure those few minutes when I was able to talk with a Prophet of the Lord. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ; we believe  in  A Living Prophet Today.

 Our beloved Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away on January 27th 2008. It now seems to be a more appropriate time to write about this  event in my life.  It was around 8 am on March 27th 2001 that I received this memorable telephone call. The person on the line introduced himself and asked if I was Sister LeAnn Williams.  After answering, Yes; The person on the line then said that President Hinckley wanted to talk with me. President Gordon B. Hinckley was then the Prophet of the Church of  Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of the individuals that I shared this with have asked if I really thought at first that it was the Prophet. I totally knew through the spirit that it was. When President Hinckley came on the line he asked me how I was doing. At that point I was almost too overwhelmed to speak.  I told him I was doing well which I was; who wouldn't be. He then told me that he had just recently been on a trip and had stopped to refuel their plane on the Island of  Aruba. While there he decided to meet with the missionaries that were serving in that area. At that time my daughter Jenni-Marie was serving as a missionary for the church in Venezuela and assigned to work in the city of Aruba. He told me that he had met Sister Williams and her companion and visited with them. He said that she was doing well on her mission and enjoying the work. He reassured me that although she was on this small Island that she was safe and I should not be concerned for her welfare. I then asked him if he knew whose granddaughter she was and he replied, no.  I then explained that she was LaMar Williams’ granddaughter. My father in law LaMar Williams had worked under President Hinckley in the Missionary department for over 30 years. He was happy to know that and he was a little emotional in his response. The conversation was brief but very meaningful to me.  I could hardly believe that the President of our church whose membership at that time was over 11 million members would call me up to reassure me that my daughter was doing well. I didn’t for even  a second think I was the only one singled out for a call. But, I did feel blessed that he would take a few minutes of his time and actually make this reassuring call to me.

After this call ended I started to cry. You could say I was totally blown away.I was just so surprised and my emotions were so indescribable.  Of course the first person I wanted to share this with was my dear husband. He was driving to work at the time and was on the freeway. I told him to pull over and then I related my telephone conversation. He was as excited as I was.

The rest of the day I basked in the spirit. I didn’t want the world to come crushing in on me. I spent time marveling at the blessing this was. I recorded it in my journal. I shared it with my parents, brothers and children. After that I have only shared  this experience on a few occasions.

Later on while reading the book; "Margorie Pay Hinckley - Letters", I found that she would often go on trips with President Hinckley and whenever they had a meeting with a small group of missionaries; she would talk with them and find out information on their parents. When she arrived home she would call some of the parents. I just loved the thought that Pres. Hinckley would follow up on this practice that his wife had started.

At April conference that year, President Hinckley mentioned that he had stopped in Aruba and said he had visited with the missionaries. He stated that there were two young women that were beautiful and happy.

One of those beautiful young women was our Jenni-Marie. Just think about the fact that Our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ know our names. I know this to be true. I smile at the thought that for just a moment in time the Prophet knew my daughter’s name and mine. 
This was a wonderful event in my life that I will always feel loved and blessed to have talked with the Prophet. 

 

The Simple Woman's Daybook - May 2011

FOR TODAY- May 13th 2011

Take a moment and drop by and enjoy other Simple woman Daybook entries here: http://thesimplewoman'sdaybook.blogspot.com/

Outside my window… there is sunshine in my soul today! Sun is shining, sunbeams are flitting about and it is a very beautiful spring day.

I am thinking... It has been a while since I have done a Daybook Entry. I always enjoy reading other Daybook entries.
I am thankful for...that my daughter is out of surgery and should go home this afternoon. I am flying up on Sunday to Spokane to stay a few days and help her with my adorable grandchildren. The following week I will be going to Idaho to take care of three more of my sweet grandchildren; it's a busy month. 
 I am looking forward this weekend to being instructed on what we will be doing as newly called Part-time Inner City Missionaries. We have waited for this call for about 3 months. Our papers got lost; but then found so off we go on a new experience. There have been a couple of Tender Mercies on this experience.
From the learning rooms...I need to finish reading in the Book of Mormon: Mosiah 1-6 before our training starts tomorrow. This is the wonderful writings about King Benjamin’s message to his people.
From the kitchen…I have no plans for dinner. I think it might be pick up a pizza night at Papa Murphy’s. I love their light Artichoke Chicken Pizza.
I am wearing...a light green bathroom and white slippers. The room is very warm so I need to get dressed for the day.
I am creating...a notebook to take to our meetings tomorrow and I am going to work on a new method of studying my scriptures. I may need to get some new scriptures soon; my present ones have been over used and I need to start anew.
I am going...to be in prayer mode most of the day. My dearest husband has had over 3 months worth of work stress. He is working at home today and he has some deadlines to meet and he is struggling with finding some answers that he needs in about an hour. The people who can answer his questions have all gone to lunch. I mentioned to him that he needed to open his mind to the spirit while on the conference call. He replied that he hoped his guardian angel today was a Business Analyst; he is concerned it might be a repairman.
I am reading...”Divine Signatures” by Gerald Lund. I highly recommend this one. The book is basically about looking into your life and finding the moments when you know that the Lord has answered your prayers and you have received a tender Mercy. I have a post on the subject of Tender Mercies of The Lord.
I am also reading “Messiah” by Toni Sorenson. It is a novel about the Savior’s visit to the America’s as recorded in the Book of Mormon.
I am hoping...today to catch up on my journal and perhaps work on my Aunt Della’s history. She broke her hip several weeks ago and is now recovering at a rehab center. She has lost a lot of weight so I am worried about her. She is 97 years old and I want to complete her history before she passes. She is like a second mother to me so I am having a hard time thinking about losing her.
I am hearing...cars going by and birds chirping outside and my husband busy typing away on his computer and of course I am doing that too.
Around the house...I am anxious to get our patio furniture out so I can sit outside and read a good book and watch our dogs chase each other around.
One of my favorite things...is to curl up in a chair and read my novel and now I can do that outside. Yeah!!
A few plans for the rest of the week: I won’t be working in the temple on Saturday’s for the next too week; so that is sad. This weekend will basically be learning about our new calling and packing for my trip to Spokane.


Here is picture for thought I am sharing...


Our Precious Great Granddaughter - Jadyn



Labourers In His Vineyard -

I know at times that I feel tired and wonder if all that I labor to do is of any worth. Sometimes, I get so busy with everyday concerns that I neglect the better things. I wonder sometimes if I am going in the right direction. Am I giving my all to my husband, family and the gospel of Jesus Christ? Am I serving my fellowmen the way the Savior would have me do? Am I enduring to the end?
 Luke 10: 2; Jesus taught the following:  Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.  

Doctrine and Covenants 33: 3; For behold, the field is white already to harvest; and it is the eleventh hour, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard.

This is our day, are we worthy of his hire? Are we prepared to serve him with all of our heart, might, mind and strength? This is the last time he will send labourers into his vineyard.
During a recent Temple preparation meeting one of the sisters told a parable that I would like to share. 

The Parable of the Stake President

A Stake President had been released after 10 years of service. He had faithfully served through the years in several leadership positions such as Scout Master, Young Men's President, High Priest Group Leader and a Bishop. His life had been one of service.
After his release he said to his wife; "I think I would like to take a fishing trip." This was something he had always loved to do; but hadn't been able to do very often. He soon went out and bought himself a new boat and trailer.
General Conference was scheduled for the next week end; so he rationalized that this would be the best time to go. He told his wife that he would listen to the conference sessions on the radio while fishing. He also stated that he would relax on the Sabbath day and enjoy listening to the sessions and enjoy his surroundings. He asked his wife if she would like to go with him; which she declined.
He got up early on Friday and headed out to his favorite fishing spot. When he arrived he set up his camp, took his boat down to the lake and started fishing. He really enjoyed the evening and the next morning he again left his camp to go down and fish. He was having so much fun that he continued to fish all day both Saturday and Sunday. He was so busy relaxing as he fished that he didn't take the time to listen to the conference sessions on his radio. He thought to himself he could always read the conference messages later. 
As he prepared to go home on Monday he was feeling so good and had really enjoyed this break away from his usual everyday life.
The drive back towards his home was pleasant and he enjoyed the scenery.
As he came over the hill towards his home; he looked down and all he could see was a gigantic hole in the ground and the only home standing was his own. He raced forward to his home and there taped to  the door was a note that said: Sorry, we couldn't wait any longer; we had to leave; signed Enoch.

We all chuckled of course, but there is a message there. We must endure to the end and never give up doing good works. I have pondered on this message and know that I want to be a good labourer in the kingdom of God.

Just a side note; my husband and I have received a call to be part -time Intercity Missionaries. We are excited to have this opportunity and look forward serving in this area. I will keep you updated on our experiences while serving in this calling.

Here is a link for an article that I submitted to the Mormon Women site; entitled A Mormon Grandmother's Thoughts -
http://mormonwoman.org/2011/05/10/motherhood-matters-day-9-learning-from-other-mothers/