Author Archives: joyful_admin

Diet Dr. Pepper!

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So I don’t know if I told you, but I teach the 
ladies in 
Relief Society
 now. It’s a little different than teaching the kids in 
Primary. 
They hold still and they raise their hands when they want to talk. Also, they don’t have to tell you what they’ve been doing, 
or the dirt on their family 
for the first 10 minutes of class. 
Funny! 
Anyway, I was talking about 
tithes and offerings. 
It was a good lesson for me to prepare. 
I understand the topic, but we all need reminders, 
about why we do the things we do. I shared a quote by C.S. Lewis (you can read it here). 
What a great man. So, as I’m teaching, I say something to the effect of, 
“Can we give more? 
Do we buy things we don’t really need? 
Like I say to myself, 
‘Do I really need this 
Diet Dr. Pepper?'”
 After which all the ladies are laughing. It is true though! I have a struggle with this. Well, a few days later, my friend Tricia shows up at the front door. 
She is holding a case of 
Diet Dr. Pepper. 
I just busted up laughing, because the box says, “Joy, For Medicinal Purposes”, with a smiley face. She went on to say that someone she loved used to use that excuse about liquor. So, funny!! I guess we all have a vice of some kind. And mine is
Diet Dr. Pepper!! 
I’ll keep working on it, though!
*****
*singing* 
I’m a Pepper, You’re a Pepper, He’s a Pepper, She’s a Pepper, wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper too? Dr. Pepper! Drink Dr. Pepper!!!

Family History Friday: Family History and Genealogy Conference, Etc!

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 There is so many people who want to help us learn about our precious ancestor’s. I wish I could attend all of these conferences. There will be a conference at 
Brigham Young University in Provo 
starting on July 26th, 2011. It sounds awesome!! You can learn more about it here. 
There will also be one at 
Weber State University in September on the 17th, 2011.  
This conference is only for one day and it is free!! I will give you more information as it comes available. 
And of course the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, 
as well as many local Family History Centers around the world have classes for minimal cost, or no cost. There are over 4,500 Family History Centers all over the world. To find a Family History Center near you, check here! 
Happy Family History Friday! 
Love, Joy

It’s been a year!!

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-Alex at 6 years old-
Today, it has been a year since my darling missionary son, left for his mission!!
 I can’t believe it’s been a year. It usually goes by fast when it’s someone else’s missionary, but it has gone by fast for us too! He is one amazing young man. From the start he has always been so easy going. Happy a lot! Not afraid to do nerdy things, and things that are not always popular, he is also not afraid to do what’s right.  
-Flexy with his mission president and wife-
He is someone who knows who he is, and is not afraid to show it. That works out kinda nice when you are in another country, telling people about your Savior, and trying to help them make some needed changes in their life.
-Flexy at an orphanage- (darling children)
He is loving his mission
 and the experiences he is having. 
I am so glad!!
-With the other missionaries-
We are so proud of our son! 
Only one year left!!!

The Roof is Done!!!

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Before! 
See the shingles curling?
 They need to go bye-bye!!
My hard working darlin!!
What an amazing man! 
He can do anything!
We have such great neighbors, 
friends, and family!!! 
Thursday evening we had lots of help tearing off the old shingles! It’s a dirty job!
We had big people and little people helping!
Everett and Parker! My buddies!
It was starting to get dark so they had to quit for the night. 
We borrowed a trailer from
 one of our neighbors, for the dead shingles! 
May they “rest in peace!”
The next morning lots more help!
My friend Krissy, 
and her son Tyler, and husband Tom. 
They are amazing!! 
This little guy wanted to help so bad. 
This is Jacob, 
he lives next door. 
He was helping put the 
shingles in the trailer! What a helper!!
The roofing supplier delivering the shingles and stuff!
It’s pretty slick! They have a conveyer type machine that sends the supplies and shingles up to the top of the roof. The shingle bundles weigh about 80 pounds each. In the old days these guys would carry them on their shoulders, up a ladder. I’m glad we didn’t have to do that. 
Can you see the hole? It was leaking below the swamp cooler. Ouch!! My darlin had done a patch job, but it really just needed to be re-done.
My brother Keith helping! He was a hard worker too!
Starting to put the shingles on!!
My job was keeping them fed and hydrated!! 
Taking our last load to the transfer station. We took 3 loads total!
Taking a water brake!
Almost done!
I love it! It’s beautiful!!
Beautiful!!
Thanks to Riley, Emily, Keith, Krissy, Tom, Tyler, Chad, Parker, Don, Autumn, Nathan, Jacob, Robert, Everett, Cragun, Brad, Alex, Chase, James, John, Wayne, Kent, Joseph, Danny, Justin, David, Jacob, Darwin, Devin, Mark, Howard, Annette (yummy brownies), Kent and Terri (popsicles), for your help!
(If I forgot to mention you, please forgive me) 
You are all heaven sent! 

Totally "Fort Worth" It!

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Hermana Kelsey 5:2 -email-
Mama,
Hola! Como esta? Como fue su semana? (How was your week?) Yo espero que todo esta bien. (I hope that everything is okay.)
We had kind of hard week this week. But I know that that means that this coming week will be that much better. 🙂
Monday: It was p-day. We didn’t really do anything fun, because we still don’t have miles to use. But we did get in a couple of good lessons. One of our investigators, Trisha, has a really cute little girl named Sammy, who is like 6. She was sitting in the room while we were reading from the BoM with her, and she was brushing the dog’s hair. She walked out of the room and then came over to me. She told me that she wanted to brush my hair too, so she ended up brushing my hair for like 20 minutes. It was really cute. And it felt really good.
Tuesday: We rode the bus for most of the day. Sister S got a really bad sunburn from standing out in the sun waiting for the bus. I got a little bit burned, but not bad at all. I’m starting to get a really good tan (well farmer’s tan). I’m hoping that when I can speak Spanish, I can tell people I’m from Mexico and they will actually believe me. 🙂 We had a really fun dinner with one of our member families. The mom and the dad are both deployed right now so the grandparents are watching the two little boys while they are gone. They one boy is 7 and the other is 5. The one that is 5, always tells us the most random things. While we were eating dinner, everyone was talking, but then it got quiet. All of the sudden we hear him from the other room say, “When I am 6, they better say surprise!” It was so cute and funny. And also really random, but that is just how he is. Also, I was kind of sad this day, because our branch president’s brother and sister came out on exchange with us for the last time. They are leaving for Mexico Wednesday, for a couple months. 🙁
Wednesday: We were supposed to have district meeting today, but Sister S and I decided to be rebels and not go. 🙂 I’m just kidding. She had a doctor’s appointment up in W. at the same time district meeting was going on. On the way up to district meeting the elders were all quoting random movies in a Sean Connery voice. It was seriously one of the funniest things ever. They quoted like kid’s movies, and they sounded so weird. I think you had to have been there. Also, another random thing. We went to go visit our baptismal date, and he was wearing a really funny shirt. It said “Bromance”, and it had two football players doing a chest bump. The thing that made it the funniest though, was that he didn’t even know what it said. He asked us what it meant but we didn’t know how to explain it without it being awkward. It was pretty funny though.
Thursday: It was planning day. We spend most of the day in our apartment, as usual, but we had made an appointment to go see an investigator so we had to ride the bus to go see her. After we got off the bus, we were walking along talking about if we wanted to go talk to some people standing outside of their house. All of the sudden this crazy dog came out of nowhere at us. It was a mama dog that thought we were a threat, and she almost attacked us. She was barking really loud, and showing us her teeth. But she just ran away when she got like 5 feet away. Then, as we started walking again, I broke my shoe. the strap just ripped right off. It was sad. Then, the bus driver yelled at us. He is not a very nice man, and he is racist and sexist. But oh well.
Friday: I was feeling really sick today. We spent a lot of time driving around to see people who weren’t even home. It was kind of a bust day. But then we had a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) with a family from the ward, and it was really good. We all got the giggles really bad during the closing hymn, but other than that it was a really good FHE.
Saturday: We had another BAPTISM!!! One of our investigators, Jesse, got baptized in the evening. It was a very strange baptism. He is an older guy (like 64), and he didn’t understand how the baptism actually happened. When our ward mission leader went to put him back in the water, he kept fighting him because he didn’t want to go backwards. It was so awkward. And then he had to get baptized again, because his given name really isn’t Jesse. It J. C. So we had to refill the font, and baptize him again. It was crazy. But now he is baptized. 🙂
Sunday: We only had 2 investigators at church. 🙁 Usually we have like between 7 and 12 investigators. It was sad. But we got a few good lessons in, and our recent convert Tony (my other baptism), came out on exchange with us and taught part of the lesson. He is so cool. He really is a different person than the one I met my first day in T.
Monday: We had p-day activity in W. Also, I am on companion exchange with Sister C, who doesn’t speak any spanish. It’s crazy because I have to say everything, and some of the time I don’t know how to say it. But I can definitely speak more than I could a couple months ago, so that’s good to know. Also, yesterday we got locked out of our van. We ended up having to call a locksmith to get us in. It was okay though. Heavenly Father was watching out for us. Also we got to watch some fireworks out the window of the Killeen sister’s apartment. It was cool.
Anyway, I better go now. I love you lots. Te amo mucho! 🙂
Love, Hermana KelseyPapi,

Wow congratulations on the roof! I’m glad it is finally getting fixed, and that you are getting lots of help. 🙂 That is really awesome. Sorry this is so short. I accidetnally took to long to write the rest of this email. 🙁 But, i love you. I’ll talk to you next Monday. 🙂 Bye.
Love, Hermana
Emmyaurus Rex,
I am not writing you anything because I have still not received a letter from you. JK. But seriously, I have to go because I still need to write to President Sagers, and I’m almost out of time. Bye!

Howzit-Elder Flexy!

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Elder Flexy 12:4 -email-
Make,
well i’m glad church is going good the branch i’m in now is tiny. there were sixty people there on sunday but its a really good to be here. we are working so hard and we have some awsome recent converts they are helping us so much. we have Senzo, Ayanda, Vuyani, Scelo.  the work is booming here in nhlangano.  mission is going very well we had one of the toughest fasts i’ve ever done on sunday after we finished we ate eight peices of toast and a dozon eggs just between me and Elder Smith. but mission is great the work goes well when you have member present lessons but ya i hope job hunting works out good, God will provide a way. ya its crazy i’ve been gone a year. but ya life is good. love you
Love Elder Flexy  
Baba,
well it sounds like your keeping yourself busy, ya that roof needed help even when i left it did. thats good to hear the young men are growing up i’m glad the ward is doing well. And that Bishop Fowers is still the same as when i left. life here is pretty sweet this is probably one of the more backwards places in the world but it makes it interesting. the other night we were driving in the area past a bar and this guy was getting beat up by like seven other guys it was pretty crazy but ya thats why we don’t drink RIGHT!!! ha the pasters that live near our area are so dumb they spread rumors like crazy which makes our job a little easier. but ya mission is great. Love you
Love Elder Flexy
M,
hey my sister hows life?? well life is good here we are working in the boonies its pretty cool most of the roads are dirt and most of the time we walk, even though we have a car.  we are doing good and don’t worry about letters i know your busy so whenever you have time.  life is going good we are having fun here. love you.
Love Elder Flexy

Sunday Best!

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Ether 12:27

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
———————————-


“So if you have problems in your life, don’t assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life’s purpose. As we draw close to God, He will show us our weaknesses and through them make us wiser, stronger. If you’re seeing more of your weaknesses, that just might mean you’re moving nearer to God, not farther away.”

-Bruce C. Hafen 

Hope your Sunday was the Best!!
Love, Joy

Psychic Kelsey!

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So the other day…
the mail came, and
I was seriously bummed 
because there was a letter for Emily
 from Hermana Kelsey, and a card for my darlin
 from Hermana Kelsey. I was thinking, “What am I, chopped liver?” I said to Emily, “That’s not very fair!” 
She said, “Why?” And I went on to tell her that I’m the one who writes to her, and send’s her packages, and stuff. I said, “All I need is a little note from her that says, she loves me, and that she’s glad that I am her mom!” 
So my darlin opens his card and on the back was this note to me!!!!!
In case you can’t read it, it says, “I love you and I’m glad you are my mom!” Is she psychic or what? Wow!!!

Go with the Flow!

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I recently visited a family cabin of one of my dear friends. It was in a beautiful mountain setting. Everything was blooming and lush. In the background we could hear the sound of water. Not a little or small amount of water, but a large stream, swollen with the water from spring runoff. Pictured is the beautiful stream. I could sit there for hours watching and listening. The stream went under the road, through a big pipe. Once in a while we would hear a rock being forced through the pipe by the current. It was powerful. 
My whole life, it seems, I’ve heard the phrase, 
“Go with the flow.”
What does it mean? To me it means whatever life gives you, be your best. Life will be rough and tumble sometimes, and other times things will be going so good, that you fear for the bubble to pop. But no matter what happens in life. We are in charge of how we feel. In the middle of hardship, we can have gratitude. In the middle of calm, we can feel peace. In whatever circumstances that life gives us, we can “Go with the flow!”
 I thought about this stream and how at certain times it might be hard, even dangerous to 
“Go with the flow.”
 In the stream of life, we are not always in charge of how fast the flow is, or how slow the flow is. Just like this stream, there are outside forces determining the flow. When the stream is swollen with the spring runoff, it can be a messy place. There is debris all along the way. But when the runoff is over, the stream is a very peaceful and calm place. 
“Go with the flow!”
 If things are moving fast, and they get kinda messy…
“Go with the flow!”
 If life has slowed down and you long for more excitement…
“Go with the flow!”
 Sometimes life has a way of telling us what we need. If we get going so fast and crazy, we get sick and then we are forced to slow down. The shrubs around the stream sure got a pounding from the water flowing by. But when the water calms down. They will get a brake from the turbulence. 
I wonder if Father in heaven is up there saying to us, 
“Go with the flow! You can do it!”?
Don’t you just love nature. It really gets me thinking. When I am there…with God’s creations, I know He loves us. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to learn and grow, and sometimes the “flow” is like a spring runoff, and sometimes it’s like a peaceful trickling brook. 
“Go with the flow!” Love, Joy