On Sunday 10 May Eileen and Heather enjoyed Mother's Day as Tom made omelettes for all of us. Eileen received a nice artist's easel and some artist's supplies that I got at Tom's store yesterday.  Heather got a painting that was a joint effort by Tom and Liam.  Eileen received a very nice collage of the Cubberley's that Colleen had mailed here.

We enjoyed attending the Raleigh 2nd Ward.  Their meetings are a bit oddly arranged as they have Sunday School first followed by priesthood and Relief Society and lastly sacrament meeting.

Gospel Doctrine was lesson #16, “I Was Blind, Now I See" using John 9-10.

The purpose of the lesson is to help class members have a greater understanding and appreciation of Jesus Christ as the Light of the World and the Good Shepherd.

See my notes for last week as they are one lesson behind Ellijay.

We had no opening exercises as the sisters enjoyed a buffet in the cultural hall for Mother's Day.  The elders quorum met in the Relief Society room and the high priests met in the stake high council room. 

The priesthood lesson was #9 from "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson" entitled "The Book of Mormon--Keystone of Our Religion." So here the lesson was one ahead of Ellijay!

“Is there not something deep in our hearts that longs to draw nearer to God? … If so, then the Book of Mormon will help us do so more than any other book.”

1. The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.

2. The Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ and brings us nearer to God.

President Marion G. Romney said:

“I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity--the pure love of Christ--will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness” (Ensign, May 1980, p. 67).

President Marion G. Romney (1897-1988)

3. The Book of Mormon teaches true doctrine, confounds false doctrine, and exposes the enemies of Christ.

4. The Doctrine and Covenants is the binding link between the Book of Mormon and the continuing work of the Restoration.

The lesson was very well done as the teacher had handouts of the above four points phrased as questions.  Each little group of three or four brethren used the content following each of the points to answer the question.

The sisters enjoyed their buffet as they received a lovely corsage and watched a video about visiting teaching.

Opening hymn was #294 "Love at Home" text and music by John Hugh McNaughton (1829-1891).

A baby named Miles was blessed by his father.

Sacrament hymn was #180 "Father in Heaven, We Do Believe" text by Parley P. Pratt (1807-1857) and music by Jane Romney Crawford (1883-1956).  The chorister messed up as we sang all six verses even though only verses 1-4 are for sacrament meeting.

The youth speaker was Sister Jessica Fife.  "Motherhood is near to divinity" (President David O. McKay).  She also quoted Sister Sheri Dew on how Satan feels about motherhood.  She is so grateful about her relationship with her mom.  We can learn so much from the women around us, especially our own mom's.  She closed with her testimony.

Special music by the Primary and the youth for Mother's Day.  

The next speaker was Brother Tucker Smith.  Motherhood.  Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke at BYU.  Powerful influence of women.  Mormon's wife to raise a son like Moroni.  The mothers of prophets.  President Hinckley in October 2004general conference about the women in his life.  He began with Eve.  Tucker thought of the women in his life beginning with a babysitter named Donna.  A Primary teacher named Kim.  Friend's mother, a single sister with eight children whose husband left her, whom he and his dad became her home teacher.  Children married in the temple.  Friend from BYU for whom he worked and is now a professor there.  Emotional as he spoke of his mom.  Example of the Savior in caring for his mother while on the cross.  Bore his testimony of the divinity of motherhood and womanhood.

The concluding speaker was Brother Sherwood Dixon and he gave the short version of his talk.  "The best thing our mother did was to be baptized into the Church."  His paternal grandmother was one of 10 children.  She joined the Church in 1908. Within three years his maternal grandparents joined the Church.  The role of his two grandmothers, his mother, his wife, and his daughters.  He quoted from President Monson about mothers.

Special music by the ward choir: hymn #301 "I am a Child of God," text by Naomi W. Randall (1908-2001) and music by Mildred T. Pettit (1895-1977).  It served as the closing hymn.

Later at Heather's I began and finished "The Red Signal A Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

After reading to Eileen I began and finished "Philomel Cottage" by Agatha Christie.

On Monday 11 May we followed the Dowd's to the Bright Horizons Child Care & Early Education place to see how Liam would like it.  Heather and Tom left him there and we hope it goes well.

They headed home and we went to the Crabtree Valley Mall's Apple Store for a new cord to charge Eileen's iPhone.  The old one got pinched somehow and the insulation is cut through.

  

Nearby in the mall was Hallmark.  It was a large one that even had some clothes but no Asher's chocolates :(  We bought three birthday cards.

We went to Costco and got a new FoodSaver for Heather as well as a few other things.  We stopped at CVS on the way home for an item for Eileen.

Back at Heather's we enjoyed some lunch which we do not normally do.  I sent a number of e-mails to LDS friends and people we met on our cruises in January.

I finished reading the 30 November issue of the Church News.  I enjoyed as part of "Travels of the Apostles" the article "South America's southern lands remain a power in the Church."  The pictures of Elder Russell M. Nelson and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were very nice.

Elder Russell M. Nelson was able to renew a friendship with Hugo Gassoni during the San Nicolas Argentina Stake conference.  Elder Nelson and Brother Gassoni worked together 40 years earlier and had not seen one another since.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Sister Katherine Christofferson visited the town of Ushuaia, the capital of the region on the southernmost tip of Argentina known as the "End of the World."

The center section about "Ezra Taft Benson: 'Serving Church and Country'" was very good.

President Ezra Taft Benson, center, with his counselors in the First Presidency, President Gordon B. Hinckley, left, and President Thomas S. Monson.  The two served at his side from the time he was called in 1985 until his death.

Ezra Taft Benson with Boy Scouts at 1977 National Scout Jamboree.  He became a member of the National Executive Board of BSA in 1949 and had received the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Bronze Wolf Awards.

And I enjoyed "Contacting millions Church is reaching out via email."  It was nice to read of new stakes in Arkansas, Florida, and Missouri.

As I was reading "Gone with the Wind," I came across the reference to “Father Ryan, the poet-priest of the Confederacy” and his poems "The Sword Of Lee" and "Conquered Banner." I googled them and here they are:

The Sword Of Robert Lee

Forth from its scabbard, pure and bright,

Flashed the sword of Lee!

Far in the front of the deadly fight, High o'er the brave in the cause of Right

Its stainless sheen, like a beacon light,

Led us to Victory!

Out of its scabbard, where, full long, It slumbered peacefully,

Roused from its rest by the battle's song,

Shielding the feeble, smiting the strong,

Guarding the right, avenging the wrong,

Gleamed the sword of Lee!

Forth from its scabbard, high in the air

Beneath Virginia's sky-

And they who saw it gleaming there, And knew who bore it, knelt to swear That where that sword led they would dare

To follow-and to die!

Out of its scabbard! Never hand Waved sword from stain as free,

Nor purer sword led braver band,

Nor braver bled for a brighter land, Nor brighter land had a cause so grand,

Nor cause a chief like Lee!

Forth from its scabbard! How we prayed

That sword might victor be;

And when our triumph was delayed, And many a heart grew sore afraid, We still hoped on while gleamed the blade

Of noble Robert Lee!

Forth from its scabbard all in vain Bright flashed the sword of Lee;

'Tis shrouded now in its sheath again, It sleeps the sleep of our noble slain, Defeated, yet without stain,

Proudly and peacefully!

by Abram Joseph Ryan

Conquered BannerFurl that Banner, for 'tis weary;
Round its staff 'tis drooping dreary;
Furl it, fold it, it is best;
For there's not a man to wave it,
And there's not a sword to save it,
And there's not one left to lave it
In the blood which heroes gave it;
And its foes now scorn and brave it;
Furl it, hide it -- let it rest!
Take that Banner down! 'tis tattered;
Broken is its staff and shattered;
And the valiant hosts are scattered
Over whom it floated high.
Oh! 'tis hard for us to fold it;
Hard to think there's none to hold it;
Hard that those who once unrolled it
Now must furl it with a sigh.
Furl that Banner! furl it sadly!
Once ten thousands hailed it gladly,
And ten thousands wildly, madly,
Swore it should forever wave;
Swore that foeman's sword should never
Hearts like theirs entwined dissever,
Till that flag should float forever
O'er their freedom or their grave!
Furl it! for the hands that grasped it,
And the hearts that fondly clasped it,
Cold and dead are lying low;
And that Banner -- it is trailing!
While around it sounds the wailing
Of its people in their woe.
For, though conquered, they adore it!
Love the cold, dead hands that bore it!
Weep for those who fell before it!
Pardon those who trailed and tore it!
But, oh! wildly they deplore it,
Now who furl and fold it so.
Furl that Banner! True, 'tis gory,
Yet 'tis wreathed around with glory,
And 'twill live in song and story,
Though its folds are in the dust:
For its fame on brightest pages,
Penned by poets and by sages,
Shall go sounding down the ages --
Furl its folds though now we must.
Furl that Banner, softly, slowly!
Treat it gently -- it is holy --
For it droops above the dead.
Touch it not -- unfold it never,
Let it droop there, furled forever,
For its people's hopes are dead!

by Abram Joseph Ryan

"The last verse is taken to be Ryan's statement that however noble he and others thought the Confederate cause had been, the defeat was final, and the Confederate idea should be put away forever, along with the Confederate flag.

"Attorney and Southerner Hannis Taylor wrote of the impact of Father Ryan's poem on readers sympathetic to the Confederacy, 'Only those who lived in the South in that day, and passed under the spell of that mighty song, can properly estimate its power as it fell upon the victims of a fallen cause.'  The poem reached the height of its popularity between 1890 and 1920.

"In 1941 Carl Van Doren included the poem in The Patriotic Anthology, writing that to omit Southern 'expressions of patriotism' would be to 'falsify the record and also impoverish it.' "  Wikipedia 

Liam had a good time at Bright Horizons.  After bringing him home, Heather and Eileen went to have a manicure and a pedicure. Tom mowed the lawn and I kept an eye on Liam.  He played nicely and every once in a while would watch "Finding Nemo."  After the lawn was done, we all went out front and he enjoyed his swing.  He climbs the steps really well.

Tom and Liam

Liam and our Avalon

Liam and Grandpop Bailey

I got a call from Clay Collins that when his crew did our lawn at home a stone was hit from the front yard into our storm door, breaking the glass.  He said that in the next couple of days he would get it repaired.

Near suppertime Tom, Liam, and I met Heather and Eileen to have sugar-free ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery.  I passed on it as all they had was sugar-free vanilla :(

Liam, Heather, and Eileen

Later at Heather's I began and finished "The Witness for the Prosecution A Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

After reading to Eileen I began and finished "The House of Dreams A Short Story" and "Within A Wall A Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

On Tuesday 12 May we were up early, especially Eileen, and played with Liam.

I got an email from Colleen that the dates this week from 5/11/15 to 5/19/15 are palindromes!

We departed a little after 11am.  

We reached the next palindrome of 102201 near exit 27 on I-40 for Great Smoky Mountain Expressway,

We reached Blairsville and filled up for $2.339 at Ingles.  No discount yet.

We got home about 6:45 with four or five pit stops along the way, including the Dillsboro Chocolate Factory for sugar-free chocolates, almond bark, and chocolate fudge with nuts.

Dillsboro Chocolate Factory

Selection of fudge, including sugar-free

When I opened the front door nearly all the glass from the top of the storm door crashed onto the front rug! So it took me a while to get it pretty much all cleaned up!

We had salads for supper and Eileen enjoyed "19 Kids & Counting" that I was recording for her.

I began and finished "The Case of the Missing Lady A Tommy & Tuppence Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

I began "The Man in the Mist A Tommy & Tuppence Short Story" by Christie and finished it after reading to Eileen.  Then I began and finished "The House of Lurking Death A Tommy & Tuppence Short Story" by Christie.

On Wednesday 13 May we were up early and volunteered at the food pantry.  We helped 105 families. Our odometer was 102345 on leaving home.

Afterwards we went to R&A Orchards for the newspaper to look at sales before heading into town.  Then we took our poor dirty car to Squiggles car wash, then to North Georgia Diamond where we picked up the 25 pounds of Vidalia onions that we had ordered, to Walmart for some shopping to include printer paper and cartridges to print the handouts for my presentation tomorrow, to Ingles for a few things, and the dry cleaners.

On the way home we got some strawberries at R&A Orchards.

After supper we covered the Family History Center at church from 6-9:15, helping Roger Widmann.

At home I started printing the handouts for my presentation tomorrow.

After reading to Eileen I began and finished "The Lonely God A Short Story" and "Manx Gold A Short Story" by Agatha Christie.  Meanwhile the pages of the handout kept printing and I collated them as they were printed.

By 5am on Thursday14 May I had printed and collated just 10 copies of the handout.  I had been far too ambitious in wanting to make 30!  So I just printed out 20 copies of the text of the handout without the 33 screenshots from familysearch.org.

Meanwhile I began and finished "The Love Detectives A Harley Quin Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

I slept for a few hours and we went to our dermatology appointment at Dr. Gardner's at 11:10 am.  Our odometer read 102408.  We got a clean bill of health and headed for the public library to prepare for my presentation.  We called Ashton from the parking lot and wished him a happy 8th birthday.

I had to run home to get the adapter for the connection from the presenter to my laptop. My presentation about the FamilySearch Wiki began about 2:20pm and lasted until 3:30. Eileen said that it went very well and all were very impressed with the Wiki.

Ben giving his presentation

Eileen in the audience

I took a nap during the afternoon and we had a nice visit in the evening from David and Caroline Echard, our church home teachers.  Eileen showed them her three paintings from her painting classes.

We watched "Cake Boss" on TLC which I had recorded while we were away.  Near the end we FaceTimed with the Cubberley's and enjoyed watching Ashton open his presents, the first of which was a real coyote pelt!  We enjoyed seeing his birthday cake with the flask of blue water which bubbled and smoked when Sean added dry ice.

Ashton and his coyote pelt

A quiet start to the cake.

It starts bubbling!

Tanner and Colleen

Ashton's bubbling cake

I finished reading to Eileen "On Being Genuine" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf from the priesthood session of General Conference.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

On Friday 15 May we got up a bit late as we had both been awake a little while during the night.  We had to hustle to make the Kids Ferst meeting at the Head Start building at 10 am.

Judy Harvey, Rena and Stan Ashworth, and Emil Harvey

Jacqueline Poole, Lynne Becker, and Eileen Below

Then we went to Bryant Physical Therapy for our workout and distributed the flyers about the Kids Ferst fundraiser at Zaxby's on Monday from 5-8 pm.  Our odometer was 102464 (our home in Arnold, Maryland, was 464 Century Vista Drive).

We shopped at Walmart and Ingles on the way home, visiting with Debbie Young at Walmart.

Back at home I finished "The Harlequin Tea Set A Harley Quin Short Story" by Agatha Christie which I began yesterday.  I hadn't heard of Harley Quin before the two short stories I've read but they were quite good.

We enjoyed getting together with Chuck and Debby Young in their home and helping them with their genealogy later in the afternoon.

At home during supper we watched "America's Test Kitchen," "Cook's Country," and "Georgia Traveler" that had been recorded last weekend.

In the evening I worked on reviewing the many names in my temple ordinance list that have been in there over two years and Eileen looked at some of Debby Young's family in Family Tree.

We had some sad news via e-mail yesterday from Nelda Walburger's daughter in Canada that Nelda had passed away.  She was part of our missionary group on our mission and had served in the Family History Center in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  We replied by e-mail for more information (but never heard back).  Eileen had a phone call from Lynda White in Fremont, California, and we told her about it.

Eileen and Nelda Walburger

On Saturday 16 May while Eileen was still asleep I finished reading "The Dead Harlequin A Harley Quin Short Story" by Agatha Christie which I had started yesterday.

We went to the post office to pick up Eileen's necklace from Kabana in Albuquerque that required a signature, dropping off two bags of trash and three bags of recyclables at the dump en route.

We shopped at Walmart and Ingles after the post office.

The residents of Pickens County should be raising a ruckus!  Their gas prices are up to $2.699!!  That is 20 cents higher than Gilmer, 37 cents higher than Fannin, and even 25 cents higher than Raleigh, NC, where gas taxes are substantially higher than in Georgia!  I emailed this to the editor of the Pickens Progress in order for it to be investigated but he just printed it in a Letter to the Editor.

Eileen planted some ground cover type plants that she brought back from Heather's in one of the raised beds in the backyard.  I refilled the three bird feeders and hung back up the two hummingbird feeders that Eileen had put fresh liquid in. I put fresh water in the birdbath and watered the plants Eileen had just put out.

I emailed the Kids Ferst flyer and information about the fundraiser on Monday at Zaxby's to the branch members, the pantry volunteers, and other local folks.

While watching an episode of "Cook's Country," I finished reading "The History of Don Quixote, Vol. I, Complete" by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra which I begun on 25 November 2013.  No way would I consider reading Volume 2!

Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)

We also watched more "Cook's Country" episodes and a "Georgia Outdoors" episode.

During supper we watched more "America's Test Kitchen" and "Cook's Country."

Afterwards Eileen FaceTimed with Colleen and Spencer, who filled her in on the father/son campout a couple of hours north of their ward in the mountains in Payson, Arizona, where they had a foot of snow.

I worked on my temple ordinance list in Family Tree and called FamilySearch about sharing names with the temple.  I entered an ancestor of Roger Widmann's into his Family Tree for him. 

I began and finished reading "The Case of the Perfect Maid A Miss Marple Short Story" by Agatha Christie.