Sunday Thoughts

We had the most amazing talk given by our Stake President in Ward Conference this past week.  He took his talk from Matthew Chapter 14:25

"And in the fourth watch of the night"  The Jews, as well as the Romans, usually divided the night into four watches of three hours each.  The first watch began at 6 pm, the second at 9 pm, the third at midnight and the fourth at 3 am to 6 am.

There are many references to the Fourth watch time.  The Fourth Watch is the Red Sea parted and the children of Israel were delivered from their enemies and captivity and into freedom.  The fourth watch Jesus calmed the storm and also walked on the water.  The fourth watch, Jesus was being pressed in the Garden of Gethsemane and took on the cup of our sin.  The Fourth Watch is when the stone rolled away from the tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

Our stake president goes on to tell of the Savior feeding the five thousand.  He instructed his disciples to get into a boat and pick him up later, after he had dismissed the multitude and later spent some solitude in prayer.  The disciples obeyed.  It was late afternoon or early evening when they got into the ship and pushed out into the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus sent the multitude home and then turned to communion with his Father.  He prayed into the evening and long into the night.  

In the mean time, a storm had swept down on the disciples in their voyage: "And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.  And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them.

Then we read:  "About the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea."

I have a feeling that the Apostles, if they could have chosen, would have had the Lord come in an earlier watch.  Don't we all want help when troubles arise in our lives?  Wouldn't we like the Savior's help to come in the first watch?  But we all know that it is good to toil in rowing against the wind.  

It appears that we worship a "fourth watch" God.  We could pray that we know God is a fourth watch God and that I'm a first watch person.  Could we compromise and you came at the end of the second watch?  But, it is good that he doesn't,

The stake president concluded:  "When you feel somewhat desperate, when it seems like your prayers aren't answered and the winds still blow, take comfort in the knowledge that he is on the hillside watching.  Remember, you might not know that he's watching as you struggle in the boat, but he is on the hillside watching, and he will come.  But, he generally comes in the fourth watch - after we've done all we can do."

I love this gospel and I love my Savior and I will be forever grateful with the knowledge that he is on the hillside watching and that he will come.  

Andrew's New Addition

 Neal and I were invited out to Annie's to celebrate Andrew's birthday and to see what he got for his birthday.  Andrew has always been fascinated with Corgis and has wanted one for a long time.  Jeff and Lynda Ann decided to surprise him for his birthday.  This is the new addition to the Gertson family.  His name is Truman.  I believe Truman because that is the air craft carrier that Emmi is serving on.  Great name for this darling puppy.  A very happy birthday Andrew.  Have fun training and working with Truman.

My New Project

 Finally finished my Ho Ho Ho And Away We Go project, took it to the framers to be framed and decided to do one more Christmas project.  I have another stitchery that I want to do but decided to tackle this one first. Never done a face with eyes like this, so it will be a fun challenge.  It is solid stitching.  I've seen it finished and fell in love with it and just had to do it.  This is what I'm working on now.

This one is my next project after the Santa one. 

The completed one that is now at the framers.  This rates in my favorites.  It was hard to work on the black linen, so I'm happy with the finished project.  

This is one that we picked up from the Framing Establishment when we dropped off Ho Ho Ho.  This one is now hanging in the front room.  I love this one because of the song that is stitched in it.  This project is definitely a fair entry.

Something New

 Some time in November Neal and I went to Men's Warehouse to buy Neal a new suit.  This was his birthday and Christmas present from me.  In the past, we've not had problems with buying suits at Men's Warehouse but our last experience will be our last experience.  Neal picked out a suit that he like and we found out that things have changed a little.  First of all, when you buy the suit you are not buying the whole suit, you pick out a jacket that has a price on it and then the salesman finds the pants that go with it and they have a price on them.  Then you try the suit on for alterations and low and behold you now pay for the alterations.  So the advertisement for a $400 or $500 dollar suit ends up being $700 or $800!!  Yup, that is how things work these days.  Neal is so fussy about colors and styles that I was just happy that he actually found a color and a style he liked.  At this point I didn't care what it the total price would be.  So from November until just last week - February 16th - the suit has been altered and altered and altered.  The had altered the suit coat so many times that they had to get another new one and start over.  This wasn't Neal's fault, it was the alteration people.  The warehouse ended up with three different people trying to fit the suit until their main person came back from vacation.  She was able to start fresh with a new jacket and pants and the alterations were done as they should have been in the first place.  I'm not kidding, I've never seen such a mess done on altering something.  But happy story ended, Neal was finally able to wear his new suit this Sunday and he looked might handsome, even if I do say so myself!

Sunday Thoughts

We have this picture hanging in our home.  It is one that Lynda Ann made for Neal and I a very long time ago.  I don't remember what the occasion was but I've loved it and refer to it often.  Lynda wrote the poem on top and took this picture of our gorgeous mountains with Mt. Timpanogos in the back ground.

Mountains remind us of the majesty and wonder of the Lord, and as I've studied the scriptures find that mountains are mentioned numerous times in the Book of Mormon and the Bible.  The mountains are rich with symbolism and meaning.  I've often said how grateful I am to live under the majesty of the Wasatch Mountains.  Our home is at the foothills of Mt. Olympus and I never look at the mountains without thinking about and thanking God for them.  When I'm in the mountains I always feel a little closer to Him and I fell His love for me.  

President Nelson said:  "Everything to do with becoming more like the Savior is difficult.  For example, when God wanted to give the Ten Commandments to Moses, where did He tell Moses to go?  Up on top of a mountain to get the Ten Commandments.  Now, Heavenly Father could have said, 'Moses, you start there, and I'll start here, and I'll meet you halfway.'  No, the Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can't come without it."

I remember climbing to the top of Mr. Olympus.  It was a welcome challenge and I knew that there was beauty awaiting me at the top.  I had to stay motivated and focused along the journey no matter how hard it was or how bad I wanted to turn around and go back down.

We read that Nephi goes to the mountain often to pray.  Mosiah:  How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings.  The Brother of Jaren speaks to God on the top of the mountains.  Zions shall flourish on the hills and rejoice on the mountains. And the song, Let the mountains shout for joy.  So many references to mountains.

I think Christ uses mountains as symbols of faith so we will use patience, discipline and control to overcome our personal hardships.  

I love our mountains!

Friday Night Date

 Neal and I have made it a habit of going out to dinner on Friday night.  Just a fun time for us to get away, just the two of us and enjoy dinner and talk about the week past, the week ahead of us, our children and grandchildren.  We take turns choosing where we are going to eat.  This week it was my turn and I was craving pizza so we headed to Litzas Pizza for dinner.  It was delicious.  Nothing much better than a good slice of pizza, a garden salad, garlic bread and a large coke!!!  The place hasn't changed much in 30+ years and amazingly, it was very crowded.  We got there just before the dinner rush.  We also noticed that Hires was swamped as well.  The restaurant business would be a hard business to be in but Hires and Litzas has certainly and permanently established themselves in the valley.

Emmi in Croatia!!

 We got a text and some pictures of Emmi getting off the carrier and being transported to dock in Croatia.  Croatia is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe on the Adriatic Sea.  No place for the huge aircraft carrier to dock so everyone had to be transported on a smaller craft to land.  Not sure how many days they are spending there but she is seeing all the sights she can get in.  Here are a few pictures that she sent.

Be safe Emmi and have an amazing and history filled time in a part of the world most of us will never see!  

Greg the Amazing

 Maren sent us some pictures of her new kitchen backsplash the Mr. Amazing and can do anything, just installed in their kitchen.  Maren said it took him two days to complete.  Greg had to cut the tile to go around the windows.  Is there anything this son-in-law of mine can't do?  I don't think so.  He is incredible!

Counter lighting is beauatiful.

Making Decisions

 For a long time I have been discussing with Neal, the need for two ovens in our home.  There are many times when two ovens would certainly be convenient but the most convenient times are when we have family dinners.  There always seems to be two or even three things that need to be in the oven and the items are requiring different temperatures.  I have to wait for one thing to finish before cooking the second.  We've thought about putting a wall oven over by the refrigerator, and thought about just buying a stove with a double oven.  We spent some time drawing up ideas, going to places for bids and pricing the differences between the two.  It finally boiled down to $6,000+ or 2,000+.  Not a hard decision to make when you look at having to build a new cabinet to house the wall oven, the cost of the electrical work and the cost of a new oven.  Add to that all the installation costs which brings us to the $6,000+ bracket.  Long story short - we ordered a new double oven.  The crazy thing is that the double oven with the flat stove top is not much more than the price of a wall oven.  Amazing.  As with all appliances we have to wait a while for ours to arrive.  Probably won't be here until the last of March of first of April.  

We are getting the stove on the right.  They were both pretty much the same, I just liked the straight lines of the KitchenAid better than the Whirlpool.  We did look at an LG which is what most of our kitchen appliances are, but theirs were two ovens of equal size.  Neither would house a 22 pound turkey!  Can't have that.  

Sunday Thoughts

 The other night I was looking through my journals and looking at phots of our family, homes, vacations, holidays, births, baby photos, parties, missionary farewells and home comings, ahigh school and college graduations and pictures of Emmi joining the Navy.  Each photo had a story and with each story came other stories.  Some good, some sad, some happy and some were really funny!

I realized that we Hintze's and Maxfields have lived a very full and busy life.  I'm grateful for the memories of the highs and lows we've experienced as a family.  The lowest for me, the loss of Jeffrey.  While looking at the photos I felt so many emotions, but the ones I felt the most were that we are a tough and resilient family and are better together.

I think my word for this year has to be FAITH.  Faith for the future, faith in the Lord, faith in His plan, faith to trust, faith in failure, faith in change, faith in growth, and faith to believe.

As our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ deepens, heaven can feel closer to you.  President Russell M. Nelson has taught:  "The doctrine of Christ helps us find and stay on the covenant path.  Staying on that narrow but well-defined path will ultimately qualify us to receive all that God has.  Nothing could be worth more than all our Father has!"

Valentine's Lunch

 Saturday, Mallory and I met Lila Mae and Susan at Deseret Book.  We bought a couple things in there and then headed to PF Chang for lunch.  Our lunch was delicious and our time together very fun.  Cute picture of Mallory and Lila Mae outside the restaurant.  

From there we headed to the Cotton Shop and then to Ross.  And then decided that it was time for an ice cream cone so we made our last stop having ice cream cones and buying some chocolate.  It was a fun day.  We exchanged cards and gifts and lot of love.  The only sad part of the day was that Mallory called me that evening and told me that she had lost her ear pods.  A very expensive loss for sure.  She will be calling around to all the places to see if anyone happened to turn them in.  We are praying she will find them or that some honest person found them and turned them in.  

Friday Night and Dinner Out

 It was Neal's turn to choose where we would eat.  He picked some place that we had never been to before.  We got in there and found out it was gluten free, sugar free, all natural, etc. etc.  We decided to stay and give it try.  I had a bison hamburger on greens with baked sweet potato fries.  It was actually very good.  Neal had some kind of meatless stew with some black rice and greens.  Would we go back?  I probably would but not real soon.  It was good, but not delicious.  

Boston's Basketball Game

 Neal and I were able to go to Boston's basketball game that was being played at Bonneville Jr.  High.  Boston is a little hustler and a good basketball player.  He stole the ball many times and put points on the board.  His team ended up wining.  It was very fun to watch him play.

You can see that Mr. Boston is just about taller than me.  

Stitching Update

 This particular project has been a challenge.  Stitching on black is really hard, but progress is being made.  I still have the rest of the reindeer, the moon and "Ho Ho Ho And Away We Go".  Plus there are also some black and red beads that will be sewn in.  

HO Ho Ho goes across the bottom.  Someone has already put her dibs on this one :-)

A Visit from Tucker

 Tucker came into town last weekend.  He came in on Thursday evening and left on Sunday evening.  He was busy most of the time visiting and lunching with friends.  He also spent Saturday evening and into the morning at Maren's.  I think he got everyone visited with that he had on his list.  He had a full schedule.  But, in between all his 'stuff to do' he went with Neal to Costco and helped him pick out a lap top.  Then the rest of the evening was spent loading and setting up Neal's lap top.  I also bought the programs for Word and Excel which he installed on my lap top.  He is a good sport every time he comes to get all our computer issues resolved.  He made some comment to me about what I did when I had computer issues and I told him I had him and Jamie and Mindy to call.  he then asked if I had Amazon Prime and I told him I didn't and his question, "well what do you do when you want to order something?"  I told him that I just call Annie and she takes care of that for me.  We had a good laugh.  I have lots of help from my children and grandchildren which certainly makes my life easy.  Thank you all!

Tucker had asked if we could have a family dinner while he was here so I had everyone over for dinner on Sunday.  A full house and good food.  After dinner we played a couple games and then Tucker had to pack and get to the airport.

I made Lila Mae's 3 o'clock rolls for dinner.  This was the first batch that were just normal and then I thought I would try to make some thin layered ones.  Notice the tin round with the red wooden handle.  That belonged to my mother and was something she used almost every time she baked for shaping different things.  It has to be at least 100 years old.  This and the funnel I use when making jam are two of my most favorite memorable things of my mothers.

Finished project ready to be set aside to raise.

I thought I would try something different with the last third of the dough.  I thought it would be fun to stack thin layers and they would be like those flaky rolls you buy that you can kind of peel off each layer.  Well, just trust me that it didn't work the way I had envisioned.  They certainly were stacked but then ended up looking like out of control mushrooms!!!  But, no one seem to notice and they tasted good and were eaten.  

This is the January, February red, white and blue flower arrangement.  

Picture of the group.  You will notice there are two pictures.  Desmond was having a moment and so he wasn't in the first one but cooperated and was in the second one.  

Like I said, the Gertsons stayed and we played Reds and then the Gertsons took Tucker to the airport on their way home.  We loved having him here and appreciated all he did to help us with our computers and getting us set up on NetFlix.  Thanks, Tucker.

Tucker doing what he always does when he comes to town.