Traces of Time . . . December 31, 2018 - January 6, 2019

Traces of Time . . .

(To see last week's blog post--scroll down to the end of this week, then the Week of Dec. 24-30, 2018 will be there. If it's not, hit "Older posts.")

THIS WEEK- DECEMBER 31, 2018

to January 6, 2019
MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2018 
Family is Everything…


GOODBYE  2 0 1 8

"An old man (Father Time) holds a young baby (the New Year)

as they look at time symbols.

The titles 'Happy' and 'New Year' surround them.

A banner declaring 

'Ring out the old, ring in the new' 

flutters from a bell at midnight, 

telling the old man

'Thank you, and Goodbye'

and the baby "Welcome.' "

2 0 1 8 ~ ~ ~ 2 0 1 9

TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2019 

We wish you a...

Family is Everything…

We watched some of the Rose Parade for their
130th anniversary year...

Grand Marshall 

Caka Khan leads spectacular floral display

Queen of Funk chosen

(never heard of her)

Chinese American Heritage Foundation

float commemorating 150 years

since the Golden Spike was driven

in 1869 to commemorate the

trains meeting from west to east.

This float wad 90' long and caught fire,

causing a delay in the parade.

Then...

105th Rose Bowl Game

Washington Huskies 23 vs Ohio Buckeyes 28

Then the Sugar Bowl.....etc.

Then we fell into bed.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2019 

Family is Everything…

We went to DMV and got our Utah license plates today. 

Tonight Gary came over.

Instead of watching a movie,
we started through the new 
"Come, Follow Me--
For Individuals and Families."
It's different than I expected.

Julie did more than just listen to

the public announcement from the Church

today about changes in the temple ceremony.

She went right over to the temple to do a session

and find out what the changes were.

Of course, she didn't say anything of what

was changed.  She did say she went to the

5:30 session and was out at 7:00 p.m.

Hmmmm.....

Looks like Walt and I missed the changes by 2 days,

as last Friday when we went with Janie and Shawn 

to the temple in Rexburg that was only

two days before these new changes began.

We are blessed that we got to go to the
temple weekly since 2015 when we
rendezvoused on Wednesdays to
(until we moved August 2018)
do a session at the Twin Falls
Temple with Dale and Connie.

We must go again soon.

There will be a surge in attendance now!

xTHURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019 

Family is Everything…

  Marci from home health came.

I had an 11:00 a.m. appointment at the UofU
with Dr. Michelle Sorweid, D.O., Internist and Geriatric specialist, who is our primary physician here in Utah.
Gary drove us.

When we got out to our car, it was still
a shock not to have our Idaho license plates.

We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory
at Fashion Place Mall on the way home.

 Walt had chicken toquitas.
They were so spicy he could only eat two of them.

 I had Shepherd's pie. It was good
except for a lot of mushrooms.

We appreciate the gift card for
my birthday. 

We asked what the motif was. I thought Egyptian, Gary thought Tuscany. The waitress said it was just what there decorator does for all the Cheesecake Factory restaurants. The woman's face at the top of the pillars is of the owner's mother.

 We enjoyed the lunch but were too full to get any cheesecake.

Thanks, Gary, for driving us to and from.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2019 

Family is Everything…

We appreciate all the home-cooked meals. 

 We had to take the "80" balloons to the trash.

They lasted almost 3 weeks and were fun to have.

What precious memories we have of that

fun birthday open house party my kids

hosted for me on Dec. 15th.

No one but Walt and me liked the

Martinellis Sparkling Cider that a friend

brought them for Christmas, so John gave

it to us at supper tonight. Yummm...
...so refreshing!

SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 2019 

Family is Everything…

Marci came.

 The home health nurse came...
Walt is in good shape. He does need to still have the home health physical therapists come to work with him.  

Then we had breakfast at noon.

We did some grocery shopping, turned in the card for my Medicare Part D pharmacy coverage, and got a surprise gift for John and Julie and family for the Three Kings' Day.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019 

Three Kings’ Day Celebration: 

History And Traditions Behind ‘El Día De Los Reyes’
By Carolina Moreno

Santa Claus may have gone back to the North Pole to rest, but it doesn’t mean the gift-giving (and receiving) is over — at least not for the thousands of children in Latin America and Spain anxiously awaiting“El Día de los Reyes” Celebration on January 6th.
For many Christians, the holiday season doesn’t officially end until the 12th day of Christmas known as the
“Feast of the Epiphany” or
“Three Kings’ Day”.

The holiday marks the biblical adoration of baby Jesus by the three Kings, also referred to as three Wise Men or Magi. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the men found the divine child by following a star across the desert for twelve days to Bethlehem. Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar — representing Europe, Arabia, and Africa respectively — travelled by horse, camel, and elephant in order to present baby Jesus with three symbolic gifts.

The gold offered by one of the wise men is a symbolic acknowledgment of Jesus’ royal standing as “King of the Jews,” while the frankincense manifests the divine nature of the baby’s existence, since he is not an earthly king but the Son of God. And finally the myrrh, often used to embalm the dead, was gifted to the newborn as a symbol of Jesus’ mortality — foreshadowing his death as a means to cleanse humanity of its sins.

Reyes festivities come in different shapes and sizes across the globe from community parades to three-day celebrations at Disneyland. In Mexico, thousands gather every year to taste a mile-long “Rosca de Reyes” (Kings’ Bread) while others simply make the holiday staple at home honoring the tradition to hide a tiny baby Jesus figurine within the bread — the person whose slice has the figurine must prepare tamales for everyone on the Day of the Candles on Feb. 2!

(End of this article, the following two paragraphs are more information.)

Rosca de Reyes or King's Cake

During Día de Los Reyes, Mexicans serve Rosca de Reyes, or King’s Cake. “Rosca” means wreath and “reyes” means kings. The Rosca de Reyes has an oval shape to symbolize a crown and has a small doll inside which represents baby Jesus. The doll figure symbolizes the hiding of the infant Jesus from King Herod’s troops. Traditionally roscas are adorned with dried and candied fruits to symbolize the many jewels that a crown would have. The person who gets the slice with the doll must host a party on Día de la Candelaria on February 2.

Children in Latin America and Spain receive the majority of their gifts from the Three Kings rather than from Santa Claus at Christmas. Before going to bed, the
children place their old shoes with a wish list on top for the Three Kings. In

the morning, the shoes are filled with toys and gifts from the Three Kings.

The Three Kings may have brought
this BYU plush throw to the
John and Julie family.

We started the two-hour block of Church

today.  Our Saratoga Springs 3rd Ward is

from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.

John and Julie were among several couples in the ward 

sustained as a "Pa and Ma" for the Saratoga Springs Stake

Martin Cove Trek July 10-13, 2019.

We had 11 members bear testimony.

Last month we had 13, so for 10 minutes less time,

that is interesting to me.  Most bore

testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

In Sunday School the new

"Come, Follow Me--For Individuals and Families" 

'Living, Learning, and Teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ' manual was begun. Our teacher, Sister Vivien Oramas (Bohme), is an excellent teacher who said: "This is not just a Sunday School class; this is a ward focus study group."  She created an atmosphere of much stimulating discussion. 

When we were discussing learning by faith, this comment stood out for me: "Satan had much knowledge, but he didn't have faith. He left and took 1/3 with him."

Vivien talked about following the pattern of the Lord.

There was a strong spirit in class today.

  We had another delicious roast beef Sunday dinner 

cooked by John.  Thank you, John.

David picked us up in the late afternoon

to have dessert with them in Draper.

We always love being with them.

Julie had to dash off 

to a Ward Young Women's "New Beginnings."

She is the stake Young Women president.

Will, Sam, Anna, and Josh

are four of our precious grandchildren

of the 16 we have in Salt Lake and Utah Counties.

The other 23 g-c are scattered throughout Idaho,

Oklahoma, Minnesota, Washington D.C., and Tennessee...
oh, and Emma may have already started her semester
at Eckerds College in Florida.

 David said his current calling as a High Councilor 

has been one of his favorite callings so far.

 Josh will return to his college apartment tonight

to begin the second semester of his junior year

at the University of Utah.

We are blessed to be close to family now.

David, thank you for picking us up and

driving us back home.

It's about a 20 minute drive from

Saratoga Springs to Draper

when the traffic is not busy.
We don't drive after dark any more.

 

As we come to the end of this Sunday, we pray you have had a restful and peaceful 

Sabbath Day.

We testify of these truths:

Heavenly Father loves each one of us.  He knows us by name and wants us to be happy and successful here on earth so we can return to Him and our Heavenly Mother when we have endured to the end of our life on this planet.

*******
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to earth to fulfill His foreordination to be the Savior of the world--the Redeemer of all.

*******

Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration--the Restorer of all.

*******

The Bible is the Testament of Jesus Christ.

*******

The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

*******

President Russell M. Nelson is the Living Prophet now for the entire world.
*******
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true Church on the earth today.
*******
Of these truths we testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Walt and Eileen Petersen - Saratoga Springs, Utah
Sunday, January 6, 2019