Our Eventful Stake Conference

My ward choir was asked to sing in Stake Conference, which was yesterday, in front of more than 1,100 people! I was also asked to lead the congregational hymns. I was very nervous, because I don't like to get in front of a lot of people for any reason! Well, the choir did great! I had 48 people singing in the choir, and the Stake Pres. said that it looked like all of the McKinney 5th Ward was singing in the choir, and he was pleased at our numbers. I am very thankful for all of the people who supported the choir! It made my SO MUCH job easier! We sang "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" first, and for the closing hymn, the choir sang "The Morning Breaks." The choir sounded wonderful for both songs, but the closing song was very interesting. Apparently, Danny lost Tommy in the beginning of the song (he was in the Primary room), and while Danny and Anna were frantically looking for Tommy everywhere (which is difficult since there are so many people in the building), Tommy found his way to me! I looked down in the middle of the song to see Tommy standing there, with his trusty large, white stirring spoon that he takes EVERYWHERE, and he's saying "Mama! Mama!" I almost had a heart attack! I couldn't stop conducting, and some of the members of the choir were trying very hard not to laugh! Well, it got worse, Tommy ran to the top of the choir seats where there are some light switches and the switch that lowers the large screen, and proceeded to turn the lights on and off! Luckily he didn't lower the screen, but I was HORRIFIED! As soon as the song ended, I grabbed Tommy and we got out of there! I had no idea that Danny didn't know where he was and I was so upset! Danny had no idea what happened and was relieved to find me with Tommy. He was upset that Tommy disrupted the final song, but we were both glad that he didn't find his way outside, and that he was safe! This will be the most memorable Stake Conference ever!

Progress on Paw’s house

Connie, Gary, Romanda, Michael and myself have worked at Paw’s two-story place all week and it looks really good like it did when he first moved in. We thought someone was interested in buying it but we do not believe that will pan out. We are planning a porch estate sale September 23 - the same day as the Womens Conference where Ginny is in charge of dinner. We are leaving some of the furniture and stuff inside because it looks so good. I cleaned the chandelier over the dining room table using the method Dad told me they used to clean the Temple chandelier and it looks wonderful - all sparkly. Romanda worried that I would fall so she stood right there to catch me. This has been a lot of work but a lot of fun. We found the spoon issued to Paw by the Air Force to eat from. We will draw straws for it and a couple of other items. I am keeping the little red truck and will make it available for those who need to haul stuff. Even though it is a 1990, it only has about 36,000 miles on it and drives really good. It is a peppy 6-cylinder. We are going to the Lake soon and will negotiate with the neighbor who wants to buy the place. The water is 25 feet beyond the dock. I will take a picture. There is grass growing under the boat lift. It is quite a site. We will have to discount the place due to the water situation.

Let the Games Begin!
Everyone should have emailed Mom by now and we're officialy into our second day of the competition. Here is the list of competitors: Missy, John, Mandie, Danny, Melinda, Ginny, Suzy, Kenny, Texas, Randi, Julie and Nikki! That's 12 of us total, most of whom are entering the $5 pot (I think a total of 9 or 10 are). Those people should have sent mom their goal weights. And make sure you give her an exact number, not a range, because it will probably be very close in the end. Have fun, and please, be healthy about it!

So far we have 5 official entries and weigh-ins. Remember you have until 10pm TODAY to send your official weights to Mom. The concensus on the questions, as of this morning, are to run the contest through Thanksgiving and do it by percentage of weight loss only. I'm still waiting on answers from other participants (Najeras and McMurdies). I will send an official email tomorrow morning. People wanting to enter your $5 into the pot can leave it at mom's sometime during the duration of the contest and she'll keep it in a safe place. Remember if you're entering the pot to give mom your goal weight also! Good luck to everyone and if you have any questions please let me know!

Who wants it?

I have an ottoman that mom junked off the curb about 3 years ago that I fixed up. It's prefectly fine, but we don't use it anymore. Tommy and Anna used it to climb on and jump off, so we stuck it in the closet, and that's where it has been for more than a year! It's free to whoever wants it! Please let me know ASAP because I will give it away to Goodwill on Saturday! I will post a picture as soon as I can!

DCI Finals

Drum Corps International Finals will be aired on ESPN on Tuesday, September 5. Time has not yet been announced.

Anna's first day of school

Visit the Najera Blog to see pictures of Anna's first day of school, and read about how it went!

Pappaw Helps the Little Fisherman

Today Missy and John and Nikki and I were visiting about Pappaw and how he loved his little red truck. I told them that even when he was in really bad shape, he told me where he had put some freon, if I needed it. John and Missy got this amazed look on their faces and told me that the same kind of freon the truck uses is what they need for the Jeep which only blows hot air. Poor John and Ben have been riding without air. John puts a cooled insulated pack under Ben to keep him from overheating on their three-mile trip every day. This type of freon is no longer manufactured but is available a few places for a majorly high price. John and I went immediately down to Pappaw’s place and sure enough, there was the freon but no hose for installation. I told John I thought we had one at the house and he remembered seeing it in the garage. We came home, John found the hose and they will be cool tomorrow, thanks to Pappaw and there is still enough for the truck when I need it. Bless Pappaw for helping out the “Little Fisherman” during this 100°+ weather!

Babies!

After Papaw's funeral, everyone went to Mom's for a wonderful dinner and good company with friends and family. We got all the babies together for a group picture. How cute!

















Mia–8 months; Abby–7 months; Ben–3 months; Mary–4 months

Marion Maserang

Papaw passed away peacefully sometime around 8:30am this morning. We all loved him and will miss him! We will keep everyone posted on the funeral plans. Keep mom in your prayers!

The Fowkes Family

The doctors have told us every day that Pappaw cannot make it and he will only last a little while. However, he is a tough old bird so be proud of your genes. He was concerned about his looks, so instead ot his regular barber, “Brown,”Ginny and Jared came and gave him a haircut and trim and spent time on Sunday. He can now barely speak (11:30 p.m. August 7) but is totally aware of what is going on. I talked to him about the Alaska pipeline crisis and he expressed concern and remembered standing under that pipe in northern Alaska. He is not in pain but is rapidly declining. He has had a good life.
Jack, our mechanic, said, “If there were more people like Mr. Maserang the world would be a better place.” Of course, that is true. We will keep you posted. He is not in pain but is on oxygen and hanging in there. We are spending a lot of time with him. We will have no regrets on that issue. One of his last requests when he could barely talk was for “ppppppuuuuuudddddiiiiinnnggg! spoked in a very weak voice.” The Maserangs also like to eat!

If You Don't Already Know

Mom said yesterday that the doctors told her and Connie that they don't expect Papaw to make it through the week. It's very sad so keep them all in your prayers! Mom will not be going on her cruise because of this but hopes to reschedule later in the year. We will keep everyone updated.