GENERAL CONFERENCE WEEKEND

"Now, brothers and sisters,

we are anxious to listen to the messages which will be presented to us today and tomorrow.

Those who will address us have sought heaven’s help and direction as they have prepared their messages. That we may be filled with the Spirit of the Lord

and be uplifted and inspired as we listen and learn is my prayer."

-President Thomas S. Monson

 

 

I am so excited about General Conference weekend.

I have written it many times..

.I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I am LDS. I am a Mormon.

 

Every six months we have General Conference where our Prophet speakes to us,

as do the apostles and other church leaders.

We have the opportunity to hear our Prophets voice and listen to his teachings for us.

 

We also have so fun family traditions that we do during conference weekend.

The men go to the priesthood session and Saturday evening

then they come and pick me up and we go for icecream

(I guess being the only girl in the family they don't want me to feel left out).

On Sunday morning we make a big breakfast...

pancakes, eggs, sausage, cinnamon rolls, jucie, milk, etc

and then we snack on the "leftovers"...

 

We call it our "church in pajamas" weekend!

I pull out my notebook and write down the words that inspire me

and then I can go back later and reflect on what has been said.

 

One other special thing about this weekend.

I know that Robert will be hearing the same talks that we are hearing.

Only he has to go to the church in his suit and tie to watch..

But next year in April we will all be together again.

 

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!

Enjoy conference!

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

Sorry for the removal of the 3 previous posts...the pictures weren't showing for some reason.

I started using Picasa, and must have done something wrong.

I will repost, with pictures, asap.

Judi

LIBRO DI MORMON

As a family we are reading the Book of Mormon. It has not been as easy as I thought it would be. A few times we have lost sight of our goal and gone a day, or a week without reading. But somehow we find our way back We try to read a chapter a night. However, there are nights when we are tired and it is late and we end up reading only a few versus. Our goal is to finish before Robert comes home from his mission. We have less than 6 months. I know we can do it. We are past the half way mark and we are getting to "the good part". (The whole book is good, so let's say we are getting to my favorite part!).

The last time that I read the BofM from cover to cover for my personal study/reading was a few years ago. I actually finished it about the time that Robert arrived in Italy for his mission...so that was May 2010. As of late I have been feeling the desire to read it again...so towards the end of August I set a goal for myself that I would read it one more time before Robert got home. But then I saw on Facebook a BofM reading chart that if I followed it I would be able to read the whole book from cover to cover starting on Sept 1st and finishing on Dec 31 of this year. I thought it was a great idea and committed myself to do it.

A few days later we were at Deseret Book and the LDS Distribution center (we are lucky to have one about 5 minutes from our home). While there I found a triple combination of the BofM in Italian! I was thrilled. I know that I have mine from my mission "somewhere" in our attic but still need to do some more organizing and haven't found it yet. So I bought the triple...thrilled to be able to read again in Italian. My goal than becoming something even more exciting and appealing to me. I decided that I would read the Bof M in Italian, following the same reading chart. I thought to myself...what better way to finish off Robert's mission than my going back to my roots as a missionary in Italy.

Let me explain....my mission president, Vincenzo Conforte, suggested to me that if I really wanted to learn Italian and to feel comfortable talking about and teaching the gospel to other people then the best thing would be for me to read the BofM in Italian. So I started on my journey with my English and Italian scriptures next to each other on the kitchen table reading out loud first in Italian, then in English. I still remember sitting at the table in the apartment in Taranto reading, thinking to myself that I was crazy and would never make it through to end. I didn't understand one thing that I was reading, or very little of it. I wrote to Presidente Conforte asking him what I should do. I was really struggling with the language, and felt like the task was overwhelming. He suggested to me to put away the English version of my scriptures and to just read in Italian. So I did what he asked, and continued reading. I did have a dictionary handy, but a lot of the words weren't in it, and soon the dictionary was put away too. I figured that as a missionary I would be teaching by the spirit, so I might as well read by the spirit...and it worked. I began to understand what I was reading. And the more I read the stronger the spirit. I gained a better understanding of the BofM because of the words used. I felt the spirit more because I relied on the spirit more. My testimony grew and by the time I finished the book, after 5 1/2 months I knew even more than before of the truthfulness of the gospel of  Jesus Christ. I put into practice what we would ask the people that we taught. I got on my knees and prayed to know, again, that the church was true and that I was on my mission for the right reasons. I will never forget the feelings I felt as I knelt and said that prayer. I was in another country speaking, reading, and praying in another language, yet...the spirit and the answer was still the same. I realized then, as I have many times since then, that the BofM is true and the gospel is true and the church is the same no matter where you go. We all are brothers and sister, and children of our Father in Heaven.

So here I am now, 23 years later...doing it again. I am reading the BofM in Italian. I understand a lot more now that I did then. I am loving every minute of my reading. But the spirit is the same, because the gospel is the same.

I feel so blessed to have served a mission, and in Italy..that was an added bonus. I had the opportunity to learn a new language...something that at the time seemed so overwhelming to me. I felt so inadequate of the calling that was before me. I remember thinking, "I will never get this language, it is so hard, and I'm not smart enough"....but you know what? I got it! And I love it! I feel more Italian than American sometimes! And that is okay!! It is my second home!  I am actually jealous because Giovanni an the boys are Italian, and I'm not...but I will claim it anyway.

I am so glad that I went to the distribution center that August afternoon. I feel like I have found a long lost friend. It also makes me feel closer to Robert and what he is experiencing in Italy. I remember those days of walking along the bumpy cobblestone streets, looking at the ruins around me, the buildings and the people and thinking how blessed I was to be in such an amazing place. I have relived part of my mission because of him. It has been an amazing 19 months for me. The experiences that he has shared are ones that I remember having. I thank the Lord every day that Robert is serving a mission, and I thank Him as well because I am able to remember mine a bit clearer.

I love il Libro di Mormon!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Just a quickie!

Today my parents would have been married for 63 years!

I couldn't let the day pass without saying it:

"HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!"

I love you dad!

I miss you mom!

I'm so thankful the two of you got married

so that you could adopt me!

SIX MONTHS!!!

Yes, you read that title right!
Six months! That is all....
Anziano Robert Bona will be home on Friday March 9, 2012!
180 days from today!
And we can't wait!

Yes, It is my week to be "Trunky", and I can't help it.
We actually starting looking at beds, dressers, etc...Brian will need a do over of his room. I don't think that Robert will give up his double bed, and Brian is to big for his single bed. (We just bought it a few years ago too! That kid grew way to quick!)

In other news...We took Brian to the Selena Gomez concert on Wednesday night! It was a blast. I will put up a few pictures next time I post (I'm on my work PC right now). It was actually pretty fun. Mine and Gio's heads were spinning, pounding, and thumping for a few hours, but nothing that an Alieve and a good night's sleep couldn't take care of! I've never seen so many girls in pink, sequins, etc...all ages! And Brian had a lot of eye candy! LOL! There were other boys there too, and they were up in the nose bleed section just like us, and it was perfect! We really had fun! Poor Brian, though! He wanted a pink shirt with Selena plastered all over the front...I used mother power and said, No way! Oh my!

Tonight we are going to see Mary Poppins up in SLC. Our friend *TA* plays the lead roll of Michael Banks. We saw him last year in Tarzan at the Tuachan and he was fantastic! We are really looking forward to tonight! Brian saw it twice when he was down in Long Beach with *TA* for a week. He had a blast and said the play was amazing. The last night of the show is Sept 25th. *TA* has been on the road for a year doing the show, but now he is on the bigger and better things in NYC and will be leaving the first week for NYC. We are sad to see him go, but so happy for him! Thank goodness that jetBlue goes to NY..I think we will be taking a few trips over the next few years!!

Brian is loving school right now. 7th grade has been great for him! He is doing really well with his grades and he has reconnected with a bunch of friends! I am so glad that it is a good experience for him! Jr High can be so hard. I hope it continues to go as well as it has! He has some really good friends. They are crazy boys, but he has a lot of fun with them and they are good kids. Of course there are girls in the picture too...which I'm not to thrilled about because he is young...but it is normal to "like/have a crush" on someone..but let's hope that is where it ends! Brian's comment to me is , "Mom, what do you expect, I'm a Bona' and Robert's little brother and a player just like him!".....Oh my...I am in trouble :)  But it is all good. We laugh and talk and have a good time!

Tomorrow is Sept 11th. I can not believe that it has been 10 yrs since the awful day. There have been a lot of programs on TV this past week recounting the experiences of survivors, and families who lost someone there that day. The feelings are still so strong and horrific. Last evening Gio and I were watching a show and I could feel the stress as my body grew tense. I began to lock my jaw and I could feel the anger/sorrow rise inside of me. I know that we are suppose to forgive ... but it is hard. I try to not judge other people and to have an open mind...but this is something that I still haven't been able to wrap my mind around. The tears still come as I see the images on the TV. I remember everything about that day, and I didn't loose anyone that day. How do all those families go forward everyday? I don't know if I could. I admire each one of them. I hope also that they have been able to find some peace and solace in their lives and to try and go on living. May God bless each one of them, always. They have already sacrificed so much in their lives. I was always proud to be an American, but after Sept 11, 2001  I learned to stand a little taller and be even prouder to be an American.

We never know how fragile life is. That is why we are told to live each day as if it were the last. A family in my ward lost a family member (BIL) this past week. I don't know the man who past away, but from his picture it is obvious that he was young. A husband I know for sure, and possibly a father, I don't know. But he was also a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend. From his picture he looks like a very nice man. I hurt for this family. My thoughts and prayers are with them. That is the one thing I know that I can do to help and lighten their pain. And again, the lesson is taught, make sure that you love your family and friends, and that they know how you feel. We never know when we will be called home, to our Father in Heaven. Love you *B & C* . You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. May your knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ help you to find peace and comfort during this difficult time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIOVANNI!

Thursday is Giovanni's 47th birthday! I am sure that he will be thrilled that everyone now knows. But I couldn't keep it a secret. He really doesn't want anything for his birthday this year. He is such a practical person. I got him a new (Android) phone about a month ago and he says that is his present. So since he doesn't "want" anything I thought that I would dedicate a blog post to him...and only him!

So....here are 47 things about Giovanni!

1. He is a University of Utah fan

2. He once owned at BYU sweatshirt

3.He has 3 different Utah shirts and hats

4. He loves The Simpson's

5. He loves Hank Hill

6. Allergic to nuts

7. Loves Nutella (you go figure...read #6)

8. First movie in the USA when we moved here in 1994

was "The Lion King"

9. Cleans the bathrooms

10. Is the official cleaner upper when the kids puke

11.Would get up in the night with the boys when they were babies

12. Speaks Sicilian

13. Loves to cook

14. Loves the beach

15. Treats me like a Queen

16. Is the best father.friend to our sons

17. Looks cute when he rides the scooter

18. Would tell Robert to not ride the scooter w/out a helmet

and now he doesn't wear one either

19. Likes Rap music...Really!

20. Boy can that 47 year old man dance, but the boys will tell him to stop

I think that is because he moves better than they do

21. Loved my mother

22. Loves my father and his new wife, Lorraine

23. Didn't know any English when we moved to the US in 1994

24. Graduated from medical school in Italy - cum Laud

25. Gave up everything in Italy, including his medical career so that our

family could stay here in the USA (he said it was a better place for our sons!)

26. Went back to school in the USA to become a surgical technologist

27. Loves to take long walks/runs (Does 19 miles sound fun to you?)

28. He use to run marathons in Italy

29. Loves seafood

30. Will sit and watch a chick flick with me

31. Was his kids soccer coach many, many, many times

32. Always ready and willing to use his priesthood when needed

33. Tries to go to the temple it least once a week

34. Prefers to read the Book of Mormon in English instead of Italian

35. Loves it when I make home made pizza

36. Always ready to help me with the housework

37. Tutors the kids in all their math/science classes

38. Tells me that he loves me every day!

39. A worthy priesthood holder

40. He's glad we live in a townhouse so that we don't have to do yard work

41. Loves anything NASA related

42. Puts his family and our needs before his own

43. He likes ice cream, but will always tell you that gelato is better

44. He tells me everyday that he loves me

45. Loves his sons more than anything in the world

46. His eyes sparkle and twinkle when he smiles

47. This last one might embarrass him, but...

he is a great kisser!

Happy birthday Giovanni! I love you and I feel so blessed to have you as my eternal companion!

GRANDVIEW 40 YEAR CELEBRATION

I know that I have written this more than once, but we really do live in a wonderful place. Our city is right at the mouth of the canyon. We see the mountains every day as we drive around town. In the summer they are lush and green, in the fall they are orange, red, and yellow, and in the winter covered in snow and beautiful!But more than anything it is the neighborhood where we live that makes this place so special! It takes a village to raise a child and this village has helped us raise our two children. And it is where we have grown as a family and really learned to love and serve others.
As most of you know who read this blog, we are LDS. That is something that I have never hidden and never will. If you want to know more about who we are and what we believe, go here.
We have lived in our townhouse for over 12 years. When we moved here we had the intention of staying a few years then moving, but one thing lead to another and here we still are. And I am so thankful that we are here! (Sure a larger house, etc would be nice, but not necessary.)
Any way.....
Yesterday our stake had a Celebration/40 yr Reunion. It was amazing. Our ward usually has a end of summer picnic, but this year it became something so much bigger and better. There were approx 3000+ people that attend. How fun to see the history of the neighborhood where we live, and to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. We all pitched in to help in one way or another. It really was a neighborhood/Stake endeavor. And because of each person who helped or attended it was a success. The Lord really did smile down on us yesterday.
Words can't describe how wonderful it was...so hopefully some of these pictures will help you to understand why we feel so blessed to live where we do.

A 12 yr old boy made  Lego display of the Temple

Thank you Grandview for letting us be a part of

something so wonderful!

We feel blessed to call you home!!!