long, long time

I realize that i use my blog merely to check if others have updated theirs! Silly.
If it wasn't for the Philly grandkids being in town over Thanksgiving our home would not be decorated for Christmas! IMM especially loved opening the box of every figurine (and there are many!). I am very grateful because every night I sit and look at how pretty it all looks. Hooray for grandkids. Hooray for Christmas!
I took mom to our stake Christmas program. There were bell ringers, a brass ensemble, primary choir, youth choir, adult choir, and harp ensemble. It was wonderful and mom loved it. She was especially thrilled when Elder Hales came to her to shake her hand. I had told him my mom wanted to meet him. I went to get her but by the time I fought the crowds to get to her with her wheelchair there he was shaking her hand. He had come to her. that's just how he is. I had my own personal experience years ago with him in a similar situation. He helps you feel Father's love!

Favorite Hymn EVER!!!

Today on Music and the Spoken Word the Tabernacle Choir sang my favorite song. The message of the entire song is so touching but I am brought to tears and awe by the following:

"O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above." (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing)

I give Him my heart willingly for only He is capable of sustaining me, lifting me, teaching me, strengthening me, understanding me and loving me without condition. I love Him.

someone not very famous once said:

Whatever it is that you yearn for, come unto the fountain of all love, all knowledge, all joy, all peace, all hope. Come unto Him!

He knows what experiences of life we need. He knows what commandments and covenants will help us remember Him and bring us home. If we know that he is there, if we have developed a closeness to Him we will face all the events of our lives much better.

Right now you may be in a very comfortable, safe place but just as most devastating hurricanes, tornados, and tsunamis strike quickly, we may not see the storms of our lives coming. While they are likely to ravage us for a time they need not destroy us or take us off our course. If we are prepared to trust and access our Savior’s help we can weather them well.

You may already be in the midst of a devastating ordeal. We all have them and cannot be expected to be spared on our path of discipleship. But He can ease our burden and help us through.

What he requires is our heart and a willing mind.

A timely message

We will need to have developed and nurtured faith in Jesus Christ long before Satan hits us, as he will, with doubts and appeals to our carnal desires and with lying voices saying that good is bad and that there is no sin. Those spiritual storms are already raging. We can expect that they will worsen until the Savior returns.

However much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure. Learning to start early and to be steady are the keys to spiritual preparation. Procrastination and inconsistency are its mortal enemies. President Eyring

for all us republicans....

From a letter issued by the first Presidency March 2006:

"Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in the platforms of all major political parties. While the church does not endorse political candidates, platforms or parties, members are urged to be full participants in political, governmental and community affairs,"

"The Democratic Party, like The Church of Jesus Christ, believes there is a clear responsibility for society to care for the poor, help working families in their challenges of raising children and providing a decent income for them, and reach out to those in society who are often left out," Taylor [Todd Taylor, then Democratic Party executive director] said in a written statement.

"We hope members of the church will take this as an opportunity to find out more about the Democratic Party's principles that are closely connected with those of The Church of Jesus Christ and realize that the Democratic Party represents the same values shared by many Latter-day Saints." Deseret Morning News Published: Wednesday, March 15, 2006

You can be a good LDS and be a democrat!!!

hey!!!!

So Lauren....how about giving me permission to view your blog????? I can't believe you've left me out. LET ME IN! :)

Happy Thursday!!

I cannot recall ever seeing Sheri Dew get emotional when teaching. Tuesday night she did as she expressed the following thought.

She said that with the current financial and political climate it is easy to begin to listen more to the voices of those on Wall Street and in politics than to listen to the voice of Thomas S. Monson. Those in government and on Wall Street are sometimes right and sometimes wrong. President Monson is always right for he is led by God.

She then quoted the following said by Nephi:

2 Nephi 4:34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

It was a powerful reminder in Whom we must put our trust and to be careful not to get caught up in the things of this world to where we don’t hear the voice of our Father for us and our families. How grateful I am that I know my Father lives and loves me, and that He has provided a Prophet for us who will never be allowed to lead us astray. He also gives each of us personal revelation for our lives and the lives of our family members. We can make a difference in this world and in our country by being true to who we really are…His children.

Hugs.

more favorite pictures

AKM...newest grandchild

born 9/9/08

IMM's first day of first grade.
HMJ's favorite (way too small) jammies!
PEACH!

exciting times

So now we have stairs on the deck and next week we get grass. We have a friend who owns a landscaping co. who is getting us a KILLER deal. I am so excited!

We will have a new baby granddaughter next Tuesday (9-9) if not sooner. Not sure the name yet but EMM (2years old) likes Harriet. Where did she come up with that? A month or so ago A(S)M (4 yrs) decided to change her name to the name mommy wants to name the baby so that the baby could have her name. EMM announced that her new name was Crust. That lasted at least an entire day with her only answering to Crust. She dropped it but today she announced that the baby cannot be named Crust since it's already taken! Crazy kids!

Woooo Hooo!

Hooray for Mike! The deck is done!...well, almost. It still needs the stairs. Let's see, how many years has it been???? Still no grass though.
I asked the girls to look at me so I could take their picture. This is what I got.
IMM didn't want me to forget his face or his name.HMJ was sooooo sad! Not sure why but since they were about to head back to TN maybe he could sense it.

JNJ biffed it before his trip here. He always smiles!
Peach absolutely loved this IKEA find.

Little Peach

My Peacy Pie is sleeping on my living room floor. This is the last day they will be here in Utah. It goes too fast! Yet, it has been great to have them here. I have enjoyed HMJ's "Grayma, Grayma, Grayma!" Bones's constant smile. Peachy's creativity and conversation. And best of all the hugs! Yesterday I said "Who does Gramma love?" HMJ ran to me yelling "ME" and threw himself into my arms and hugged me so tight! When they first arrived Bones came right to me. I picked him up and he laid his head on my shoulder. Mikeal asked whether he was tired or just loving gramma. I said he was probably tired at which he picked up his head and looked at me for a long moment with a huge grin and then laid hid head back on my shoulder. The Peach, being 8 1/2, does' nt do such things but the other night I was sitting on a chair and pulled her to me to give her a hug good bye. She just stayed in my arms and said "I don't want to leave!"
Of course I LOVE seeing my daughter too. And Mikeal. I will miss them all! I miss my son and his family. :(

you've got to be kidding!

I wonder if anyone even bothers to look at my blog anymore. I am so bad at this. Well, truth is that I have started another blog but it's incognito. I am writing my story and I am just not ready to share it with anyone who knows Mike and I. anyway, this blog suffers. I love reading everyone else's blogs though.
today i have a fun surprise when I went to primary and my friend asked me if I would take her class. OHHHHHHHHNOOOOO! I am such a wimp. But they were cute and it went fine except for my one little guy who was off the walls with this new audience. At one point I nicely took his arm and said "you are bouncing." He looked at me like "DUUUUHHH." He loves me though. two weeks ago we had a lesson on saying thank you. I had them each make a thank you card to give to someone. he kept asking me what color I like and which stickers were my favorite. One little boy gave his to the Bishop (who was being released the next week), one gave his to his mom and the little girl gave hers to her dad. Ethan asked me if I could please come by his house later that day. When I went his mom answered and asked me to have a seat as he wasn't quite ready. When he was ready he came into the room and handed me a wrapped package. I unwrapped it and there was the card with his favorite pencil taped to it.
The wrap:






the pencil!!! Skeletons and skulls!!!




The envelope










The card



(That's me teaching the 4 kids in my class the lesson on saying thank you.)
He threw his arms around me and asked his mom to take a picture!
How can you not be touched by that???

Tag from Missy...ooohhhh noooooo!

Photo Tag
The rules here are that you have to take pictures of the following things. And you have to do it right away. No straightening, cleaning or wiping your child's nose. Then you tag five others. So here it goes:

Laundry room:

Closet:toilet:Children (ok...so I cheated. They don't even live in the same state that I live in...not even the same half of the US...so I posted an old pic.):

Fridge:

sink: (good thing Mike did the dishes or it would be even worse!)favorite shoes:


Favorite room (a tie):Kitchen Living room


K...how 'bout I tag Lauren, Katie and Mandi!

I'm back!!!

Ok...so it's taken me this long to get over Archie's loss. I decided that the reason he lost is because everyone knew he would win so didn't stay up until midnight or 1 AM (depending on time zone) to vote. He won the week before after all.

Oh, well. He is fine. What a cute boy. LOOK:

Anyway, on with real life. My child is indoctrinating his child at the tender age of 4. Check it out:

Seriously, isn't she a cutie? Here she is in a fearsome pose as a 4 year old ninja, yellow stipe belt and all!

This while battling Jevenile Rheumatoid Arthritis! She is doing very well and we fell greatly blessed.

So I am off to teach my little 5 year olds in Primary. Did I mention the kid who acted out electricity during a recent lesson on power? All I could do is sit there with my mouth hanging open! :D

NO WAY!!!

Who else is stunned? Really up until the night of the final performances I thought David Cook would win but after the finals I couldn't see how Archie could lose! I can't believe it. But still, he is amazing and will have a long and amazing career. Can't wait to see him grow!
Go David! What a class act he is.

it's been a long, long, long time...

A Beatles song don't ya know!
Speaking of Beatles I understand David A. will be singing Imagine again! Good choice. David C. will sing U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. This entire season David C has sung songs i was hoping Archie would sing! I'm bummed. It will just be good to have this over as it has messed with me like crazy. i really need to move on. Unless David A wins and then I will be sad it's over and I don't get to watch him anymore. I did purchase the video of him singing Stand By Me so I can watch him when it's history.
Any how about the news flash that AI will recruit right here in SLC next season. That's so cool!
I was proud of my bro. Dave for working with a school for autistic kids here in Davis Co. where Henry Marsh's son goes to sponsor a baseball game for them with the Utah Sting. It was a great thing to do and the kids seemed to have a great time. Way to go!
K so that's all for now. Don't forget to vote!
Thought of the day comes from Viktor Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning: "Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it."
'til next time.

A weekend to remember!

Had a great weekend at my boy's home in Philly. Went to the diviest diner for breakfast that had great food. The kids were darling and I had a great time running races with the girls in the backyard and reading to the boy my favorite childhood book "A Brother the Size of Me." When we finished it he asked me if I would leave it there so he could read it again. Cute and precious boy!
I showered, bathed and put the kids to bed while our son and Mike went to Shine a Light. They loved it, but I'll bet I had the best time of all with the little ones!
Monday I took the train with my boy to Philly. He went to work while I explored and experienced the historic district of Philly and then did a little shopping downtown. Got April Cornell dresses for $15 a piece! Hope my daughter-in-law approved! Then I met my boy for lunch at the amazing new Comcast building. What a view we had. He even rode the train one stop with me to make sure I got on okay with my bags. It was wonderful to be with him and the grandkids. I miss them already!
And a random thought: Go David Archuletta! How about that rendition of Love Me Tender? Amazing!
Sleep tight!

Looooooong time!

There is just NO time! well, I shouldn't say no time since I did manage to buy some new shoes :D

Our "Precious" (daughter) is coming tonight. It will be fun to see her. Had our wonderful son last month. WOW!!!! It's been nice to spend time with our kids. I need to see the grandkids now!!!!

Work is CRAZY. Last night was the first really BIG event that i worked on. It turned out really nice. LOTS of work and a ton of stress!!! I have a kind of bizarre event next week pertaining to this picture purportedly the only actual photo of Joseph Smith. I will have to post about it later.

K well, enough of my boring life. I really will try to catch up when my job becomes more managable.
And the thought for the day:
Alma 17:13 And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.
Have a great one!

happy anniversary Mike and Cyd

We went to the Park Cafe for breakfast since Mike had to go on a trip this afternoon. It was very yummy! When I got home from work Mike was gone but there was a beautiful bouquet of roses and the sweetest card ever! He is a wonderful man and I am honored to have him in my life. Happy Anniversary Mike. I love you!

I know...

I'm boring. Yes, I get that. Go to work, come home exhausted. Doesn't leave much to write about. I was reading obits yesterday (something we do as we get older) and found two disturbing ones. First is a man in our stake who was 35 years old. He had a massive stroke. He leaves behind his wife and 3 boys ages 3, 8 and 11. My son is a year older than Joe. Couple that with my daughter-in-law's brother who passed away in November at age 39 and it's a bit frightening. The second was the father of one of my students at Viewmont. He was 66. I am 59. You do the math.

Ok this is a bit dreary! let's cheer this up a notch. The other night I was flipping through channels and found U2 Rattle and Hum. That music reminds me of my son in high school. It brings a spring to my step and I love to sing along. My daughter's imitation of me singing U2 is hilarious. She insists I sing it opera style. NAW!

I was delighted to have my son ask me if I own Wrecking Ball by Emmy lou Harris. One of my favorite albums ever. It is full of thought provoking songs and very sing-along-able! It happens to be in my car CD player right now. Wow...a bridge over the generation gap!!!

I am excited for conference next week. It always lifts me. In preparation for it here is a thought taken from a talk Elder Faust had prepared prior to his death and which was included in the last conference issue: "Each new day that dawns can be a new day for us to begin to change. We can change our environment. We can change our lives by substituting new habits for old. We can mold our character and future by purer thoughts and nobler actions. As someone once said 'The possibility of change is always there, with its hidden promise of peace, happiness, and a better way of life.'"

With that in mind I am going to go walk!!!!!
Make it a great one.

Happy Easter....I think!

It's always awkard when someone asks me how a holiday was that i spent alone. I pause and wonder if I should just say "it was great, how about yours?" or if I should tell the truth. You know me, I opt for the truth every time. "Well", I say, "it was fine. I taught my primary class and then studied for my institute lesson." It's not that I feel sorry for myself because I really don't. I am used to it and it really doesn't bother me....until I hear about eveyone else being with family. I do miss the wonderful celebrations we had at mom and dad's for years. I miss my family. But mostly I just don't think about it. I am grateful everyone is having a great day and I make the most of mine. I took mom an Easter Lily and some of her favorite chicken salad and rolls from the Lion House. Times have changed!
I enjoyed thinking of our Savior and his amazing love and sacrifice for us. I pondered on his intimate, personal love for me and for each of you. That brings great joy and peace.
Thought for today:
"No repentant sinner or innocent sufferer will ever be alone in that suffering. We will not and cannot ever face a trial or sickness, transgression or trouble that He does not comprehend and understand. All these things He suffered vicariously; thus He became our advocate not only in repentance but also in trial." Vaughn Featherstone

today...

I walked! I saw pussy willows! I love pussy willows!

My Peach won the grand prize at the easter egg hunt. Good job little Peachy Pie!

I perched precariously on a ladder on my stairs to change the pictures hanging there. The McBride's gave us a wonderful picture for Christmas "He Is Not Here" which I needed to find a place for. Here is how it turned out:

Could have straightened up a bit before I took the pictures I suppose!

Been working on my lesson. Here is a thought from Elder Uchtdorf: "My dear brothers and sisters, there will be days and nights when you feel overwhelmed, when your hearts are heavy and your heads hang down. Then, please remember, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, is the Head of this Church. It is His gospel. He wants you to succeed. He gave His life for just this purpose. He is the Son of the living God. He has promised:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
“For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee” (3 Nephi 22:10).

HE LOVES YOU!!!! :D

The big reveal

Well, you know how those early ultra sounds are...not without the possibility of error. IMM is hoping it is wrong. He is clinging to that hope...he isn't terribly excited about another sister!!!!!! :)

Poor IMM and GSJ...both the first child, both hoping for a sibling the same gender as they are, neither getting it! Well, as Mandi says at least they will not ever have to share rooms with anyone!

So I filled out my brackets. How about you? I usually take some long shots but didn't do that so much this time and I am already sorry as USC lost to Kansas ST. Worst news of the day BYU lost!

Here's how scientific I get. I always pick schools with the name Georgia or that are in states where my family lives. Had to go with UCLA since my boy graduated from there even though it meant not picking BYU. See, I am still putting my children ahead of all else! Believe it or not I have actully faired pretty well with this method in the past. I don't think so this time.

I only had to work 3 days this week. Well, not exactly as tomorrow I will go in for about an hour and will do a little work from home but I am getting to where I will mostly only work 3 days. YEAH!!!!! It's going ok. I am holding my own in catering.

Tomorrow I will work on my Institute lesson for next week. So many ideas, so little time! Here is a thought for the day:

"He knows of our anguish, and He is there for us. Like the good Samaritan in His parable, when He finds us wounded at the wayside, He binds up our wounds and cares for us (see Luke 10:34). Brothers and sisters, the healing power of His Atonement is for you, for us, for all....The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ—whether it removes our burdens or strengthens us to endure and live with them like the Apostle Paul—is available for every affliction in mortality." Elder Oaks

Make it a great day!

ERRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!

OK...so it's been one of those days! I won't even go in to my day but to top it all off when Iget home at 10 pm there's a message from my son saying they found out the sex of their baby and they are happy to announce it's a "human baby."...Oh and "don't call us back because we are going to bed." Real nice!
So that's all for now....I am over the edge tonight...but not really upset at my boy, just really excited to find out! I hope it's a boy...you know how I like even numbers and since we will have an uneven number of grandkids and an uneven number of boys or girls (we have 3 of each right now) at least in that family there would be an even number of both! I know, I'm a freak!
:D
Sleep tight!

The day after 59!

I am still here! Just think....only 11 more years and I will be 70. HUH???
Mike and I went to Tuscany for dinner. Thanks to Dave and Kathie and the women I work with we had a delightful evening. The snow added to the majestic feeling of it all. It was a good day.

This morning I was trying to focus on preparing for my Primary lesson but I got distracted. I had fasted and prayed today for the ability to prepare and teach well and be inspired as to how I could help my little ones learn what Heavenly Father wanted them to learn. Then I got distracted and didn't focus until an hour before I needed to get ready for church. I was very frustrated with myself and I told Heavenly Father that under the circumstances He didn't need to honor my fasting. I went to church a bit despondent. When I opened the program I noticed that the Sacrament song was my very favorite..."In Remembrance of Thy Suffering." I have had the experience on more than one occassion of feeling down and upon arriving at church noticing the same Sacrament hymn. It is a tender mercy from Father letting me know He is mindful of and loves me. I felt humbled and realized that He is anxious to bless us and sometimes (often) we (I) are (am) too hard on ourselves. And guess what!!!! My class was amazing! Better than they have ever been. Now this doesn't mean that I can go on being distracted rather than focused on what should be a priority, but it isnpires me to want to be better; to continue to try to draw nearer to Father and to server Him well. Next week I will focus on what matters most....like getting to bed at a decent time so I can serve Him and those I love and care about better. So goodnight!!!!!!
Hugs!

Happy birthday to me!!!!

wow...hard to believe! 59 years! where did they go? I have much to show for them. 2 amazing, beautiful children; 7 (almost) outstanding, wonderful, precious grandchildren; 1 fantastic, loving husband; many loyal, awesome friends; 4 terrific, fun, talented siblings and their fabulous children and grandchildren; 2 great parents; a testimony of Father's love for me; a knowledge of our Savior's incomparable and unfailing love and companionship. What more could i ask for??? more sleep maybe :D
for my birthday i wish all of you a day of joy and love knowing you are loved by me and by Heavenly Father! We are all He does!
Make it a great one! I love you ALL!

It was 40 years ago today...

Mike and I had our first date. Yes, it's true. We were 18 years old and freshmen at BYU (GO COUGARS!!). Wanna know what we did? I know you do. I asked him out. I had a friend who lived in Ogden (I knew her when I was in Jr. high in Seattle) who was getting married. I asked Mike to go (and drive of course since I didn't have transportation) and we took my roomie and her boyfriend. After the reception we went to Aunt Hilda's and played pool. I didn't know a thing about how to play so Mike had to show me how to hold a cue...yep! He had to put his arms around me to do so :)
The 4 of us had to squeeze in to the front of his little Ford truck (it was dripping cold water on my feet but who cared!!!). All in all i would say it was a pretty great date. By the way, I asked him out on our second date but he broke his leg skiing that day and had to cancel :(

What a hottie, eh!!!!

what a week!

So I have been sick now for a week and 1 day. I sound terrible which is great for the sympathy vote but a little hard on the vocals. I return phone calls at work and get "...are you sick?" in that kind of incredulous tone. I suppose some wonder if I just have a gravely, deep voice all the time!

My wonderful son has been in town for a conference all week. Unfortunately he is busy from before I arise until late at night but still just having him in our home again is very warm and comforting. He even got to meet a person who has been a source of inspiration to him...Lance Armstrong, but I will let him tell all about that.

I now have a web cam but when i turn it on and see myself I wonder if I will ever be able to use it! Oh, well...the grandkids don't care what I look like, right?

For Christmas my precious Peach created a note pad for me. She had her mother curl her hair, she put on her favorite princess costume then found her favorite spot in her room and had her picture taken. Then she designed the layout and wahla...my very own Princess Peach note pad.

Pretty cute, huh?

I am enjoying my new job. It is very detail oriented and that part can drive you to drink coke...although I have only succomed to caffeine free :)
It's amazing to work with people and see all the many types of personalities that exist. There are those who know exactly what they want and those who change their minds 1,000 times, but the hardest are the ones who don't have a clue and just kind of sit there after you go over all the options.

And the vast variety in tastes is stunning! I have learned not to state my bias because in the end it turns out they love what you hate. This would be hard for people who have a great sense of and taste for the most stylish! Fortunately I am not one of those.

A thought for the day: "Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will." Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Have a great one!

cutest faces ever!

little poser!

HMJ kept posing and saying "take it now." I would show him the picture and then he would do a new pose. It was really funny that he wanted one from the back. I suppose he has never really seen himself from that angle!