So My Daughter is so fun!

Mandi had this tag on her blog and she is so creative and witty!  I know mine will just be boring, except the ones I steal from her, but here goes:

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes- on lettuce wedges with ranch dressing and bacon

2. Do you own a gun? a glue gun. 
3. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Cherry!!!!
4. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? YES.  I hate going to any doctor!
5. What do you think of hot dogs? I love them!
6. Favorite Christmas movie? You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!
7. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? Ovaltine
8. Can you do push ups? RIGHT!
9. Favorite piece of jewelry? the darling bracelet I got for Christmas from a little girl in my primary class!
10. Favorite hobby? hmmm, I used to have hobbies!
11. Do you have A.D.D? UHHHHHH yes!
12. What is one trait you hate about yourself? unmotivated!
13. Middle name? Fox
14. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. i'm not hungry but NEED to eat, my feet are cold, these nuts taste icky!
15. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. water, water, water.
16. Current worry? all the things I need to do now that I am back in town!
17. Current hate right now? I don't hate anything but I strongly dislike many things!

18. Favorite place to be? Home with Mike or in PA or TN with my kids and grandkids.
19. How did you bring in the new year? Spent a fortune on an incredible meal at Cucine Toscana.  Mike said it was so good it gave him chills.  Food normally means next to nothing to him!
20. Where would you like to go? Maui
21. Name three people who might complete this. No one, Nobody and not anybody.
22. Do you own slippers? sort of.  I own some pink high top uggs that I wear to keep my feet warm.  Wish I had them on right now!
23. What shirt are you wearing? a really large, streched out T-shirt that I sleep in.
24. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No. Too slippery, and cold.
25. Can you whistle? kinda
26. Favorite color? depends on what it is on. A wall? medium green. A shirt, fushia. Eyes, blue!  College Football team BYU blue!
27. Would you be a pirate? Not a chance.
28. What songs do you sing in the AM? "Show me the way to go home. I'm tired and I want to go to bed"
29. Favorite girl’s name? not CYD
30. Favorite boy’s name? Michael ( :D )
31. What’s in your pocket right now? don't have one.
32. Last thing that made you laugh?  my son and daughter this weekend in Seattle.
33. What vehicle do you drive? Mercedes C280
34. Worst injury you have ever had? Mandi said "Does an episiotomy count?"  I would have to agree but just in case it doesn't it would probably be when I practically cut off my finger while try to get ice cream from a carton using a table knife!
35. Do you love where you live?  Love?  hmmmm....
36. How many TV’s do you have in your house? 3
37. Who is your loudest friend?  I really don't have loud friends but Kash has a great laugh!
38. Do you have any pets? nope, no way, no how!
39. Does someone have a crush on you?  Of course!  my honey!
40. What is your favorite book(s)?  To Kill a Mockingbird
41. Do you collect anything? Nativities
42. Favorite sports team? See favorite color answer
43. What song do you want played at your funeral? Oh, Divine Redeemer
44. What song should have been playing at your birth?  She's a Maniac...

Oh yeah, TAG!  You’re it!!

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!