Janet's Random Thoughts

December--in a nutshell

2011-12-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

So, how did you like my Thanksgiving post. Short and sweet, right? Well I'm pretty sure this one won't be nearly as short, but I've got time on my hands, so why not blog. I have great examples to follow when it comes to blogging!

Christmas came early for me this year. I got my biggest present on December 19. I got a brand new shiny left knee. I've whined about my "yucko knee" for years. I've complained and cried and missed out on all sorts of stuff because of my bad knee. I visited an orthopedic surgeon 10 years ago and he said it should be replaced, I asked him when I needed to do it. He said "you'll know when it's time." I put it off for ten years, but then I finally decided it was time. So I went for it.

Because I knew I was having surgery on Dec 19, I knew I needed to do all my Christmas getting ready before that. So I shopped, I wrapped, I planned, I partied. I did everything I could to be ready for Christmas so as little as possible of the stress and hassle could be avoided for the rest of my family. Nonetheless, alot of my load ended up on Ron. He came through beautifully in every way. He's amazing. I'm grateful for him and thankful to him for all he did for me & our family this year.

Well, I had my surgery last Monday. My brother-in-law Ben had the same surgery 3 weeks ahead of me. Ron & I visited him 6 days out from his surgery. He was doing very well. He's my hero and role modle in this whole thing. I decided right then that if he could do it, so could I. I just planned on "bouncing back" after surgery.

Things went very well. I was in the Pioneer Valley Hospital for 3 1/2 days then transferred to the Rocky Mountain Cair Center (Hunter Hollow) that is right next to the Pioneer Valley Hosp. I'm supposed to find out Wednesday my "treatment plan" but I can tell you right now, I'm so ready to go home. They've been very good to me, but for Christmas I checked out for a few hours and got a taste of freedom. I want more! Becky jokes about me being in "rehab." I think she's funny, but really, I feel a little like a prisoner. I'll be glad to blow this joint!

I already love having a new knee. There's still a lot of work to be done. I need to work really hard to stretch and bend and stregthen it, but already I can tell it is a good thing that I had this surgery. I've had a lot of love and support shown me from every direction. Again, add more stuff to my list for which I'm thankful!

Thanksgiving--just a little late

2011-12-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess it's about time for a new post. It's been a while. I last posted at Halloween time. We've now been through the entire Thanksgiving season and I didn't blog once about how grateful I am for all my blessings. Trust me when I say I have lots and lots of blessings. I recognize those blessings and I am very thankful for them. I recognize the hand of the Lord in my life and I am grateful for each and every blessing and opportunity to grow and stretch.

Halloween

2011-10-31T14:55:00.001-07:00

I've been busy sewing this Halloween season. It's been so much fun! There are always giggles coming out of my sewing room. I didn't take pictures of all the costumes, but here are pictures of most of them. This is Brody & Cooper. They were dinosaurs. Cutest dinosaurs ever!
This is Jackson & Hailey. I didn't take this picture. It doesn't do justice to the
costumes, but you get the idea. Jackson is a dragon slayer. He choose to be
a dragon slayer because he has a video that shows cancer as a dragon and
he's determined to beat that dragon.
Sooo cute! So brave!!! So inspiring!
Hailey is his princess. She loves her princess dress. It turned out really cute!
She loves wearing her dress and will tell you "pincess!"

I did costumes for the Tho's kids. Jill & Tua are Connie & Brian's neighbors.

They are very good friends and they have been awesome to help

Connie & Brian throughout Jack's hospital stays, etc.

As a thank-you, I did their costumes.

Taylor wanted to be an "evil queen". I told her I'd make her a

beautiful queen. . . . she'd have to bring her own evil. She really

did look beautiful. I don't think there's any evil here!

Ashton wanted to be a blue ghost. I didn't get any pictures of his costume, but he looked

adoreable, also.

I love Halloween! Making costumes makes me giggle!

Garden Update

2011-09-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

Must update on the garden. Holy Cow! It's doing amazingly well. Ron and I just harvested a big ole' bowl of tomatoes. (both cherry and regular) BLT's are on the menu for sure this weekend! It's so much fun. But the thing I really need to tell you about is our pumpkins. I mentioned in my last blog that we had one pumpkin vine that was showing a lot of promise. Well, now that's an understatement. It's gone crazy. In fact, if you live in the Copper Creek neighborhood, consider yourself warned. The vine will most likely reach your yard within about 3 days. It grows about a foot a day. It has overgrown my tomato plants, it has overgrown my zucchini plants, it has overgrown our carrots. It's starting to climb up the side of our shed. Oh my! It has at least 8 large pumpkins on it, probably way more that I can't see yet. One of them is actually "oranging" already. I think perhaps I should not only warn neighbors in Copper Creek, I may need to warn the world....it's the pumpkin vine that is overtaking the world. I love it!

Garden Tomatoes

2011-08-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Today I ate the first tomato of the year from our garden. It was so yummy. There is nothing quite like a home-grown tomato. They just taste better! There is something about growing a garden that I love. We've never been very good at it but we keep trying. This year our tomato plants have gone crazy. They're huge. There are about a million tomatoes on them. I planted a cherry tomato plant, also. That has a gazillion little green tomatoes. I can hardly wait for them to start getting ripe. I'm sure I'll pop them like candy! (the picture at the right isn't the exact tomato, but it looked alot like this!)

Ron planted peas for me this year. too. We had tons of them also. My grandkids love to come and pick peas from Granpa's garden and eat them. I learned a couple of years ago that you plant peas on St Patricks day. They're an early crop. That's fun. I like that. We've also planted carrots. The grandkids like to pick carrots from Granpa's garden in the fall and eat them too. We've got one pumpkin vine that is showing alot of promise also.

The prophet said to plant a garden, so that's what we do. We've never been really good at it, but it seems we're getting better. If we had to sustain ourselves on it, we'd be in trouble, but if we keep at it, perhaps some day.... In the meantime, I sure do enjoy my tomatoes, peas and carrots!

Chemotherapy Is Not......

2011-07-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

Chemotherapy is not...

fun.

easy.

pretty.

pleasant.

enjoyable.

It's a Process

2011-06-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Shocked
Crying
Sharing
Praying
Can’t breath
More crying
Hugs
Spending time with family and those you love
More crying
Numbness
Going through the motions
Trying to do normal things
Resolve to go on
Observing countless acts of kindness, love and charity
Humility
Uncertainty
Love
Hope
Faith
Knowing that things are in the Lord’s hand

Look What I Made!

2011-06-14T16:33:00.001-07:00

Look what I made! It's a rag quilt made from squares cut from old jeans on one side and fleece on the other side. I already had the red and yellow fleece, so I only had to buy the blue, green and polka dot fleece. Becky suggested I turn a few squares to the opposite side. I thought it would add interest so I did it. I did one of each color.

This is one of the funnest projects I think I've ever done. It turned out better than I ever hoped.

The binding is done with some other fabric I had in my stash. I think it was a perfect match for the quilt.

I finished the project a couple of weeks ago. I've been using the quilt for nap time. It's the best nap quilt ever! Soft and cozy. Warm, but not too warm.

Random Thoughts

2011-06-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

When someone close to me hurts, I hurt. When someone I love is facing what seems to be an insurmountable challenge, I want to take it from them. I would gladly take on all of the pain, all of the anguish, all of the worry, all of the grief. I honestly wish I could do that. But I can’t. And that makes me feel helpless. I wish I could find just the right words to say. But instead I sit silently. I wish I could convey my feelings. But I can’t do that either. I wish I could make everything all better. But, unfortunately that is not within my power.

This scripture has come to my mind over and over recently. It was the theme for the Young Men and Young Women last year. It says so much to me. “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.”

Knowing that Heavenly Father is mindful of us and is with us “whitersoever” we go is comforting. I want to be strong and of a good courage. I want to be strong enough to share my strength. I want to have enough courage to face monsters. I really need to work at not being afraid. I’ve been taught that fear is the absence of faith. I want to have enough faith to defeat those monsters. And I will not be dismayed because I know that everything is in the Lord’s hands.

Although I can’t take away someone else’s pain, anguish, worry, grief, etc, and even if I can’t help or change things or find the right words to say, I can hold firm to my knowledge that the atonement of Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to turn things over to Him. He suffered everything for us. He is strong enough to take away pain, anguish, grief, worry and fear. The Holy Ghost will whisper just the right things at just the right time and if we listen carefully, we’ll know everything will turn out according to the Lord’s plan. I’ve heard the whisperings of the Spirit and I know but that doesn’t mean things are not hard.

My Testimony--Part II

2011-05-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in life, you're going along and things seem just fine. Then all of a sudden you trip, fall down and totally get the wind knocked out of you. When that happens, you have to stop, and catch your breath. You just have to start breathing again. It's tough. But you have to do it. This has happened to in our family recently. We got the breath knocked out of us. It's hard to start breathing again.

But it's times like these you have to rely on your testimony. Like I explained in my last post, I have lots of testimonies of lots of different things. I've been reflecting on my testimonies a lot lately. In my last post I mentioned some of the things I have testimonies of. . . things such as prayer. Very recently I've been focusing on words like Faith, Miracles, Hope, Comfort, Endurance, Courage, Strength, the Holy Ghost, the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation. I have testimonies of each of these things. I am really going to need to rely on those testimonies for a while. I love my Heavenly Father and know He is mindful of each of us. He is mindful of our challenges and He wants us to win! He has a plan for each and every one of us and we need to trust in Him! I am thankful for my Heavenly Father, for His Plan and for my testimonies of these things!

My Testimony

2011-05-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Back in February my neice, Kaitlyn, asked me to share with her "How I gained my Personal Testimony." It was for one of her Young Women's Value projects. I sent her an e-mail and at the time thought I should post it here on my blog. I didn't do it, though. I'm not very good at getting around to blogging.

But we've got some stuff going on in our family right now that has made me reflect on that little exercise, so I'm going to go back now and post my note to Kaitlyn. It is my intention, within the next few days, to post some additional thoughts on this subject. So here it is.

How I gained My Personal Testimony

Some people have an "aha" moment when they all of a sudden get an answer to a prayer or just know that such and such is true. That didn't happen for me. My testimony grew slowly. When I was a little girl my mom taught me about the gospel just a little bit at a time. I learned the gospel a lot like I learned math. 2 + 2 = 4. If you pray you will receive an answer. 4 + 4 = 8. If you pay your tithing you will receive blessings.

The gospel is like a big jig saw puzzle to me. Lots of little pieces that fit together beautifully and make one big beautiful picture. Some pieces come easily, some are a little more difficult to find and fit but if you work hard enough, it happens. I have testimonies of many different aspects of the gospel. Some of them are: prayer, tithing, church attendance, temple attendance, and all the blessings we receive when we attend the temple. I am thankful to have a testimony of the plan of salvation. I'm glad to know that families can be together forever. I have a great testimony of the principle of obedience. I love the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. I know my Heavenly Father loves me and I know He is mindful of me. I have a testimony of Joseph Smith. I am thankful he was an instrument in bringing the gospel to the earth at this time. I know Thomas Monson is a prphet. He is a prophet for our time--right here, right now. I am so thankful for the atonement. I have a very strong testimony of that. My testimonies go on and on and then they all fit together perfectly to make a beautiful picture of the truthfulness of the gospel.

The New Me!

2011-04-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've dyed my hair for 30 years. The first time I did it, I had just given birth to Connie (who will turn 30 in May) I decided I was tired of dying it. I've never been really good at the upkeep anyway. All too often I had ugly grey roots. What a pain! I'm just not much of a high maintaince person. Last November when I dyed my hair, I thought to myself....I think this will be the last time I dye my hair. I talked to a couple of hair dressers about having the color "lifted" but they said it just wasn't something that could be easily or cheaply done. So I just decided I'd deal with it. I had a pretty serious black/white division going in my hair so sometime in January I decided to get highlights put in my hair to help me go grey gracefully. I almost blogged about it then, but didn't end up doing it. I had a bit of a blog hiatus going on at that time. Anyway, for the past few months I've had highlights and grey roots. Well, I finally decided I'd grown out enough roots to take the plunge. I went and got a seriously drastic hair cut. They cut off almost all of the dark. I'm pretty much totally grey now.

So now my hair is very short, very grey and I like to think very sassy. Have a look (keeping in mind that I took this picture myself and I am really not photogenic!)

What a Difference a Couple of Days Can Make!

2011-04-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

This is what I woke up to this morning. I keep telling myself "it's OK, it's watering my peas."

A Grandma's Joy

2011-04-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was the day I've been waiting for.....weather wise. It was warm and sunny and not windy and beautiful! I was beginning to wonder if it would ever arrive, but it finally did and I loved it! I was gone in the morning but when I got home I found Connie & Bri and all the grandkids playing in my back yard. I pulled up a chair and joined them by basking in the sunshine. What a happy day. Take a look. Aren't they the cutest kids ever!

My New Motto

2011-01-23T14:53:00.000-08:00

I have a terrible problem with procrastination. I almost always have good intentions, but way too often I procrastinate. I could list many examples of my procrastination. For example, I don't dust very often. I look at the dust on my dresser and desk and table and TV and whatever and I think, "I should dust that". But do I? No I just put it off til later. Or let's talk about visiting teaching. I think about my ladies all the time. I like them. I like to visit them. I just keep putting it off. The month slips by and still no visits have been made. Either it gets missed completely or I have to scramble at the last of the month to get those visits in. Why do I do that? Or can I tell you how many times I've thought about starting "The Diet and Excercise Routine"? I know I'm fat. I know I should start eating healthier. I know I should walk every day--or at least 3-4 times a week. I know it would be good for me. I know I would feel better, but do I do it? No....I'll start later. So you see. I procrastinate in many areas of my life.

Now, lets talk about my new motto. It's not original but I've added a little twist to it. I hope it takes and becomes a part of my every day life. It is: JUST DO IT--AND DO IT NOW. How does that sound? I tried it out a little yesterday. I looked at my dusty dresser for the umteenth time and thought...."look at that dust." Then I walked to the closet, got a dust rag and some spray and went back and dusted my bedroom. I felt so much better!

Now that I've shared my ambition with the world (or at least the 2 people that read my blog) perhaps I'll get better at things. I'll just do it and do it now. Oh my goodness, look at this desk. It's very dusty....guess I'd better dust it. Oh wait, it's Sunday. You're not supposed to work on Sunday. I'll have to do it tomorrow!

2010 Temple Goal

2010-12-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

I set a goal for this year to attend all the temples in the state of Utah. There are 13 of them. I didn’t quite reach my goal, but I made it to 11 of them. I missed the Monticello and the Vernal Temples. It’s my intention to go to them sometime next year. I made it to all of the others. It was an awesome experience. Becky came with me to a couple of them. (Provo & Manti). Ron came with me to several of them (St George, Mount Timpanogas, Bountiful, and Ogden). All of the others I went to by myself. (Oquirrh Mountain, Draper, Jordan River, Salt Lake, Logan). It was great fun. I loved going to the temples. All of them. It was very interesting to see the different styles in the temples. Some were very old and ornate. Some were brand spankin new. All of them were beautiful! It was a fun goal. I’d recommend it to anyone! And I did all this while serving weekly as an ordinance worker at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. Yep.....I love temples!

The Wise Man and the Foolish Man

2010-11-14T19:17:00.000-08:00

I was reminded of a story today. It's the story of a true event in my life. As a result of this event, I fell a little bit more in love with my husband. Let me retell the story.

We lived in West Valley and I was serving in Primary at the time. As I remember I had this last minute idea for a Sharing Time I had to present that morning. It involved the story of the wise man and the foolish man. I must have planned ahead somewhat because I had the perfect flat rock for the wise man to build his house upon. It fit absolutely perfectly in a round cake pan. But for my sharing time I needed some sand to illustrate the foolish man's actions. The only problem was that it was a very snowy day. Without a bit of complaint, Ron bundled up, took me to the park and dug through a foot of newly fallen snow to get me some sand from the playground. I took my rock and sand and building blocks and cakepans and water to church. We had an awesome sharing time. We learned, we sang. The rains came down and the floods came up and the house on the sand washed away. But the whole story behind the sand never did wash away.

Ron supported me in my crazy schemes (as always) and illustrated to me what a rock he really is. I am so thankful for Ron. And now you know!

I'm At the Top of the World

2010-10-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

I love going to the top of the world. Most times when we go four wheeling we do it in the mountains and almost always go to a summit somewhere and have an astonishing view and I always tell Ron I feel like I'm at the top of the world and then I start singing the old Carpenter's song...I'm at the top of the world looking down on creation and the only explanation I can find....etc. Anyway, yesterday Ron & I went for a drive. I guess it was our annual Autumn Leaves Drive cause we haven't done that yet this year. The leaves were gorgeous! We went up Butterfield Canyon. It's been a long time since we've done that. It was fun. We went all the way to the top to where you can overlook the Kennecott Copper mine. I was amazed at how much the mine has grown since the last time we saw it. Holy cow, they're digging out a whole mountain range. But you can overlook so much more than just the mine. It was so cool! You could see the whole valley and then some. We picked out lots of different stuff we recognized including 7 different temples. We could see the Provo, Mt Timpanogas, Draper, Jordan River, Oquirrh, Salt Lake and Bountiful temples. I thought that was way awesome. What a fun little outing we had. I really do love going to the top of the world. And of course, we forgot the camera!

"Now that feels good, doesn't it?"

2010-09-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

As I walked out of the temple today a fellow worker exited at the same time. "Now that feels good, doesn't it?" he asked. I readily agreed. "It sure does!" That was the extent of our conversation. As I continued my journey to my car I wondered to myself...I wonder what he thought felt so good. Was it the fact that we just finished a six hour shift at the temple. Although I love serving in the temple, it can make you physically tired. It really does feel good when you finish a shift and you know you can go home, sit back and relax a little. Or was it just serving in the temple. That feels good too. It's the kind of "feel good" that makes you warm and happy. I love serving in the temple. It's such a peaceful and beautiful place. I love the people I serve with and the people I serve (those living and those whose work we're doing). Yes, definitely...that feels good, doesn't it?

Then I thought, perhaps he was commenting on the day. It was a picture perfect day. Bright happy sunshine, blue sky and not a cloud to be seen. The temperature was perfect. Not too hot, not to cold. Just perfect! Yes indeed, that feels good doesn't it.

I honestly don't know to what the gentleman was referring but I'm glad we shared that two line conversation. It made me think about things I sometimes take for granted.

2010-08-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

I think this is going to be one of those posts where I have all these beautiful thoughts running around in my head but I just don’t have the words to get it out in print. Bear with me (if ya want to--if not, move on to the next blog!)

We moved Becky back down to Cedar City last Friday. It was a happy and a sad day all rolled into one. We’ve so much enjoyed having her home this summer. (although we didn’t see a lot of her cause she worked so darn much and when she wasn’t working she was playing or sleeping) But that’s not what this post is about. No Janet has other random thoughts she wants to share.

I’ve decided that God is an artist. And I think he has his definite favorite colors. And I think his favorite colors change with the seasons. Jackson’s favorite color right now is blue. Very often when he colors a picture at church or home or school or wherever he only colors with a blue crayon.

Driving down I-15 from Salt Lake to Cedar City beautifully illustrates my opinion of God’s artistry. Let me expound a little further.

I’m sure you can guess God’s favorite winter color. Have you ever driven down I-15 after a big snow storm. White. White is all you see. Big white fields just waiting for some sort of footprints to be left. Trees turn white. The branches hold onto their new white coats for as long as they can. The mountains, the fences, the rocks---everything. White. The beautiful winter whites don’t last very long though. Black splashes of mud quickly distort the road sides. The grey dead trees quickly shake off their white coats. The grey-white skies turn blue again. The blue skies return and sunshine sparkles on the newly whitened ground and then it all eventually melts away.

In the Spring time if you drive down I-15 most of the fields are beautiful shades of green. I think green is God’s favorite color in the Spring time. I love the greens of Spring. I love when you can just catch the first cast of green in a field. I love when you look at the mountains and see green everywhere. I love when the trees turn from winter dead to Spring green. But being the artist that He is, He still throws in a splash of color here and there. Pretty little purple flowers dot some fields. Shocking pink and yellow blossoms cover some trees and bushes. Brilliant blue skies shine above the greens of Spring

I can’t really decide what God’s favorite color for summer is. Maybe a little left-over green from spring. Maybe it’s just a big variety. You see a little of everything in the Summer.

Autumn is really the best season for color. Duh. I guess that goes without saying, but it’s my blog so I said it anyway! Last weekend as we traveled down I-15 I still saw some of the bright green fields of summer but I also saw a lot of the golden colors of fall. Not on the trees yet. Thank goodness. I think we still have some summer left, but many of the fields had turned a deep rich golden yellow—a sure sign of Fall. I think God has a whole pallet of colors that are his favorites in the Fall. Everything from Deep rich reds to brilliant oranges to golden yellows to muted rusts and browns.

Personally I’m glad that God is an artist. I love and appreciate the beauty of His handiwork. I always hate to see summer end, but then I always love the next season with all it's variety of colors!

The Dermatologist

2010-08-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the dermatologist. Becky insisted! She's worked for him a couple of times this summer as she's been a "floating" receptionist. He's the doctor that made her cry. He made me cry too, but not because I walked too slow or didn't hear what he said. OK, so I didn't really cry, but the treatments he did caused tears to come to my eyes. He froze off about a ga-zillion "pre-cancer" spots.

For years I've known that the sun was bad for me, but I love the sun. I can't get enough of the sun. If I have the opportunity to lay in the sun or play in the sun or anything else in the sun, I'll take it. Honestly...I can't get enough sun. I've always said...You have to die from something. I choose skin cancer.

You'd think that after today's treatments my song would change. Of course it hurt. As he was dabbing my face with his frozen nitrogen on the end of a q-tip over and over and over the tears came to my eyes. Then he moved to my arms and legs. He used what he called a p-shooter for that. It was a canister and it shot bursts of frozen nitrogen onto my skin. It all hurt like crazy. Now I look like I was caught by a swarm of bees. Everywhere he "froze" me is all swollen and red. By tomorrow I'll have a ga-zillion scabs all over my face, arms and legs. The whole process of healing will take about two weeks. I look like a freak!

But you know what? I'm still going to play in the sun. I still love the sun. It's all worth it!

Fantastic!!!

2010-07-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

Last night Ron and I were out having dinner. My back was to the door so I didn't see this but I heard it. Some customers came in who the waiter apparently knew. He greated them with "Hi, how are you?" Now when someone asks me that question I typically respond with a simple fine or good, thank you. Not this lady. She responded with "Fantastic!" And she did it with enthusiasm and vigor. It was so cute and so fun! I told Ron, I want to be able to use that word with such conviction. My last post was all about "if you're not happy, get happy". Well I've decided I want to become fantastic---with enthusiasm. So next time you greet me....I just may be "fantastic!!!"

I Love My Life!

2010-06-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

Connie commented on my last post (like a month later--that I must have had a random thought recently) Well, to be truthful...I'm not sure I have. But here's one today.

I Love My Life! I'm married to my best friend. We're growing old together--which is really a lot of fun! We do fun things together. I love that we're so spontaneous and do things and stay active.

I have three wonderful children that constantly amaze me and make me grateful that I'm their mother. Two of my children are married to wonderful spouses. I love them as though they are my own. I have three wonderful grandsons and one adoreable grand daughter. I get to see all of them on a fairly regular basis. (I wouldn't mind if it were more often, but really, I'm happy. I know their families are busy but they fit us in when they can)

I love my job. It is exactly right for me. It gets me out of the house a couple of days a week. The work is varied and interesting. It's mostly paper work. My boss told me once that there's no glory in paper work. I told him there's no glory but there is great satisfaction. I love that I get to organize and file things away, then months later "they" will need something and I can go right to it and put my hands right on it. My work schedule is extremely flexible. If I decide I don't want to go to work, it's not a problem. My boss is very laid back and is grateful for the work I do. Our assistant manager thanks me for all I do every time I work with him. (Our former assistant manager did the same--I think it's really cause if I didn't work there, they'd be responsible for the work that I do--nonetheless, it's nice to be appreciated)

I have the awesome opportunity and privledge to work in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple one day a week as an ordinance worker. It's inspiring and fulfilling. I love being in that atmosphere on such a regular basis. I love the people I work with there. I love the work that is done there. It's so awesome to be a part of such great work. It's an honor to be able to perform the ordinances. I try to do it with integrity and exactness. I feel very close to the spirit when I'm there.

I love that I usually have one day a week when I have no responsibilities or obligations. I love to do just the things I want to do. Sometimes I read, sometimes I sew, sometimes I sleep in (but not usually) sometimes I just do nothing. Whatever I do or don't do, it's exactly what I want to do or don't want to do.

I spoke to two different people this week that were both basically pesimists. They were both angry and hateful about many things. They were resentful and unhappy. They made me think about my life and it made me appreciate things just a little bit more. My own personal opinion (and I think I've stated this before on this blog) is that if you're not happy, you should get happy. If you don't like a situation or a feeling or whatever..usually you have the power to change things. No one is without trials or challenges. That's part of life. That's how we learn. That's how we grow. But attitude can and will make all the difference. I don't believe in asking why? I believe in asking...what can I learn from this. I choose to be an optimist. When things are tough I just try to remember..."this too will pass."

Like I said....."I LOVE MY LIFE!"

A Whole New World

2010-05-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

I suppose it's about time I blog about this. It happend just about a month ago. I've been adjusting and enjoying. A whole new world has been opened up to me. Who knew what I was missing? Turst me....it was alot! Drum roll please: I finally broke down and bought hearing aids.

I've known the time was coming for a long time. My mom had severe hearing problems. All of her brothers have hearing loss. I figure it's in the genes. About 36 years ago, when I was in college, I had a hearing test. I was told at that time that I had a 20 decible hearing loss in my right ear. eh. I didn't really care much. I knew I could live with a 20 decible hearing loss. I functioned just fine. As the years have passed, I knew my hearing was gradually getting worse. I always tried to have people on my left side for any conversation. I've had to have people repeat things multiple times frequently. And I can't tell you how much I totally missed. People laughing all around me and me thinking....what did they say? Comments in Sunday School class that I had no clue what was said. Sometimes I'd hear part of something and make up the rest for myself. Sometimes it worked out..sometimes not so much. I learned from my mom, when someone asks you a question and you don't understand....answer what you think is appropriate. That makes for some pretty funny answers sometime. (How about coffee with Betty on Tuesday?---inside joke---those that know me and love me totally understand.)

It was fustrating for those around me as well as for me. When people can't see clearly they think nothing about getting glasses. Well, why the heck not get hearing aids? Same principle. I went to a hearing center in February and had a hearing test. They told me I have a 60 decible hearing loss in my right ear and a 20 decible hearing loss in my left ear. Holy cow. No wonder I couldn't hear anything! They said people with only a hearing loss of only 20 decibles in both ears are helped dramatically with hearing aids. Well, Ron & I decided our tax refund this year would be earmarked (no pun intended) for hearing aids for me. It felt like it was a long time coming. Once I made the decision to get hearing aids....I wanted them now. Well, now finally got here. I've had them for about a month. It's a world of difference. They started me slowly. They said if they turned them up to normal hearing all at once it would drive me crazy. They've adjusted them three times now. I'll get another adjustment on Monday and then I should be at "normal" hearing.

I'm so tickled. I hear things that I just didn't hear before. Do you know birds sing almost every morning?!? My car makes more sounds that I ever knew. I've learned how to whisper quietly and I can hear when other people whisper. It's really fun to have a quick conversation with a stranger. I hear what's said and I give appropriate answers (usually). Ron actually had to ask me to turn the TV volume up last week. That totally made me giggle. Like I said....it's a whole new world!

I Am A Process

2010-05-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

My dear little mother, who has been gone now for almost 4 years set an amazing example to me. She left me quite a legacy. Right up until the day she died, she read in the Book of Mormon almost every day of her life. When she would reach the end of Moroni then she’d start over again in I Nephi without missing a beat. She was amazing. She was my example.

My daughter, Becky gained a testimony of scripture study early in her life. I think maybe it was in Seminary or possibly Young Women’s. She faithfully reads and studies the scriptures regularly. She, for many years, has encouraged me and even pestered me to be more diligent in reading my scriptures. She is my encouragement.

Last October when I watched and listened to General Conference one word kept jumping out at me. That word was diligence. I heard it in many talks. Conference is my inspiration.

In January President Layton (President of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple) in a prayer meeting for temple ordinance workers said that if we hadn’t adopted the discipline of daily scripture reading into our lives yet, that we should do it now. He gave me an invitation.

Although Ron & I were out of town in February for our Stake Conference, I have heard many members of my ward talk about the challenge that President Nielson (our Stake President) issued to members of our stake. He challenged us to read at least one chapter of the Book of Mormon every day. I had already started somewhere in the above process to read daily, President Nielson gave me a challenge.

I love the Book of Mormon. I have read it many times throughout my life. I am nearing the end of it again. Many of my heroes live in the Book of Mormon. I love those stories, I love the examples, I love the council and guidance the book gives me. However, I have not been nearly consistent enough in my reading. Hopefully this time I’ll be able to follow examples, appreciate encouragement, listen to inspiration, accept the invitation and conquer the challenge. And this time when I say goodbye to Moroni, I’ll do like my little mother and turn around and say hello to Nephi.

And that's when the work begins.

2010-04-18T06:58:00.000-07:00

Early last week I came up with the idea that Ron & I should take a little trip to the sand dunes. I presented the idea to Ron and he liked it. We watched the weather forecast. Things looked favorable. So...we decided to go. And for poor Ron....that's when the work begins. Whenever we go on trips Ron works so hard to get us all ready. For this little four wheeler trip he had to move the Avalanche out of the garage so he could get to the 4 wheelers, get the 4-wheelers off the clever two story rack he made to hold them, load them on the trailer. He always checks the tires, the oil and other engine fluids and who knows what else. He also had to get the motorhome ready. That involves de-winterizing it. (I don't even know what that involves.) Check the tires, oil, engine, genorator, and of course, he thinks he needs to wash it. Can't take a motorhome out that isn't shiney, bright and clean. He has to hook the 4-wheelers up to the motorhome--which involves alot of moving vehicles around. My jobs are easy compared to all that Ron does. All I have to do is get the food ready and pack our clothes. And then of course, Ron carries most of it out to the motorhome.

When we get to the dunes I'm ready to settle in and enjoy our trip. Not Ron....that's when his work begins again. He has to get the motorhome parked and leveled. He has to fill the water tanks, turn on the propane, light the water heater, get the camp chairs off the motorhome and make sure I'm happy and settled. Then he has to get the bikes ready to ride. That involves unloading them both from the trailer (which isn't an easy process).

If I try to help in any of this, I'm usually more in the way than helpful. Over the years, I've learned to mostly stay out of the way and just wait patiently! Ron is so awesome. He always does all the work with out a word of complaint. I sure appreciate him!

We had a wonderful trip. Lots of fun, lots of sunshine and lots of riding. I love going out to the sand dunes. We've been there many many times. It always amazes me how huge the place is. I was amazed this time (again). We found another new place to ride. So much fun. I alway end up with a serious case of perma grin.

Then it's time to come home and, poor Ron, that's when his work begins again. He does everything in reverse that he did to get us ready to go. What a man!

In Search of a Snowman

2010-04-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

I should have posted this yesterday...while it was still fresh, but I couldn't post twice in one day...that's just too much. So I saved it for today. See, yesterday we were hit with a huge snow storm. I was a little bit amazed at the hate that many of my facebook friends expressed about the snow. One facebook friend suggested that Mother Nature sit on the naughty chair for a while. Another commented something about Spring break being ruined. and yet another said "You will not catch me out playing in the snow if my life depended on it. I hate snow more than I hate death itself." Oh my....pretty strong words! Come on people....you live in Utah. It's Spring. That what happens in Utah in the Spring. Warm and beautiful one day, snowy and cold the next. But then almost always the snow only stays for a day or two at the most then it's gone and then it's warm and sunny again. Surely you've heard the statement about a Utah Spring. What, you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it will change.

Anyway...yesterday when there was so much "hate" being thrown around about the snow, I decided to go on a quest. You see, whenever it snows, I like to look for a snowman. A snowman symbolizes to me that someone has had some fun in the snow that so many people hate. I didn't really find a snowman exactly, but I did find three children playing in the snow. They were having a wonderful time. They had built some awesome snow fort sorta things. They were still working hard at it. It made me smile. So come on people. Stop being haters. If you don't like the snow, try getting out and making a snowman (at least in your heart.) then wait for tomorrow, the sun will shine again....I promise!

But is it Blog-worthy?

2010-04-01T10:21:00.001-07:00

I can't believe the entire month of March has passed and I didn't blog once. Holy cow....what a slacker! Sure I do things. I'm living a "happily ever after" life. Ron and others nudge me all the time and tell me I should blog more often. I always think....is that really blog-worthy? Usually I answer myself....no. Sometimes things that are blog-worthy are a little overwhelming to post. (like our trip to California with Connie & her family. I figure she'll blog about it one of these days and she'll do a much better job of it than I ever could.)

A while ago in one of her posts Becky made a statement that I really liked. May I quote: "Like it or hate it, these are the things that make up our lives. I don't want to be so busy waiting to live the most important parts that I miss these moments. For in the end I'll find out that all these silly experiences; all these days, weeks and months; all these feelings and emotions; all these day-to-day 'sponsibilities these are what really made up my life."

Becky often inspires me to do better. She encourages me and prods me along. Well, this statement fits that. Also Connie shared one of her favorite quotes from President Hinkley with me once. He said we shoud try a little harder to do a little better. So thanks girls. I'm going to try a little harder to do a little better when it comes to blogging (if for no one else but myself!)

2010-02-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my "sew & tell" post, I took a quilting class in October. I made a couple of quilts for Hailey and Cooper for Christmas. I really enjoyed it. I think I may have picked up the quilting bug. It can be quite addictive, but it can also be very expensive. I decided to sign up for a "block of the month" class. That way I can feed my new addiction just a little at a time and it won't cost me an arm and a leg.

The class was supposed to start in January, but they postponed it til February. It's OK. I can live with that. When I went to the first class I felt a little overwhelmed. They give you a kit for your first block, give some quick but brief instructions and send you on your way. I talked to the instructor and told her I hoped I hadn't bitten off more than I could chew. She assured me I could do it.

Well. I did it. I just finished my first block. I must say I'm quite proud of myself. It isn't perfect by any means, but I'm quite pleased with the final results. One thing I learned from this first block....I have a lot to learn about quilting! Wish me luck!

2010-02-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

I found some sunshine this weekend. Ron & I got to spend the weekend with Becky and Connie & Brian & Jackson & Hailey. The purpose of the trip was to go see the play (You're a Good Man Charlie Brown) at SUU that Becky was involved with. (She played her electric bass with the orchestra) But the result of the trip was a heartful of sunshine. Yes, there was sunshine in the sky. The weather was warm and toasty. I sat in the sun and soaked in as much as I could. It did me a world of good. I think I'm now going to be able to hang in there for at least another month of winter. No denying it... I loved that sunshine part, But the reality of it is...my family is really my sunshine! I loved spending time with them. (I only wish Adam & Bri & Brody & Cooper could have been there!) I loved seeing Becky and seeing a little of her Cedar City world. I loved being with Connie & Brian... they are awesome parents. I love watching Connie be a mom. She's really good at it! I love being with Jackson and Hailey. Grandkids are the biggest ray of sunshine anywhere. All in all...it was an awesome weekend. I loved every bit of it. Please don't take my sunshine away!

This One's for Connie & Brian

2010-01-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I blog, it's mostly for myself. I think occasionally I may entertain others slightly, but really, it's for me. Well, today's blog is an exception. This blog is mostly for the benefit of Connie & Brian. You see, I'm tending Jackson for them while they've gone on a little trip. I honestly think it was harder on them than on Jackson to leave. They're such good parents!

They left some presents for Jackson. He gets to open one each day. What a great idea! The first day present was a nerf basketball hoop. It was a real hit! Jackson played with it forever yesterday! Watch out Kobie Bryant!

Thursday is also one of Jack's pre-shcool days. I got to take him to pre-school. Yesterday they learned about dinosaurs. They glued sea shell teeth onto a dinosaur skull, they glued triangle spines onto the back of another dinosaur and they made an awesome fossil in some salt clay. Trust me....it's all awesome!

Jack's second day present was a Bob the Builder, you build it race car. So far (and I've kept a careful count) Jack has put it together and taken it apart 1,295,386 times. He's not tired

of it yet so I think it's gonna hold us for the rest of the day!

Also packed with Jacks "stuff" are some "activity books". We've spent some fun time cutting, pasting, coloring, creating and learning. Jack is quite an artist! Here are just a few of the pages we've done. Note the Bob the builder car is never very far away.

So..... Don't worry Mom & Dad. We're having a wonderful time! You have a good time on your vacation and give Hay-bug a kiss from her big brother!

My Ticket Envelop

2010-01-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

Adam doesn't save anything. He throws everything away. Judy saves everything. She doesn't throw anything away. I'm somewhere in between. Some stuff I throw, some I save. One of the things I save is ticket stubs. Laugh if you will but for the last 5 or 6 years I've saved all the ticket stubs to all the events, concerts, movies, performances, recitals, etc that I've attended. Each year I start a new envelope. It's kinda fun to look through the stubs. There's everything in there from a demolition derby to a symphony concert and all things in between. Some day, when I die, that will be some of the "stuff" my family will have to deal with. I'm sure they'll have a good laugh...something like this: "Oh my gosh, look mom's ticket envelopes. That's crazy that she saved this stuff....Oh look, here's a stub from June 27, 2009 when we went to the Widow Maker Hill Climb. That was so much fun. Please pass the garbage bag."

New Beginnings

2010-01-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

I love new beginnings. (No, not the program they have in Young Women's each year.) I mean new beginnings for me....things in my life. Like a new year or a new bedroom. Let me explain a little. Last Tuesday my girls (Connie, Becky & Brianna) came to my house and painted my bedroom. It was part of my Christmas. They bought me paint (in just the colors I'd picked out last August when I intended to paint my bedroom but never quite got around to it.) Then they came over and painted for me. It's beautiful. They did a great job! I'm so excited! It's exactly what I wanted! They are awesome daughters and I love them very much! Thanks girls! Here's a picture of their handywork. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea. It's just like living in a new place.

Check out the four shades of paint that match my bedspread perfectly and all the new decor on the shelf above the bed. (thanks Judy and Bri) You really can't see much in this one picture, but trust me, it's lovely!

Anyway...this post is about new beginnings and I'd like to ramble on a little about some of my thoughts on this subject. Have you ever looked at a big field of grass right after a good snowstorm before anyone has had a chance to leave footprints or whatever in the field. It's really pretty. I love when the snow sparkles in the sunshine. I think a new year is a lot like a snowy field. There it is before us all clean, white and sparkly. It's up to us what marks we leave in our field. I hope my field this year will include a few snow angles again. And I hope there's a snowman. Whenever I see a snowman that somebody has built, it makes me think that someone has enjoyed the snow storm that so many people complain about. I'm sure with my busy routine, there will be a few "ducks & geese" trails--you know--running around and around in the same old circles. Good thing "ducks & geese" is a fun game. I like the idea, too, that I get to be the one to make up my ducks & geese trails. I really do love doing the things that I do. I enjoy my work, I love tending my grandkids, I'm so excited and grateful to be able to serve as a temple ordinance worker once a week not to mention how much I love being a wife and mother to a wonderful family.

As my clean, white field of snow lays before me for the year to come, I'm sure I'll slip and fall a few times. Things may feel cold and wet sometime, but that's part of life. I just hope I make the most of my new year field of snow.

Sew & Tell

2009-12-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

I've waited a very long time to post this. I've kept quite busy in the sewing room for like the last three months. I wanted to show some of my handiwork on my blog, but a lot of it was surprises for Christmas and I didn't want to ruin any surprises. So, without further ado, let me show you what I've been up to.

Perhaps it all started in October. I love sewing Halloween Costumes. This year I made Jackson a scary dragon costume. (OK, so he's not so scary, but it was lots of fun!)

I also made a "banana" costume for Cooper. Brody decided early he wanted to be a "monkey-horse" for Halloween and he couldn't be talked into anything else. We ended up using previously made costumes (a monkey and a stick horse) to create a monkey-horse. Well don't ya know, every monkey-horse needs a banana side-kick. You can't see it very well, but, believe me, Cooper was the cutest/best banana sidekick ever! Brody was also the cutest monkey-horse ever, also!

Also in October I signed up for a quilting class through Jordan District Community Education. I made a quilt for Hailey. It was my first ever attempt at piece work quilting.

After I finished Hailey's quilt, I decided to make one for Cooper for Christmas.

I loved making them. I was quite proud of how they turned out. I think I've found a new hobby!

My next project, which kind of took place simultaneously with the quilts, was making Hailey's blessing dress. What an honor it was to do that. These pictures really don't do it justice, but here it is:

As prerecious as that is, it gets even more precious in the next pictures!

Somewhere under all that dress is a pair of shoes I made, also. They turned out so cute I could hardly stand it!

Sometime in December Connie sent me an e-mail on how to make Mr Potato Heads out of felt. In her e-mail she said: "Look how cute--hint, hint!" So I had to make some of those for all my grandkids. I ended up making one more for a friend's grand daughter.

And it's a tradition that I make pajama pants for Connie & Brian's family for Christmas each year.

Last but not least, I decided at the very last minute to make a little dress for a little girl in our neighborhood whom I was told didn't come to church cause she didn't have a winter dress.

Best part of all of that is that she came to church today!

Well, that's it. It's kept me busy for the last three months. It's strange walking into my sewing room and not having a pile of projects waiting for me. I'll have to come up with something to work on. (Oh, by the way, I signed up for another quilting class starting in January!)

Reaching Goals

2009-12-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

One of my goals this year was to attend the temple at least once a month. Well, today I completed that goal. (I know to some of you that sounds like a wimpy goal, but trust me, for me it's an improvement.) Can I just say, I love the temple. There is such a sweet feeling of peace inside the temple. It is unlike anywhere else.

Happy Birthday Brianna!

2009-11-15T16:02:00.000-08:00

This day is such a special day, it's birthday time for you

I really want to celebrate this happy day with you!

Zip-a-dee-ay and Heigh-de-ho there's something we can do

We'll sing a song that we all know....Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday Brianna. We're so grateful you've become part of our family. You are such a perfect match for Adam. You're so much fun to be around. You're a wonderful wife. You are a wonderful mother. You have beautiful kids! Thanks for everything! Hope your day is filled with joy and happiness!

The Old Ironing Board

2009-11-14T09:31:00.000-08:00

When Ron and I got married, somehow we inherited Grama’s old wooden ironing board. Now keep in mind we got married over 33 years ago and we have had this ironing board the whole time. Gram had had that ironing board for a very long time before she gave it to us. It’s a good solid ironing board but a while ago, I noticed the board was cracked. The cover got a small tear in it years ago, but we kept using it anyway. I’ve patched it a couple of times and then we just ironed around it. The patch wore out and gradually the tear got bigger and bigger. Finally this week while browsing at the Walmart I happened upon the ironing board isle. I decided it was time to break down and buy a new ironing board cover. Before I put the new cover on I mentioned to Ron that the board was cracked and asked him if he’d fix it. (You see, Ron can fix anything!) Well, Ron started peeling layers off of the old ironing board. There were layers and layers and layers. It seems that in the past when my mom got a new ironing board cover, she’d just put the new cover over the old one. I didn’t count, but I’ll bet there were at least twenty layers of old covers and padding. Ron peeled and peeled and peeled. Cover, padding, cover padding, old sheet safety pinned on, another cover fastened on with tacks, more padding, blanket, another cover tied on with string. It went on and on. (No wonder the old ironing board was so sturdy!) Finally Ron almost got down near the actual board. There were only about 3 layers left. He found a new layer. It was old newspaper. It was the Harrisburg Telegraph, dated May 15, 1947.

It was so much fun looking at that newspaper. Some of the adds cracked me up. There were shoes advertised that I could imagine being worn today. The cost was $5.95. They were advertised as “So Gay, So Crisp, So Cool!”

You could buy slips for 2 for $3, Women’s Spring Gloves for only $ .74 and a lovely Plastic handbag that was selling for $2.98 was now marked down to $2.66. The comic section had Archie and Veronica attending the Junior Prom. There were movie adds (none of which I recognized), but some of the actors I’d heard of were Rosalind Russell and Melvin Douglas. There was one movie titled “The Beast with Five Fingers.” (I wonder if you could rent that on DVD today?) Some of the articles were quite interesting. There was one about how they needed to lower taxes. (I guess nothing changes) The thing that I loved most, though, was that there were a couple of crossword puzzles. Sure enough, they had been worked. There on that 1947 newspaper were two crossword puzzles that had been finished and I’m pretty sure they were done in my mom’s handwriting. Oh, it made me smile!

Callings and Releases

2009-11-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

With every calling in the Church, a release is automatically built in. You never really know when that release will come. Some callings go on for years and years, others are very short. Well, Sunday, I was released (along with our entire Presidency) as counselor in the Relief Society. I just want to take a second here to express my gratitude for the opportunity I had of serving in this presidency. I love, love, loved working with the ladies in our presidency. I really grew to love and respect our President, Sister Sagala. I really admire her leadership skills. She was organized and right on top of things from the very beginning. She was called as President only a few months after she moved into the ward. She hadn't had much time to meet the ladies in our ward yet but she jumped right in and did a wonderful job. Sister Carone served as our Enrichment Counselor. She did an awesome job. She was clever and creative and planned perfect enrichment activities. She worked very hard to make sure the Enrichment part of our Relief Society always included a variety of activities that would meet the needs of many of the sisters in our ward. Our secretary, Sister Cabarcas is relatively new to our presidency. She joined us about a year ago and she fit right in. She's done a teriffic job with our weekly e-mails and newsletters. I can't fail here to mention Sister Thornock. She was our previous Education Counselor. She moved away from us about a year ago. (It was then that I was changed from Secretary to Counselor) Sister Thornock is one of the most loving, caring people I've ever met! She is a living example of Christ-like love. Everyone who met Sister Thornock knew she was truly interested in them and felt her love.

While serving in the Relief Society Presidency I grew to know and love most of the sisters in our ward. They are all incredible, talented, loving ladies. Our ward, in general, is quite young. We seem to be getting more "older" sisters now than when I first moved in--which is great, but as I watch the "young" mothers and sisters in our ward I stand in awe of them. At least from my perspective they seem to be doing things "just right." They are teaching their young families the gospel in their homes. They do scripture study and have Family Home Evenings, they're super involved in all kinds of "extra curricular" activities, yet they have time to love and serve their neighbors like I've seldom seen in my lifetime. To all the sisters of the ward...(if any of them read this blog)....I love you and I'm grateful to have been able to serve you and love you.

To the new Relief Society Presidency....I have every confidence in you that you will do a wonderful job of serving our ward. Bishop Wood assured us that you've all been called by true inspiration. I know you will be blessed for your service. If ever there is anything I can do to help you, be sure to call on me. I love you and I will pray for you!

Happy Birthday Jackson!

2009-10-11T04:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Jackson's 4th birthday. What a joy he is to me. He was my first grand child. He has such a dynamic personality. He is so full of life and fun and happiness. He recently became the "big brother" and he takes his responsibility so seriously. He loves his new baby sister and takes very good care of her. I've seldom seen in my lifetime such a happy boy. He is so loving and giving and cheerful. I'm so glad he's in my life. I hope he had a most wonderful birthday! Jackson, never ever forget that your grandma loves you! Happy Birthday!

Conference Weekend

2009-10-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

I love General Conference! The older I get, the more I love it. Now that I'm very old.....I love it a lot! I was able to catch all 4 sessions this weekend. There were some excellent talks in all of them. I can hardly wait to get the November Ensign and read some of them again. Those talks contain a lot of substance. There's lots of stuff you just can't get in just one listening.

One of the talks Saturday morning by Elder David A. Bednar encouraged us to be more diligent and concerned at home. He admonished us to express love and demonstrate it. Just to follow his council I'd like to take the time here to express my love to my family.

First of all, Ron, I love you. I tell you often. Sometimes I wonder if you get tired of hearing it, but I'm sure you don't. You tell me often that you love me and for that I am grateful. Heavenly Father knew exactly what I needed in a husband and he sent me to you. It makes me wonder how after more than 30 years of marriage I can grow to love you more everyday. Just today, you brought tears to my eyes because I love you so much. You absolutely take my breath away! We've traveled an extraordinary journey together. I hope the road that lies ahead of us is long. I love growing old with you!

To my children and their spouses: You all make me so proud! I am so grateful to be your mother/mother in law. Those of you that are parents are extraordinary. I love watching you parent my grandchildren. (Thank you for my grandchildren, by the way!) Your patience and love and gentleness with those babies is inspirational. I'm sure it's exactly how Heavenly Father meant it to be! To all of you: you are wonderful people. You are so accomplished and so strong and so valiant. I'm so grateful you are all so strong in the gospel. It melts my heart to see you participate fully in the gospel. I love knowing that you all attend church regularly and that you have testimonies and that you share those testimonies through your deeds and actions. I love to see you serve and love others. I love how you all love each other. Now as adults, I see you have become each other's best friends. I love that. I'm so grateful to be your mother!

To my grand children: I love you more than you can possibly comprehend. I've been taught to have joy and rejoicing in my posterity. I absolutely do that! I feel complete joy every time I see you. I rejoice that you are here and part of our family. Each and every one of you have dynamite personalities and I celebrate the people that you are! Being a grandmother is a joy beyond comprehension. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father's Plan of happiness. It makes so much sense--because knowing we can all be together forever if we do what we should-- completely makes me happy!

Again, as I write this blog post, I find that my ability to put my feelings in writing falls so short. I wish I had the ability to let you feel the love I feel for you. I'll do my best to show you every chance I get. Just never forget how much I love every one of you!

This afternoon after the last session of conference Ron and I decided to go on our annual "Autumn Leaves" drive. We just went up American Fork canyon to Tibble Fork. We saw some beautiful fall colors, but we also saw some big white fluffy snowflakes. I felt like we really got more than we bargained for. We were able to enjoy two seasons at once. It's hard to believe that just a week ago tomorrow we were out on the lake soaking in the sun. Hey, that makes three seasons just this week. Awesome!

Our Last Hurrah!

2009-09-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

We just had to do it. We had to squeeze in one more day on the lake before the happy summer sunshine said goodbye for the year. The weatherman has said for several days now that today (Monday) will be the last hot day. Tuesday is supposed to be a windy transition day and by Wednesday, there will be about a 35 degree drop in temperature. So we did it. Ron & I took a half day off work today and went up to Jordanelle.

It was everything I wanted it to be. We burned a whole tank of gas. I layed in the sun and soaked in the rays as deeply as possible. I kept telling Ron..."This is for December....This is for January....This is for February." Maybe this winter when I'm cold and missing the sunshine, I'll think back to today and pull some of that sunshine from deep within my soul.

As we drove back into the valley, we saw a beautiful sunset. I got a little melancholy. I'll miss summertime. Don't get me wrong...I love all the seasons. But I hate to say goodbye to summer!

Welcome to the World Hailey Jo!

2009-09-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

I'm a little slow to blog about this but it's not cause I'm not excited! I've been quite busy taking care of Big Brother, Jackson. We're so excited to welcome Hailey Jo to the world. She joined us on Tuesday September 22, 2009. She weighed in at 7lbs 6 oz and measured 20 inches long. She's beautiful. Mom and baby are doing great. Dad and brother are as proud as can be. Congratulations to Connie and Brian and Jackson. We love our Hailey already!

The Baby Pigs Have Always Been My Favorite

2009-09-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

I'm a city girl, but I really think I should have been a country girl. Ron and I went to the Utah State Fair yesterday. I love seeing the animals. I love the cows, I love the sheep, I love the goats, I love the rabbits. I even love the pigeons. But ever since I was a little girl my favorite thing has always been the baby pigs. Yesterday was a very hot day. We found the pigs and because of the heat almost every pig in the whole place was sound asleep--including the baby pigs. And they weren't very young baby pigs this year either. I think they were really teenage pigs. But that's OK. They're still cute!

Ron and I wandered for hours. My recent favorite display is the 4-H building. I love seeing all those fun things the 4-H kids have done. I also love the Home Arts building. It's amazing to me to see the beautiful things people have made. It also makes me think maybe I should tackle some big project and enter it in the fair. I just love that stuff!

Besides all the amazing displays and animals and fun booths and all that good stuff, I love to people watch. You get quite a variety at the Utah State Fair. Very entertaining. But the baby pigs are still my favorite.

I really like that game!

2009-08-28T18:15:00.001-07:00

Ron told me that Becky told him that she wants me to blog more, so this ones for you Becky Sue!

Ron took the day off today and we went boating. We haven't taken the boat out nearly enough this year. It was a really fun day. We slept in, then got up & got ready very leisurely. Talking to Connie yesterday, she suggested we go to Rockport for a change. That used to be our lake of choice until Jordanelle was built. We haven't been there for years, but we went today. It was just the two of us. We had tons of fun!

We found a new game to play. Early in the afternoon things were quite calm. There were lots of seagulls out floating on the water. We were cruising around and I told Ron to chase a seagull. So he did. It took off leisurely and flew just a few feet above the water. We followed it. It tried turning slightly, We followed it. It turned the other direction. We followed. It was so fun. I don't think the seagull really felt very threatened, but we just kep following it. After he out flew us, we found another one and followed it. It was so fun!

After we were through boating Ron asked if I'd taken any pictures. I told him no. He handed me the camera and told me to take a picture. I asked him, "of what?" He said "of anything." So I took a picture of myself. Maybe I'll use it as my new profile picture on Facebook. (jk--inside joke--not funny.)

2009-08-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

Four wheeling is good for my blogging brain. When it's just me and my bike and the big huge mountain, I have all sorts of random thoughts running through my head. Yesterday Ron and I went four wheeling. It was lots of fun and I thought of a dozen things I could blog about. We'll see how many of them actually make it into this post.

We rode on a small part of the Piute Trail. For anyone that doesn't know, that's a huge trail system that runs all over several mountain ranges. It's one of the few places four wheelers are welcome to play. There are literally thousands of miles of trails wandering over beautiful mountain country. I'm not sure who it was that made the Piute Trail possible, but I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. I love getting way high up in the mountains and overlooking vast vistas. (say that three times fast!) I am humbled by the beauty of the world we live in. Our Heavenly Father is quite an amazing artist. I'm not much of a writer. I wish I could put into words the depth of the feelings I have about the beautiful world we live in!

Yesterday we saw an unusual number of hawks. It was awesome watching them hover in the air. Many of them looked like kites--just staying in one place for a very long time, not moving, not traveling, just hovering. One such hawk I was watching hover all of a sudden tucked in his wings and shot straight toward the gound like an arrow. Breathtaking! After just a few seconds, he spread his wings again and flew off over the mountain. Again, I wish I had words to describe the awe I felt.

We shared the mountain with a whole bunch of bow hunters yesterday. It made me chuckle a little. You could tell the bow hunters. They all had on serious camoflage clothing. They were serious hunters. In my heart I was rooting for the deer. I didn't see any yesterday and I usually do when we're out four wheeling. I hope they all knew it was hunting season and were hiding very well for the duration. Really...why would any one want to kill one of those beautiful animals? It's not for me...but then to each his own.

Anyway, we were on a bit of a time schedule yesterday. Our neighborhood was holding the social event of the year and we wanted to get back for it. (It was the annual Crawdad Party--I'll have to blog about that another time). While we were biking, we stopped for a little rest. Ron commented that he thought we were making good time on our ride. I told him I didn't really think that mattered. I think the important thing yesterday was that we were making time good. How's that for a random though. Don't worry about making good time, worry about making time good. Take time to do something you love with someone you love.

Free Mont

2009-08-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

We've been back from Fremont Lake for over three weeks now. I still haven't posted about it. I'd recommend that you visit the blog spots of Connie, Bri and Joanna for excellent posts about our Fremont Lake Adventure this year. They do an excellent job and all had some wonderful pictures from our trip. If I were to blog about our trip, my post would pale in comparison to theirs. And yet, I must post this little story now.

One of the things I enjoy most about Fremont Lake (as so eloquently posted by Jo...) is that it is more than a place....it's family. I so enjoy being there with our entire extended family. I have just loved watching my kids be the parents. I love watching my grand kids learn to love the whole Fremont Lake experience. Anyway, I digress from my intended post.

There are lots of critters at Fremont Lake. Big ones like deer and antelop and little ones like chipmunks and squirrls and pot guts. This year my grandson Brody (two years old) called all the little ones "mee-munks". Well, and now we come to the purpose of this post, it seems that some clever little mee-munk hitched a ride in our motorhome and came home with us. As we were unpacking three weeks ago, Ron said he saw a little squirrel jump out of the engine of our motorhome. He was quite concerned that it would get inside of the motorhome and chew up apholstry and whatever. He went to Cal-Ranch and bought a small animal trap. He carefully set it near the motorhome and we waited. After several days and no "mee-munk" we decided he had moved on to some new home somewhere else. (But Ron still left the trap set up by the motorhome.) Then about 3 days ago, Becky spotted the little critter out in our garden. Oh, that little sneek! Ron moved the trap over to the garden. Sunday morning, Ron looked out the window and what did he see? There in his trap was the little fellow. He was so cute!

Becky named our newly trapped mee-munk "Mont". We all decided together to "Free Mont". So after church, Ron and I picked up Mont and drove him up to Butterfield Canyon. It's only about 10 minutes away from our house. We let him out near a little stream and in a very forresty area. As Ron opened the cage, Mont quickly ran out and headed for the nearest tree. I hope he'll enjoy his new home and I hope he lives "happily ever after!"

While we were driving home we saw a ton of deer. Ron just had to take a picture of one of them. Here it is. I hope maybe Mont and this little deer will become friends.

"I Told You So!"

2009-08-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ronnie got a boo boo. Owwwwieee.

Here's the story. Thursday night I went to a Relief Society class. While I was gone Ron was puttering (as usual). He was installing a flood light on the side of the house where he parks his Jeep. Well, he was using his leatherman (the screw driver part) and slipped. He gouged his finger pretty good. It had just happend when I got home. He was at the kitchen sink washing his owie. He showed it to me and asked if I'd bandage it for him. I told him heck no. I knew that sucker needed stitches. In fact I told him "it will need at least 5 stiches to close that thing." Of course he was all tough and said he didn't think so. I told him to humor me, we'd go to the doctor and let him decide if it needed stitches. If it didn't, Ron could tell me "I told you so," if it did need stitches, I would tell him "I told you so." I finally convinced him and we headed to Instacare. When we were checking in the receptionist looked at his finger. I told her he didn't think he needed stitches. She said "Oh that would take forever to heal without stitches." Then the Medical Assistant came out to look at it. She affirmed that he did, indeed, need stitches. They took us back and the MA cleaned the wound and got it all ready for the doctor to stitch up. As the doctor was stitching I told him it was all I could do to sit and not say "I told you so." I told him Ron didn't think he needed stitches. He chuckled and said "Isn't that just like a man." Then he added in a gruff manly voice "Maybe we should just rub some dirt in it and it will all be OK." It was pretty funny. Then he finished up the five stitches that it took to close the wound.

I really am sorry it happened. I hate to see anyone get hurt. Ron was a very brave boy (even when he was getting the shots to numb his finger and also when he got his tetnus shot. As we walked out, he grabbed a lolly pop out of the jar on the MA's desk. It's OK. He deserves it!

Back to School Supplies

2009-07-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Just say the words and it brings a smile to my face. I love back to school supplies. There's a line in "You've Got Mail" where Tom Hanks tells Meg Ryan he'd buy her a big boquet of freshly sharpened pencils. I love that line. I'd love to get a big boquet of freshly sharpened pencils. I can never have too many pencils...or pens....or too much paper. And one of the best things about back to school supplies at this time of year are the prices. I love that I can get a spiral notebook for only 9 cents. That's not even a dime. And filler paper....only $ .50 for a whole package! You can never have too much filler paper! Don't even get me started on crayons, colored pencils, erasers, or glue. Such a simple thing, but it brings so much joy. I think I'll go to Walmart.

Happy Birthday Becky!

2009-07-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Today is Becky's birthday. That's right. She was born on this day exactly 26 years ago. (I hope I'm not in trouble for revealing her age.) Anyway, what a marvelous 26 years it's been. Becky is such a wonderful person. She is tops in so many ways. She's got to be one of the funniest people I know. Her wit is quick and subtle and if you're not on your toes, it will go right over your head. I've mentioned many times how spiritual she is. She is amazing. I think she's closer to the spirit than anyone else I know. She sets an example for me constantly and without saying a word reminds me to try a little harder to be a little better. I hope she has a wonderful day. She deserves it! Happy Birthday Becky! Don't ever forget: your mother loves you!

It Does a Heart Good

2009-07-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was witness to a little incident this evening. It only lasted a total of about 3 minutes at the most. But I was quite touched by what I saw. Ron & I were driving home from our daughter's home. We were turning right in an intersection. The road was quite busy. Right there in the middle of the intersection was a fella whose car had stalled. He had just gotten out of his driver's seat and was attempting to push his car through the intersection to a gas station on the corner. It was a slight incline and he was obviously having a rough time. Ron pulled over, and went over to help him push. Within a matter of a few seconds there were two other fellas helping push. The car sailed right into the gas station and everyone was on their way. It's nice to know there are still people in this hurry-up world that will take a few seconds to help out a stranger.

National Ron Day

2009-07-09T07:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to the love of my life! Ron, you're the best! Hope you have a wonderful day. Thanks for being a wonderful husband, father and grandpa. And thanks for being an all around nice guy. I've often said "everybody loves Ronny". It's true.

Best Thing I Ever did!

2009-06-26T07:48:00.001-07:00

Thirty three years ago today I married my sweetheart. It's been a long journey. Thirty three years is a long time! But you know me. I love to travel! We've come a long way baby and I've loved every minute of it. Even the tough times--not that things were ever really tough. We've had a wonderful life (so far) and I'm sure it will continue. I'm very much looking forward to the next 33 years. . . .and then some! (like forever!)

Ron is so good to me and so good for me! Heavenly Father knew exactly what I needed in a husband and best friend. He encourages me, he challenges me, he takes care of me and sometimes he even irritates me, but that's ok cause he's so cute!!!

This is what we looked like when we started. As you can see, alot has changed! It's all been grand. I haven't regretted a minute. Happy anniversary Ron. I still love you!

The Men In My Life

2009-06-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

I just want to take a quick moment and wish a happy Father's Day to the men in my life. I think the ones that are dad's are the best Dad's ever! The ones that aren't Dad's yet are the luckiest boys ever to have the best Dad's ever. (I hope you can follow all that!)

Anyway.....I hope you all had a teriffic day! You deserve the best!

Roll with the punches!

2009-05-31T20:46:00.001-07:00

Sometime things just don't turn out like you expect. I had big plans for this weekend, but then Becky came down with the Swine flu and pretty much everything changed. I guess I'm just a "roll with the punches" type of person cause although I was a little disappointed, I still had a very nice weekend. I was still able to do some of the things that we'd planned and they were very nice and enjoyable. The things that didn't happen, well, there will be other times and other places. It's not like we'll never have another family party or big dinner at my house or anything.

This afternoon, Becky was feeling much better. Ron and she and I decided to do our "grave visit" afterall. The three of us cut some iris from our garden and headed up to my mom & dad's graves. We didn't do the whole big round of graves like was previously planned. We kept it simple--and it was very nice. My mom and dad's graves looked very nice. It's nice to see their headstones in place, just as they should be. I was glad to be able to put flowers from our garden on their graves. I know they would have liked that. I miss my mom more than I can tell. It's been almost 3 years since she moved on. I still miss my dad even though he's been gone for more than 40 years now. I'm very thankful we were able to visit their graves. Although things turned out differently than planned, it was still a very nice weekend!

Happy Birthday Connie!

2009-05-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Happy, happy birthday Connie dear;

Happy days will come to you all year.

If I had one wish, then it would be

A happy, happy birthday to you from me!

That's right, today is Connie's birthday. What a joy she is to me. I love her so much. What a great person she is. I am so blessed to be her mother! Connie has always been a joy. I have so many sweet memories of her as a baby, as a child, as a teenager, and now as an adult the joy continues.

She was such a happy baby! She was my thumb baby. To this day, when I see a baby sucking their thumb, I think of my Baby Connie. Sooooo cute! I can still remember watching her in her crib playing "trickey bars" on the jungle gym thing. Hard to describe but totally entertaining to watch. She was the cutest little dancer and the cutest little soccer player you'd ever hope to see. I can still see those little blonde curls dancing and running.

Now that she's an adult, the joy contuinues. I love having adult children. What a joy to be friends with your children. Connie choose a wonderful husband. Brian is an awesome person. He works hard and provides well for his family. I know he makes Connie happy and for that I am grateful!

Connie is a great Mom. She is so patient, loving and fun as a mom. I love to watch her and I admire her parenting skills. She's amazing. Jackson is a lucky boy to have such a great mom! And now Connie is going to have a new baby. That baby will be a very lucky child! I can hardly wait!

(I looked for a picture to post with this blog, and I'm sorry to say although I have several great ones to choose from, I don't have the technology knowledge to get them onto this post. Sorry Connie--I love you anyway!)

I hope your birthday is great! I'm so grateful to be your mom! Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Adam!

2009-05-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

Today is Adam's birthday. It's a big one for him. He hits the big three O. I can hardly believe it's been 30 years since I gave birth to my son. What a wonderful 30 years it's been.

Adam is awesome. As a child, one of his nick names was "Adam Bomb". I don't think he was very fond of that name. But it fit him so well. He was always so enthusiastic for life. After he became an adult, I learned several stories from his child hood that turned my hair grey. (Thank goodness for Lady Clairol). But all in all he always choose great friends and never really gave me any trouble. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful to his friends for helping him become the person he is.

As an adult Adam has been nothing but joy. He met and married a wonderful girl. Brianna is a perfect match for him. He adores her and she keeps him on his toes. Together they have given me two beautiful grandsons. It's such a joy to watch Adam be a husband and father. I see so much of Ron in Adam that I can hardly believe it. He is kind and thoughtful and works hard.

How very grateful I am to be his mother! I hope his birthday is as awesome as he is. Happy Birthday Adam. Your mother loves you!

Women's Conference

2009-05-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've spent the past 2 days at BYU attending the annual Women's Conference. I love Women's Conference! I've been going for many years. I usually go down alone but I feel like I'm there with 16,000 of my closest friends. There's just nothing quite like it!

I love sitting in the Marriot Center surrounded by thousands of women with whom I have so much in common. Some are young, some are old, some are married, some are single, some are rich, some are poor, some are ugly, some are pretty, (oh wait, that last one doesn't really apply--they're all beautiful) but you get the idea. It's a very diverse crowd, but there is such a feeling of sisterhood at the conference. I can feel the spirit at these conferences stronger than almost anywhere else.

There's no way for me to describe the feeling I get when everyone stands and signs the hymns of the church. It sounds like a choir of angels to me. Very often I get so emotional I can't sing the words. I only feel them. I close my eyes and soak it all in

There's no way for me to describe the affirmation I get when one of the speakers bears witness of a gospel truth. There's no way for me to describe with any of my words how uplifting, inspiring and encouraging Women's Conference is for me.

I love walking across the BYU campus surrounded by thousands of others heading in the same direction. It's quite symbolic to me. Some may feel a little claustrophobic in that situation, but I am touched by it every year.

It is my dream that some day I'll be able to share this experience with my daughters. One of my classes today taught that it is a mother's duty to raise daughters that exceed herself in quality. I think I've done that. Connie & Bri are such wonderful mothers. I think they're both better at being Moms than I ever was and Becky has got to be the most spiritual person I know. She teaches me so much on a regular basis about spiritual things.

I could go on and on about Women's Conference. It's one of my favorite things to do. I always feel so edified when I attend. It makes me want to do better and to be better. It makes me remember who I am and why I'm here. It makes me appreciate how very blessed I am and it makes me grateful!

Road Construction

2009-04-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

A while ago, every "constructor" in the world held a secret meeting. In their meeting they decided to secretly watch Janet VanSleeuwen for a while and then at the end of April 2009 they conspired to put every road Janet drives on under construction at the same time. "Lets's make it impossible for Janet to go anywhere without driving through major construction." they said. Then they laughed an evil little laugh, put it to a vote, and it was unanomous. So to all you other drivers out there (particularly the ones who live in Herriman and want to get somewhere east of 4600 west) I'm sorry. I wasn't at the meeting. I'm not sure how long this is going to last, but I guess we'll all just have to grin an bear it.

Spring!

2009-04-21T04:48:00.000-07:00

It was a long time coming, but I think it's really here! I love Spring! I think green must be one of God's favorite colors. I love all the greens of Spring. I love seeing the grass turn green. I love it when you look across a farm field and see green peeking through. I love the globe willow trees. They are the first trees to show us green. I think there is nothing prettier than seeing a combination of a bright green globe willow, a bright yellow forsythia bush and a pink "popcorn" tree backed by a bright blue sky. Seeing a bunch of beautiful bright yellow daffodils just does something for my soul. Throw in some beautiful pastel hyacinths and there is nothing lovelier. I love that things just come to life in the Spring after a long dead winter. Don't get me wrong. I think a good snow storm is pretty as long as I don't have to drive in it. Watching big snowflakes falling (the kind you just have to catch on your tongue) and seeing a blanket of white cover everything is lovely--especially at night with street lamps glistening and making it all sparkle. But Spring has that beat with all the georgeous vibrant colors. Besides, Spring being here means Summer is that much closer!

Temple Celebration

2009-04-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

We're getting a new Temple. I'm so very excited. It's in our very back yard (well, really our front yard--cause it's in front of our house). It's less than 2 miles away from my house. I'm so blessed to have so many temples so close to me. I can drive to at least 7 temples within an hour of my house. When our new temple opens, that will make 8. The Lord has really blessed me when it comes to temples!

In conjunction with the opening of our temple, the youth of our Stake and district are involved in a Celebration of the Temple. They are currently learning some dances that they will perform in the Conference Center on May 26 (I think that date is right). There will be 300 youth dancing. There will also be several choirs. The Conference Center will be filled with 20,000 youth celebrating the opening of our temple. It should be a grand affair! Parents and public won't be invited to attend 'cause the participants will fill the Conference Center. I've heard rumors that they will be sattalite broadcasting the event to Stake Centers so parents and others can watch.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to our Stake Center to participate in a "sewing bee." We worked on making costumes for our youth dancers. All I did for 6 hours straight was sew purple ribbon onto collar pieces. There were 5 other colors of ribbon sewn on. The costumes are very colorful and festive. By the time we were finished, all of the sewers were stiff and tired and worn out. However, I felt very blessed for the opportunity to be a small part of this celebration. What a joyous thing!

He's here!

2009-04-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

Cooper M. VanSleeuwen arrived at 1:00 PM Friday April 10, 2009. He weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz and measured 21 inches long. He's adorable. Mom and baby are doing fine. What a joyous experience! Here are a couple of pictures. Enjoy

If I can't have Spring, I will embrace winter!

2009-04-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and looked out my window. I couldn't believe it. There was about five inches of snow on the ground. Well, I'm tired of complaining about the weather so I decided that if I can't have Spring, I'm going to embrace Winter. So I went and woke Ron up and made him go outside with me to play in the snow. We decided to make a snow Easter Bunny. Alright, it isn't really a great work of art but it was way fun. Here's a couple of pictures. In case you're wondering the blob by the side is an Easter egg. (no not that blob.....that's me)

ER--I'll miss you!

2009-04-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

I've been a loyal fan for something like 15 years. After last week's episode when they announced the final episode (which will play tonight).......I cried. I've loved ER through the thick and the thin of it all. I'll miss all those crazy doctors and nurses. I'll miss watching the variety of patients and ailments pass through those doors.

As different characters have come and gone throughout the years, I've learned to love almost all of them and as they've left, I've missed them. When Carol & Doug moved to Seattle, I missed them. When Doctor Green died leaving poor Elizabeth and his young child, I cried. When Carter left for Africa, I was sad. When Gallant and Dr. Pratt died, I was shocked. When that one guy died after the helicopter fell on him, I didn't much care cause nobody liked him anyway. When that one gay doctor who used the cruth who I can't remember her name left....well, that was OK with me. (I was never really fond of her either.) I wondered if Abby would ever find true love. I cheered when she and Luca got married. I always liked Luca. Then when she cheated on him, I was thoroughly disgusted with her. When they left (planning to work things through) I was relieved...but I missed them, too.

I even love most of (if not all) of the current characters. Neela certainly has had her share of challenges and heartache. Tony (all right, I still think of him as "Uncle Jessie on Full House) holds his own. He and Sam really need to figure things out and get back together. Sam has had way too much drama in her life, too. Archie needs to marry his cop girlfriend and by the way, he certainly has come into his own as a doctor. Even the new character this season, Dr Banfield has won a place in my heart. I certainly hope she and her husband get to adopt that cute little baby. And then there's all the "other" cast members. I love the two office guys, and all the nurses and all those guys.

I'm looking forward to tonights 3 hour episode. I'll watch every minute of it. I'll even record it (for Becky cause she's as big of a fan as I am and she won't be home tonight.) I'll probably laugh and cry and cheer and then be sad it's all over. It's true.....ER....I'll miss you!

Mother Nature is a witch with a "B"

2009-03-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

Mother Nature is toying with me. I think she’s very very mean! Last week she let me have a brief taste of Spring weather. Yes there was a day that was warm and sunny, yet she had to throw in some wind to make it not quite perfect. It was close though. But just when I thought we might really get to enjoy some spring weather…..bam…here comes the snow….again! Not funny!

It all makes me want to say words that I really shouldn't say. I am so ready for warmth and sunshine. The calendar says spring is here. Now we if we could only talk Mother Nature into making the weather to say the same thing.

On a more positive note, however, I have seen several patches of crocus and daffodils blooming and giving me hope that Spring really will come some day soon. I hope so. I don’t like being cranky!

Happy Birthday Brody!

2009-03-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

This day is such a special one; It's birthday time for you.

I'd really like to celebrate Your happy day with you.

Zip a dee ay and heigh dee ho, Here's something I can do.

I'll sing a song that we all know, Happy Birthday to you!

What a joy this little man brings to my life. He is so adoreable and so smart and so fun to be around. I am lucky enough to get to tend him on Tuesdays and every other Wednesday. Those days are my favorite days. He's so entertaining. When I was a mom of small children, I was always busy getting on with life. As a mom you have lots of responsibilities and lots of stuff you need to get done. Now that I'm the grandma, when I get the chance to be with my grandkids, I focus on them totally. I sit on the floor and play with them and enjoy them and let the rest of the world pass me by. That's the joy of being the Grandma.

Today we celebrate Brody.

It's his birthday.

I hope it's wonderful for him.

He deserves the very best!

Life Philosophies

2009-03-07T11:28:00.000-08:00

So I have a bunch of little statements that I figure are my "life mottos." I've decided that I'm going to start sharing some of them through my blog occasionally. People who've been around me much have heard me quote some of these. They won't be surprised to see them on my blog. So here goes the first of what may be many.

If you aren't happy, get happy. It may sound hard to you, but I am a simple girl. I think it really is that easy. If you think about it, you know what makes you happy and you know what makes you unhappy. Many times the things that are making us unhappy are the results of decisions or choices we have made. If that's the case, you know what you need to do to get happy. So do it! Make changes where necessary. Repent, forget and move on. On the other hand, I know that bad things happen to good people. No one is excluded from that fact of life. We all have challenges. That is how we learn and grow! That is what this life is all about! The difference between someone that is happy and someone that is unhappy in instances like these is attitude. Another of my "life philosophies" goes right along with this. Pain is inevitable, misery is optional. I borrowed this little gem from Hyrum Smith (founder of Franklin Covey). I'm not sure if he coined the phrase, but I heard him say it in a talk one time. I adopted it then and there. It's not always easy to remember and to take responsibility for being happy or miserable, but I believe it is up to each one of us individually. So, IF YOU AREN'T HAPPY, GET HAPPY!

(I really hope I haven't offended anyone with this post. And if you aren't happy and there's something I can do to help you get happy, be sure to let me know!--I love you!)

Toilet Paper

2009-02-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

Can we talk about toilet paper or is it too sensitive of a subject? Well, at risk of offending someone, I choose to blog about toilet paper today. So if it’s too sensitive of a subject for you…read no further!

I am very particular when it comes to toilet paper. I’m not sure when this obsession developed, but it is a definite obsession. I think I may have inherited it from my mom. When she moved in with us several years ago, I discovered she used only Charmin brand toilet paper. (When she went to the bathroom, she always counted out exactly three squares. No more, no less. Then she folded them very carefully, just right. She had to, she was working with precious little material here and she had to make it do. My mom was not wasteful…but that’s another subject for another blog another day. And don’t ask me how I know this fact about my mom, I just do.) Personally I always make sure I have a sufficient amount to do the job. I don’t limit myself to three squares. I’m not obsessive about that. Sometimes I take four or five squares. Sometimes I take twice that much. I just make sure I have enough! Another of my TP obsessions is about the way paper hangs on the roll. It must always be over the top. It’s easier to get to and I think it’s just friendlier that way. I know, this is all way too much information and I’m not really getting to the point of this blog.

So here goes. Today Ron & I took a toilet paper run to the Walmart. It was a hectic trip. We were in a bit of a hurry. We ended up going separate ways. I told Ron “I’ll go over here, you go grab the toilet paper and I’ll meet you up front.” I should have known better than to send Ron for toilet paper. He understands that I like Charmin brand. (When the kids were growing up I was always a Scott Tissue girl. I thought it was more economical cause one roll lasted forever.) But since having my mom live with us I’ve been a “Charmin” girl. Ron does fine with the brand but ever since Charmin came out with a choice between “extra strong” and “extra soft” there’s been nothing but trouble. Whenever Ron picks up the toilet paper somehow he ends up with the “strong” package. I’ve told him I like the soft tissue—in the blue package. But he always ends up with the strong tissue in the red package. He’s color blind so he may not be able to see the color difference, but still….using the strong paper is like using paper towels for toilet paper. It makes me remember my trip to Europe when I was twenty something. The toilet paper in Europe really leaves something to be desired...at least it did oh so many years ago. Anyway, Ron checked out and headed out to the car before I could get the right kind of paper.

Someday, if I whine enough maybe he’ll start reading the words and remember S O F T not S T R O N G. Either that or I’d better remember to pick up my own darn toilet paper!

My Latest Obsession

2009-02-24T15:34:00.000-08:00

If you know me, you know...I don't enjoy cooking. Well, you'll be quite surprised to know that my latest obsession is cooking! You see, I found this really great web site called simplifysupper.com. They have a month's worth of menues calandered out. If you choose to use their menues you just print it off. You can also print off a shopping list. I think the hardest part of cooking dinner is figuring out what to cook. Well, if you follow their plan you shop once a week, you have all the ingredients you need (unless your husband eats them ahead of time) and all you have to do is cook. I've found that a week's menu usually last us at least a week and a half or even two weeks. We still like to go out to dinner on weekends (Friday and/or Saturday) and many of the recipes make enough for two meals. (We always have leftovers for Ron's lunch.) Most of the recipes are both easy and yummy. I've only found a couple that I thought were OK but I probably wouldn't do them again. You're supposed to be able to customize a menu for yourself and they'll figure out your shopping list, but I think the website is a work in progress. Either that or I haven't figured that part out yet but the stuff that is there is perfect for me. I don't always cook the dinners on their schedule. I adapt it for me. I'd recommend it to any busy mom or lazy cook that has a hard time figuring out what to fix for dinner.

I've been cooking dinner a lot lately! I find as soon as we finish one meal, I'm checking my list to see what's for dinner the next night. I run right to the freezer to take out the chicken or beef or whatever. I've been doing this for about a month now and I'm still lovin' it. Ron's lovin' it even more. Maybe there's hope for me as a cook after all!

Shout Hooray!

2009-02-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday, shout hooray! What a great celebration I've had. Friday morning I was talking to Becky and mentioned how old I was turning. The look on her face said--"Holy cow! You ought to be dead! How can anyone really be that old?" Oh well, I got over it.

When my kids were small, Ron and I started a tradition to have a "get away" weekend for my birthday every year. (We do the same thing at anniversary time in June). My mom would tend the kids and we'd get a room somewhere and have a little outing. Well, even though the kids are grown, the tradition holds. We don't really need a "get away" so much any more, but it's still fun to do. Sometimes we go far, sometimes we go near. This year we stayed near. We just went downtown Salt Lake. We both had Friday off so we started early yesterday afternoon. On our way to the hotel, we grabbed some lunch then we checked into the hotel. I had told Ron I wanted to go somewhere warm. Well, we didn't make it to a warm climate but the hot tub at the hotel was warm, so I guess it all worked out. I really did enjoy it! We headed back to the room and got ready for a night on the town. First we went out to a delicious prime rib dinner. It's my favorite! I don't eat it very often cause it's just too darned expensive, but I figured it's ok for my birthday--I deserve it! It's hard for me to eat good prime rib without my eyes rolling into the back of my head. Well, this was good prime rib. It was everything I wanted it to be! After dinner we went to a Peter Brienholt concert at the Rose Wagner Theater. It was so fun! I'm a real fan of Peter Brienholt but I've never been to one of his concerts. I love love loved it! After the concert we headed back to our room. We slept in late today. Didn't wake up in time to have breakfast so we went to an early lunch. Now, if you know me at all, you know LaFrontera is one of my favorites--so that's where we went for lunch. Yum! I ordered the big plate so I have left overs for tomorrows lunch. (good planning, huh) After lunch we caught a matinee movie. It was a cute chick flick--my favorite kind of movie. (We saw "He's just not that into you"). It was so much fun--the whole outing. We then headed back home.

I've had several phone calls and text messages from people (friends and family) wishing me a happy birthday. When I checked my facebook there were like 20 happy birthday wishes. I even got a cute card from Connie and Jackson expressing their love for me. How fun is all of that!?!

One year older and wiser too..... I'd better be good so I can have another birthday next year. (I''d hate to have someone take away my birthday!)

By the way, I hope you all had a great Valentines Day. Be sure to hug somebody!

Progression?

2009-02-08T21:45:00.000-08:00

Today was fast Sunday in our ward cause last week was Stake Conference. (as you know if you've read my blog from last Sunday) As part of our Sacrament Meeting today we watched a Grandpa bless a baby, recognized two young children who were baptised yesterday and sustained a young man who just turned twelve to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. All these events represented different levels of progression in this life. I asked myself, at what level of progression am I? Hopefully I am progressing. I hope I'm a little better now than I was a few years ago. Hopefully I'm moving forward--if not it's not progression at all. Gives ya somethin' to think about anyway.

Before and After

2009-02-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday I decided it was time for a new haircut and color. Well, actually I've been thinking about it for a while but I'm not good at making appointments. When I decide it's time, I like to be able to go to the salon and walk right in.

Anyway, yesterday was the day. While sitting in the chair for the whole "process" I thought, "Oh shoot, I should have taken a "before" picture, then I could post before and after pictures on my blog." Well I didn't do that, but if you know me, you know I've had pretty much the same hair do for the past 6 or 7 years. So think of that as the "before."

And now the "after." What do ya think?

25 Things about me

2009-02-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

Twenty Five Things About Me

Before I start my list, I must confess, I’m a little nervous about doing this tag. I’m not sure I can think of 25 things about me and I’m certain they won’t be funny and clever like Becky’s were. I’m really quite a boring person. So, hold onto your hats. Here I go:

1. I’m really quite a boring person. (See-- I told you!)

2. I love to travel. I love everything about traveling. I love to plan, prepare, pack, check-in at the airport, fly, arrive at a new airport, find transportation (rental cars, shuttles, whatever). I also love to drive or ride. I love exploring new places and seeing new things. I love using maps and trying to find things and places in the city or wherever. I just love the whole experience of traveling!

3. Family is everything to me. I love my family. I have the greatest husband ever! I have one wonderful son and two wonderful daughters, a wonderful son-in-law, a wonderful daughter-in-law, two wonderful grandsons and another one on the way. (He’ll be here in April!) My extended family is all part of this wonderfulness called family. My sister, my dearly departed parents, my in-laws (brothers, sisters, parents, etc), my nieces and nephews and all their children. I just love everybody and everything!

4. I’m very easily entertained and easily pleased. I mentioned this once as one of my talents and people laughed at me, but I’m very serious about this. I think it’s a great talent to be easily entertained.

5. My favorite flowers are daisies and daffodils.

6. I cannot name a favorite color. They’re all my favorites at different times for different reasons.

7. Other than babysitting, my first real job was as a carhop at a hamburger stand. (no I didn’t do it on rollerskates---the wheel hadn’t been invented yet) I made $.95 an hour plus tips and I was darn good at it (except the time I dumped six big mugs of rootbeer onto a customer sitting in his car and he had no shirt on.—oops!)

8. I love fabric stores and book stores. When there, I always feel a need to touch the fabrics and books. I love to sew and read so there might be a connection there.

9. I am a very low maintenance person. I don’t enjoy make-up or clothes. I’m happy to wear jeans and t-shirts 24-7. I don’t enjoy shopping. I don’t enjoy shaving my legs or pits (although I do it cause people get grossed out if I don’t) I dye my hair, but not nearly often enough. I almost always have very grey roots. It takes me less than ten minutes to do my hair after I wash it. I can get ready for things much faster than Ron. My only indulgence is I love to get pedicures—but I only do that about twice a year.

10. I’ve never experienced labor. I had all three of my babies by c-section. I never went into labor with any of them.

11. Sunshine on my face is the happiest thing I can think of. I never think it’s too hot. I’ll probably die of skin cancer, but you have to die of something. I just don’t understand how anything that feels so good can be bad for you.

12. I am both a morning person and a night person. I love early mornings. I love staying up late at night. I don’t do so well in the middle of the day. I think an afternoon nap is a very good way to spend an afternoon.

13. I quit drinking diet coke 2 years, 9 months and 8 days ago and I still miss it. But, I’m glad I quit drinking it. I don’t really feel a lot of difference but I think I’m better off.

14. I love people. I love getting to know new people, but I am not very good at small talk.

15. I forgive and forget very easily and quickly. I get over things fast.

16. I love going to movies. I love many different kinds of movies but I especially love chick-flicks. Ron goes with me to them and doesn’t complain! I’m so glad. However, I will not go to an “R” rated movie.

17. I love, love, love four wheeling. I wish we could go more often. I like a good challenge. I love riding on the sand dunes and in the mountains but I’m happy to ride absolutely anywhere.

18. In my youth I was quite an athlete. I was involved in many different sports. (softball, volleyball, basketball, tennis, swimming) I miss those days and one of my greatest frustrations now is my physical inability.

19. I love living in a place that has 4 distinct seasons. Summer is my favorite, but I also love Spring and Autumn and Winter.

20. I enjoy playing the piano, but I don’t play very well. I mostly play to entertain myself.

21. I cry easily. I have a very soft heart and I’m touched easily.

22. I like to think that I am a very positive person. I like to look on the bright side of things and see the silver lining etc. however…..(see #23)

23. Sometimes I am very growly. When I get that way, I scare myself. Ron just stays out of my way then that happens. It usually passes fairly quickly.

24. I do not enjoy “home-makey” type things like cooking and cleaning but I like to do crafty things like sewing.

25. The church is very important to me. I love the gospel and I am grateful for my testimony. I feel like I fall short way too many times in too many things, but my heart is in the right place.

Stake Conference

2009-02-01T11:59:00.000-08:00

Now stay with me on this post (if you want to). It’s going to be rather long and complicated, but I have some random thoughts floating around in my head that I need to post, cause that’s what this blog thing is all about---my random thoughts.

Yesterday and today was our Stake Conference. My nephew Troy calls Stake Conference “Stake Vacation”. I know a lot of people feel that way. Me, I usually attend. There have been those occasions when I didn’t, but usually I do. The Saturday night session, though is pretty hit and miss. I’ve attended occasionally, but not regularly. This Stake Conference Saturday Session, though I knew I needed to attend. You see my Becky and several of her friends were asked to perform a musical number. That’s good enough reason for me to attend right there. Ron told me if he went Saturday night, he didn’t want to go on Sunday morning. I told him that’s fine, but I would attend both because if I stayed home Sunday morning, what would I do. There’s nothing worth watching on TV, I’m not capable of sleeping in much later than 8:00 at the very latest. I might as well attend Stake Conference and be spiritually fed. Ron said---Oh, there’s gonna be food? Well then I’ll go with you.

So we attended last night and watched Becky & her friends perform. They did a great job. I thoroughly enjoyed the speakers. The theme for the evening was pretty much “temple attendance”. I felt good about that cause Ron & I had just gone to the temple on Thursday. (Normally I’d have felt all kinds of guilt cause I don’t go to the temple nearly often enough—but this time, it was all OK.—One of my goals for this year is to attend the temple at least monthly and it’s only January so that goal is still intact.)

Anyway, this morning we got up, got ready and headed to the church for Sunday morning session of our Stake Conference. Now you see, our Stake is huge. (I think there are 14 wards).
But, we live in a remarkable age of technology. Since our Stake is so big, they broadcast Stake Conference from the Stake Center to our building. We attended at our building. The only problem with this remarkable age of technology is that it’s not perfected. (just like me). Well, they started the broadcast and the audio was really bad. It sounded like the birds in Charlie Brown or for those of you who know Oma’s teddy bear that repeats sounds—it sounded like him. It was all really jumbled and staticy and impossible to understand. You could catch a word every now an then, but really—it was impossible. It was interesting watching peoples reactions. The High Council members were frantically running around trying to get things up and running correctly, the people in general sat quietly waiting for things to be corrected. Well, this went on for about twenty minutes before the first family got up and left. A couple of minutes later one or two more families left. My own personal reaction was—I’ve been in meetings before where a different language was spoken. I didn’t understand the words but I could still feel the spirit. Besides, I like being in the right place at the right time, so I decided to stay. Ron lasted about 45 minutes then he decided to head home. I didn’t judge him at all. I guess he didn’t find the promised food. Becky, righteous person that she is, sat studying her scriptures. She looked up verses like in 3rd Nephi where the people heard the voice, but they couldn’t understand and the Article of Faith that talks about believing in the gift of tongues and the one about having eyes to see and ears that hear. Stuff like that. It was pretty hilarious.

After almost an hour, the High Councilman announced that they’d found the problem and things should be corrected in about 5 minutes. About 30 minutes later they got things fixed up and running. The crowd had dwindled to a small handful but we were able to listen to the last half hour. It consisted of talks by all three members of our Stake Presidency. The messages were great. I was spiritually fed and….well…we all lived happily ever after. Sorry there’s no big finish to this story. I was just entertained enough by the whole experience that I thought it worth sharing as some of my random thoughts. Have a good day!

What Kind of American Are You?

2009-01-20T11:10:00.000-08:00

I’m not sure I want to post this. I seldom voice an opinion. I’m much too timid. You’d never think it, but I suppose I’m a little insecure with myself. But anyway, I can’t resist this one. The blog thing gives me the platform and I just have to take advantage.

Today we witnessed the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States of America. It was a historical moment. There wasn’t a news report that didn’t mention the fact that Barak Obama is the first African American President ever elected. They made such a big deal about it. It’s so historical… Blah, blah, blah.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m duly impressed with the whole thing. I voted for McCain, but I wasn’t appalled that Obama won. I have hope for the future. I know it’s significant that he is the first “African American President”. I know it represents great progress in our country in the battle for equality. Etc etc etc

My random thought—the purpose of this blog, is to discuss the term “African American.” I just don’t get it. My ancestors are from mostly England. There’s also a little Danish in there. Does that make me and English American and/or a Danish American? Ron’s ancestors (and he) are from Holland. Are the Dutch Americans? I know people from many different countries. Are they (fill in the blank) Americans?

Perhaps we should stick to continents. Then it might be a little less confusing. There could be European Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Australian Americans… I think there are 7 continents. But then what happens to Indian Americans. They might become confused with American Indians. And what about the North American thing. Are people from Canada or Mexico or Central America North American Americans or what?

What if your people haven’t done their genealogy and you don’t know where your roots began. Are you just an American American?

It’s all so very confusing. Too bad it can’t be a non-issue. And that’s my opinion for today. Please don’t judge me too harshly.

I'll always remember "BEPPY"

2009-01-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

Now here's the post I was going to do:

We had a family dinner at our house tonight to celebrate Brian's birthday. It was fun and hectic as usual. As everyone was leaving, Jackson was making the rounds telling everybody goodbye--giving hugs, kisses and such. First Grandma, then Papa and then he said--"I have some for you too Becky." It took me a little by surprise cause for a very long time she's been "Beppy." But, tonight it was plain as day---she was Becky. I was a little sad. I thought "Beppy" was so cute! Life moves on whether we're ready or not. Nonetheless, I'll never forget Jack's "BEPPY!"

2009-01-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

Janet’s new blog post:

I’m Janet. I rock. I’m a great mom. Today I was a great mom to Adam by going to hear him speak in church. Then I was a great mom to Becky by hearing her quartet play in church. Then I was a great mom to Brian by helping with his birthday dinner. I’m a great mom. I rock.

I’m Janet.

Becky was using the computer and I told her I wanted it after her cause I was going to blog. When I got to the computer this was on it, ready for me to post, so I figure, why not use it………ENJOY!

Tuesdays and Every Other Wednesday

2009-01-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

I love those days. Those are the days I get to tend Brody. Our schedule was affected drastically over the holidays and I didn't get to tend him very much. I missed him so much. I just love spending time with him! It's our special time--our time to bond. We played today for ever so long just making noises with our mouths and hands. It was so entertaining. Who knew I could make so many different sounds. Who knew Brody would be entertained by every one of those sounds. He's so cute. He just throws his head back and laughs. If anyone else saw us (me) they'd think I was a little weird, but not Brody. He thinks I'm wonderful! Ain't it grand!

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Brian

2009-01-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! We did it, we all made it through another year! I hope your year was everything you wanted it to be. If not, there's always this year! Let's all work hard to make it just what we want it to be.

Ron and I went down to St George to celebrate New Year's Eve. It was a very fast but fun trip. I love doing road trips with Ron. It's so much fun just being with him. Sometimes it's lively conversation, sometimes it's comfortable silence--but whatever it is, I like being with Ron.

We went to Troy & Jo's house for their shindig. It was lots of fun. I like being with people I love. Troy and Jo were very gracious. Their home is beautiful and it was all a little crazy but lots of fun.

Today is Brian's birthday. I want to wish him the happiest of birthdays. I think it might be a bit of a rip-off having your birthday on New Year's Day. I hope not. I hope your birthday is wonderful. Thanks for making our daughter happy. Thanks for all you do for our family. You're a talented and kind person and I'm so glad you're part of our family!

I Believe in Forgiveness, I hope Becky does too.

2008-12-24T13:51:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this post the day before Christmas. I won't publish it until the day after Christmas. It tells a long and sad story. So here goes. Becky never received a missionary plaque for her mission. She asked for one for Christmas. I thought....I can handle that. Becky even gave me a picture for the plaque. Therein lies the sadness in this story. The picture was put on the side of refridgerator with a magnet. I went online and found a place that does missionary plaques. I was right on top of things and ordered it early. When it arrived, I was sorely disappointed. Becky served in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania mission. Her mission also covered parts of Deleware and Maryland. She spent the majority of her time serving in those states. When the plaque arrived, instead of showing Pennsylvania, Deleware and Maryland, it only showed Pennsylvania. I called the place that made the plaque and they said there was nothing they could do about it. First disappointment. I then went to retrieve the picture off the side of the fridge that Becky had provided for me. To my horror, I discovered somehow it had been splashed with something. What was I thinking! Leaving the picture right there next to the counter where we cook and splash and stuff. Second disappointment. I felt horrible, but figured....it's still early. I can figure this out. I called Connie and she said she had another picture similar to the one that was ruined. She was kind enough to bring it to me one night not too long ago. It was a hectic evening. Becky got home just as Connie & Brian and Jackson were there. So Connie cleverly hid the picture out of sight for me to retrieve later. Good thinking Connie. Later when Becky was gone and everything was safe, I retrieved the picture. I then tucked the picture somewhere that it would be secure until I was ready to use it. I didn't want this one to be splashed on and ruined! Now comes the third disappointment. You see, I'm old and I forget things. The second picture is nice and safe and sound. I just can't remember where I put it. I've looked everywhere three times. It isn't there. It isn't anywhere. Where oh where did I put it? I'm sure it's safe and it will turn up some day. I'm sure when we find it, it won't be splased upon.

So Becky got her missionary plaque for Christmas. It just didn't depict her actual mission and it just didn't have a picture of her. She can know in her heart that Maryland and Deleware really are on the plaque, they're just invisible. And now that Christmas is over we can remedy the picture situation. It just didn't happen before Christmas....not that I didn't try.

I feel so irresponsible. That's why I really hope Becky believes in forgiveness.

Ready to Take on the World

2008-12-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

Ron just came in to show me he's ready to attack all the snow from today's storm. He's got a blade that attaches to his 4-wheeler. He didn't hook it up for our previous storms this weekend, but he's got it ready for today's storm. He pretty much starts at our driveway and plows the entire subdivision (at least the part that comprises our ward).

Good for you Ron! Go get 'em!

Laundry

2008-12-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

When my family was young laundry defeated me. It was never ending! I just couldn't keep up! If Ron hadn't pitched in I'm afraid we never would have had clean clothes to wear. As it was, we usually had clean clothes to wear, but we had to dig them out of the laundry baskets located near the dryer. It was the kids job to sort laundry into each person's individual basket. They did a pretty good job of that, too. We had a seperate basket just for socks. It was quite a task to find two socks that matched that would work for you. But we survived.

Now that I'm older and doing laundry for only two people, I seem to finally have a handle on it. It also helps that the laundry room is on the main floor. I can switch laundry from floor to washer or washer to drier or drier to basket or basket to bed where it's sorted, folded, hung and/or put away as I pass the laundry room door in all my comings and goings.

I usually try to get all my laundry washed, dried, folded and put away all in the same day. It gives me such a feeling of accomplishment to do that! Funny thing, though, even with just two of us, it doesn't take long for that hamper to fill up again!

New Look

2008-12-10T20:50:00.001-08:00

It's bedtime but I just have to take a quick minute to blog about the new look. Connie gave me a lesson today on how to change the background. I'm excited. I think the new look is way cuter! What do you think?

Twilight

2008-12-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

Like I mentioned in my last post, Ron went to see Twilight with me on Friday. Before we went, he said he'd rather pick his nose with a knife, but I don't think he hated it all that much. I think they did a good job on the movie. A couple of things disappointed me, ie too much red lipstick on Edward when you first see him and his sparkles in the sunshine just didn't work for me--they were much better in the book. But, other than that, I liked it.

As we left the theater, they were having a blood drive. I had signed up to donate blood at our Stake Blood Drive on 11/14, then Ron & I ended up going out of town so I flaked on that appointment. When I saw the Blood-mobile, I thought--good idea. I can make up for my missed appointment. So, in we went and I donated blood. They gave me a badge that says "I donated for Edward." That makes me laugh. I didn't really donate for Edward, I donated to save lives, but if they want to think I donated for Edward, then so be it.

Angel Tree Concert

2008-11-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

Music speaks to my soul! Ron and I were able to attend the Angel Tree Concert sponsored by Channel 2 News at Cottonwood High School tonight. It was absolutely wonderful. Let me also mention the fact that my youngest daughter is an accomplished musician. It brings great joy to my heart to watch Becky perform with the symphony orchestra. She absolutely sparkles and shines when she's performing. Listening to the beautiful Christmas music that rejoices in the Birth of Christ and watching my daughter at her best makes for a very wonderful evening's entertainment!

I have to admit, I'm a little irritated when they start playing Christmas music on the radio before Thanksgiving, but now that Thanksgiving is past, I just love it. It really was a nice way to kick off the Holiday season. It was nice to be at a public performance where they weren't afraid to celebrate, through music, the birth of our Savior. When the choir and orchestra performed "O Holy Night" it literally brought me to tears. It was beautiful. They performed the Hallelujah Chorus as the finale, and again I found moisture at the corners of my eyes.

As a side note, and to add a little humor, they had a soloist perform with the choir and orchestra tonight. He had a georgeous voice. He was also on the georgeous side. Ron commented that he should be a vampire. (Ron went and saw "Twilight" with me yesterday. He knows all about vampires now, but that's another post)

I am Thankful

2008-11-29T06:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving day was very unusual for Ron and me. Instead of a huge family gathering, the two of us ended up going to Chuck-a-Rama. This year was our "off" year. That means everyone goes to the in-laws houses for thanksgiving. Becky got an invitation to a friends family party, so it ended up being just Ron and me. Ron and I weren't alone at Chuck-a-Rama,though. It was packed. People were lined up out the door. I guess there are lots of different reasons for people to go to Chuck-a-Rama on Thanksgiving. (like maybe some didn't want to cook, some were alone, or maybe it was their "off" year) Whatever, it was really quite nice. I totally went for the traditional fare. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes & gravy--all the stuff that makes Thanksgiving. One thing I really missed was Gram's pecan pie. It's all good though. We've planned our own little family Thanksgiving Dinner for our family at our house on Sunday. We'll do it all over again. Turkey, stuffing, etc, etc. I'll get my pecan pie then. It really doesn't have to be the fourth Thursday of November to be thankful.

Which leads me to the purpose of this post. I just wanted to take a quick moment to express my gratitude in writing. I am so blessed! I am so thankful for my family. I have the greatest husband in the world. He is so good to me. He is so good. I bragged about him in my "husband tag" but I really didn't do him justice. He is a wonderful person. I love him so much. My children--all of them--the ones I gave birth to and the ones that married into my family. They are all great people. People ask me all the time how I raised such great kids. My answer is usually something like--they came to me with their spirits intact. I am so blessed to have been and to be a part of their lives. They are all great examples to me. I love watching Adam and Connie (and Bri and Brian) being parents. I think they're better at it than I was. I admire them all for it and am grateful for them and their babies! Becky astounds me. She is such a spiritual person. She sets such a good example for me to follow. When I grow up someday, I want to be just like her. She seems to do everything right! I love my Grandbabies! They bring such joy to my heart. I think I'm better at being a Grandma than I was at being a mother. I'm so grateful they're all close and I get to see them regularly. Everytime I think about them I smile. They are so adoreable! I am so thankful for them.

I am grateful for the gospel. I spoke in Sacrament Meeting a few weeks ago. My topic was "believing in the Atonement." I've contemplated the topic deeply since that talk and everyday I am thankful to my savior for His atoning sacrifice. I quoted the words to "I Stand All Amazed" in my talk. I truly do stand all amazed. Sing the song to yourself. It perfectly expresses my feelings about the atonement. I used a quote in my talk from Elder Neushwander that says basically "it's important to know what we believe but equally important to believe what we know." I've thought alot about that statementl, also. I have a testimony of many different aspects of the gospel. I could go into great detail in sharing my many testimonies, but at this time, I won't do that. Just know I believe!

I could go on and on (as if I haven't already) about the things for which I am thankful, but I've been told a good post is a short post. So I'll end this. On Thanksgiving day, I wasn't doing anything in particular when a wave a appreciation overcame me. I've joked many times before about "living happily ever after". Well, I honestly feel like I'm doing that. It's true. I am thankful!

One more weekend!

2008-11-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've ever been camping in November before. This weekend, however, Ron and I loaded up the motorhome and four wheelers and headed out to the sand dunes. I love the sand dunes! We had so much fun! It was really cold after the sun went down, but while the sun was up it was warm and wonderful. There's just nothing quite like racing up and down those sand hills. I love rapping the engine and flying up those sand hills. Then after you hit the peak going down the hill, knowing that there's no way to stop until you get to the bottom. But it's ok cause it's all just for fun. There were a couple of times I didn't quite make it up to the top and Ron had to save me. But when that happened, I'd try and try again until I could conquer that hill. Sleeping in the motorhome Friday night was lots of fun. After the sun went down, we returned to the motorhome, fixed dinner, watched a movie on our TV then went to bed. Our motorhome has a little heater but it didn't do much other than take the edge off. We had lots of covers so we were warm enough. When we woke up Saturday morning, though, it was cold enough inside the motorhome that we could see our breaths. It was really kinda funny! When we got home, I was curious enough to look up the low temperature for Delta Utah for Friday Nov 21. 2008. It was only 15 degrees. No wonder we were cold! It was all worth it though. We were able to extend the "playing season" for just one more weekend. (Forgive me, I forgot our camera so no pictures. Just imagine lots of sand and hills and me & Ron with another serious case of perma-grin)

First Tag

2008-11-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

This is my first “tag” since I started blogging. I’m excited to do this. (particularly about Ron. He’s one of my favorite people!) Thanks Connie.

Husband Tag—All About Ron

1)Where did you Meet? Blind date. A girl I worked with was dating Ron’s brother, Paul. She lined us up. It was magic from the very beginning.
2)How long did you date before you were married? 1 year 3 months. Met in March, got engaged the following February, got married in June.
3)How long have you been married? 32 happy years!
4)What does he do that surprises you? To be honest, not much after 32 years.
5)What is his best feature? I’ve always liked his sexy butt!
6)What is your favorite quality of his? He is so kind and thoughtful.
7)Does he have a nickname for you? Yes. Several. Probably the most often used is “MHP” It’s a long story. In his work, he delivers electrical “tubs” all over the valley. Sometimes he puts “love notes” on the tubs. He’ll write MHP OX. He makes it look like some kind of official code for the Power Company, but really it is a hug and a kiss for me.
8)What is his favorite food? Anything home made, but probably meatloaf or tacos.
9)What is his favorite sport? Motorcycling. (not football or golf or baseball or any organized team sport. He’d rather have teeth pulled)
10)When and where was your first kiss? On our first date on my mom’s front porch. I totally wasn’t expecting it. He snuck up and stole it! I was totally shocked!
11)What is your favorite thing to do as a couple. Probably just spend time together. We like to do lots of different things like go 4-wheeling, boating, camping, or even just go out to dinner and a movie or drive around and look at houses. For some reason, we’re very entertained by that.
12)Do you have any children? Yes! Three wonderful adult children, two wonderful grandsons and another one on the way.
13)What are his hidden talents? His talents are not so much hidden. He is kind and thoughtful and will help anyone with anything. He’s a very gifted “Mr Fix-it”. If it’s broken, he can probably fix it. He has extensive knowledge about motors, engines, and anything that runs. The list goes on and on, but space on my blog doesn’t, so I’ll just leave it at this.
14)Who said “I love you” first? Another long story: We were at Liberty Park. Ron was laying on the grass and I was scratching his back. I started writing words on his back. I wrote “I love U” and Ron about freaked out! I can’t remember how long it took him to get over that, but he finally did, thank goodness.
15)What is his favorite music? Ron’s stuck in the 70’s when it comes to music. He loves to listen to the oldies.
16)What do you admire about him? Everything! His patience is incredible. I love his willingness to help everyone, his sense of responsibility, his forgiveness for people who underestimate him, his humility, his prepardness, his Priesthood worthiness and the way he magnifies his Priesthood so discreetly. Oh yeah, I also love how he's embraced his baldness and shaves his head.
17)What is his favorite color? I think it’s blue, but I’m not really sure, neither is he. He’s color blind and isn’t always sure at what he’s looking at when it comes to colors.
18)Will he read this? Probably. He’ll be embarrassed.
19)Who do you tag? Nobody. Connie already tagged those that I know that blog.

Rainy days and Mondays

2008-11-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

Today was both--rainy and Monday. Poor Ron. I think he's been a little bit afraid of me today. Everything that's come out of my mouth today sounds a little bit like a growl. How can one day be so wonderful and the next day be so growly? I guess it all has something to do with that "opposition in all things." I'm glad tomorrow is Tuesday and I hope it doesn't rain.

Like a Mother hen

2008-11-10T19:51:00.001-08:00

Connie called me last week and said "Dinner, Sunday, my house or yours?" I answered "Mine!" thinking it would be good motivation to clean my house. Well the house cleaning didn't so much happen, but we had a very nice dinner at my house any way. I just love when my entire family gathers at my house. We always have a very nice time visiting. The boys (Jack & Brody) are the very best of friends and play, play, play! Adam and Brian and Ron are always a little bit naughty. The girls (Connie, Bri, Becky and I) just roll our eyes and love them any way. It is so much fun. When these events take place I feel so content. Often I just sit back and watch it all happen. I love that families can be together forever!

political campaign signs

2008-11-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

So I was driving down the road the other day. I saw dozens and dozens if not hundreds and hundreds of political campaign signs. Then it happened. One particular sign for one particular candidate jumped out at me. It was that sign in that particular place at that particular moment that made me decide to vote for that particular person.....NOT! Do the candidates really think those signs are really going to change anyone's mind? I'm glad it's Nov 5 and now all the signs can disappear!

One thing led to another

2008-11-02T05:58:00.000-08:00

Becky had a gift certificate to Rodizio Grill that was due to expire on Nov 1. She's had it for almost a year now and hasn't been able to use it, so she gave it to Ron and me. Hooray for us! So Ron and I went to Rodizio Grill for lunch yesterday. It was yummy. It makes me crazy that you get full so fast. They just keep bringing more and more food! Anyway, after lunch, since we were up in that neck of the woods, we decided to go see Gram's headstone. We hadn't seen it since Becky saw to it that i finally got installed. It was so nice. It was a beautiful fall day. We enjoyed the weather, the autumn leaves and just the experience. Since we were in the neighborhood, I asked Ron to take me up Red Butte Canyon. I have many fond childhood memories of Red Butte Canyon. We took a little ride and rode up as far as we could. They have locked gates so you can't get all the way up to the resevoir, but it was fun anyway. After that, since we were in the neighborhood, I noticed that they've built houses right up to the "U" on the hill. I asked Ron to take me there. So we wandered through the University campus and neighborhoods til we found the "U". What a view of the valley! It was so much fun. We found a little "park bench" that had a breath-taking overlook. We sat there for a while enjoying the view and each other's company. What a fun afternoon we had.

There's really no point to this blog, other than to share a wonderful afternoon with y'all. But then, that explains the name of the blog---Random thoughts!

Happy noses and perma-grins

2008-10-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

Friday was a beautiful sunshiney day. Thursday night, the weatherman predicted it would be such, so Ron took the day off and we decided to do our "Autumn Leave Ride" all over again, but this time we'd do it on our four wheelers, as previously planned. Paul and Jody couldn't make it this time so it was just Ron and me. We had a wonderful time! We ended up on the top of the world. This time we could see everything! At the highest point, we could look to the east and see Morgan, and look to the northwest and see a ton of tiny cities. I had no clue but Ron told me we could see Ogden, Layton, Roy, (even Willard Bay), Layton, Farmington, and Centerville. If we looked southwest we could see Bountiful, Salt Lake City, Herriman, Magna, Tooele and even as far away to the west Grantsville. (and all points in between). It was so much fun! The autumn leaves were pretty much gone up high. The leaves that were left were dried up and faded from their previous radiance but that's OK. We still had a great experience. I love getting out in the mountains. I always tell Ron when we're in the pine trees that smell "makes my nose happy!" I'm amazed at how dried up the Great Salt Lake is. Antelop Island isn't an island at all. It's surrounded by what appeared to be dry land and lots of puddles. We four wheeled in some serious snow. It was a sunshiney day, but there was serious packed snow on some of the northern facing roads. That was fun. We were going downhill when we first came across most of the snow. I kept thinking "I hope my bike can make it back up all this." (I don't have 4-wheel drive on my ATV) Well, I made it. It was a challange, but I loved it. Ron commented that I love a challange. I think he's right. As for the perma-grins---well, I think you can figure that out.

Black & Yellow Fuzzies

2008-10-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

My house is over-run with black and yellow fuzzies. You see, I'm working on Jackson's Halloween costume. He choose to be a bee this year. Last year his mom choose for him to be a monkey. The costume was darling, but it wasn't his idea and come Halloween, there was no way in the world he was going to put it on. He finally put it on in about September of this year. Connie took a picture, I got to see it. It was still adorable. It's all good! Anyway, since he choose his costume this year, hopefully he'll actually wear it. But then that's not the purpose of this blog. I just wanted to comment on the yellow and black fuzzies that are everywhere in my house. This bee costume I'm creating is made of really fuzzy fabric. When I bought it, the lady at the fabric store said I was brave to sew anything with that fabric. No problem, I thought. I told her my husband is really good about keeping my sewing room vaccumed. Little did I know that the fuzzies would multiply faster than rabbits. The fabric only "fuzzes" when it's cut--around the edges. Well, this bee pattern involves 14 different pieces. (You see, a bee is striped. Yellow, black, yellow, black yellow black---ahhhhhh) That's a lot of edges to fuzz. The nap is quite short so the fuzzies are only about 1/4 inch long. They are very static-y. You only need to walk near the sewing room and your clothing is covered with fuzzies. I've tried to keep things vaccumed up as I go, but that's hopeless. Today when I got home from work, I didn't even go into my sewing room and I notices about 6 gazillion fuzzies on the couch. They're in my hair, in my face, and yes, in my nose. But you know what? It's all worth it! Jackson is going to be the cutest bee ever! I love making Halloween Costumes!

Easy Open--says who?

2008-10-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

I hate packages that won't open! "just tear here" it says. I try to tear there and---no--I tear all over everywhere, contents fly haphazardly and I just grit my teeth! Ketchup packets--sometimes yes, but sometimes no way! Potatoe chip bags. You'd think it would be easy, but yank and pull as I will, sometimes the packages will is stronger than mine, then when it finally opens, it's no longer a bag but just a piece of waxy paper that you wrap around the chips as best you can. Resealable cheese packages. Just tear the strip at the top and then there is the clever little zip lock for afterwards. Only problem, when I tear the strip at the top, the package is either mutilated or still sealed. Then, to make it worse, when you do try to use their clever little zip lock, you can't get it lined up right and you end up wanting to scream. Grrrr. How about a jar whose lid refuses to budge--like a jar of jam that has a sticky residue left on it from a previous user. And then there is one particular brand of bottled water (I can't remember which one it is) that is all but impossible for me to open. I just hate that.

Thank goodness for the invention of scissors. If that won't work, there's always "hey, Ron, will you open this for me?

We Do It Every Year

2008-10-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

The annual Autumn Leaves ride, we do it every year. We usually go up Big or Little Cottonwood canyon or American Fork Canyon and over the Alpine Loop. This year, the plan had a couple of little twists to it. We had decided to do it on our four wheelers with Paul & Jody and we were going to go up Farmington Canyon. That was the plan, anyway. We woke up Saturday morning and found a day that totally did not cooperate with the plan. It was a cold, very rainy day. Four wheelers were definitely out, but we decided we'd still do the trip, only we'd use the comfort of our Avalanche. It turned out to be a really fun day. Not exactly as we planned, but still very enjoyable. As we climbed the very steep canyon, we were surrounded by clouds, rain, fog and still lots of beauty. We'd done this trip before and we knew there were beautiful vistas around and below us. Yet, as we climbed yesterday, about all we could see most of the time was fog. Occasionally we'd get a little break and we could see some of the beauty around us.

We made it all the way up to the doppler radar on top of the mountain, but because of the fog, we couldn't see it. I told Paul & Jody, some day when they were traveling on I-15, they'd look to the top of the mountain and see the radar where we had been and be astounded at how high we really were. After that we continued our journey on roads we weren't really familiar with. It was lots of fun. Good company, occasional glimpes of genuine beauty and the comfort of a roof over our heads, a heater and good windshield wipers. We felt a little lost but we continued on. Our plan was to end up in Bountiful. After wandering for a good long time, we had no clue where we were and how far we had to go (mostly because of the fog). Finally we came across some Elk hunters and asked them which way we needed to go to find our way out. They said they were just heading out and we could follow them. They warned us about "deadman's curve" not too far down the canyon. They advised us to "take it slow." So we followed them. They actually stopped at "dead man's curve" and showed us a pile up of about 10 to 12 cars at the bottom of a big raveen. Wow!

We finally ended up at the Bountiful "B" and we knew exactly where we were and where we needed to go. On our way home, we decided we needed to stop at Dick's Market to get a chocolate eclair--just to tide us over until dinner. Yum!

And so it goes with life. Sometimes our trip doesn't turn out to be exactly as planned. Sometimes we're surrounded with fog so we're not aware of the beauty around us. Sometime we're on paths we're not completely familiar with, but there are those who can lead us to safety and point out dangers. It's nice to be able to share our journey with those we love. It's nice to have the comforts and protection we've been provided with and it's nice to know there's a sweet treat waiting for us at the end.

We're having a Wonderful TIme!

2008-10-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

So, for the past two days and tomorrow I have the great privledge and opportunity of tending Jackson. His lucky Mom & Dad got to go to Hawaii. I envy them their opportunity, but right now, I don't think I'd trade them places. Jackson and I are having a wonderful time! We've played with playdoh, and made beautiful bead creations. We've jumped on the trampoline and played with all the "grandma" toys. Today we went to lunch with Grandma Judy and Amber. Amber brought him a new book all about things that live in and around the ocean. It was perfect, cause Jack's Mom & Dad got to go snorkeling today and see lots of the things that we saw in the book. We've talked to Jack's mom & dad several times on the phone and I'm convinced this seperation is much harder on them than it is on Jack. This has been the first time Jackson has had a sleepover at Grandma's. He's doing great. It was a little tough going to bed last night, but tonight we didn't have any tears at all! Thanks Connie & Brian for letting me take a turn tending Jack. He's a great kid! I love him so very very much!

Extending Summer

2008-09-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

So, I figured out how to extend Summer (as Connie suggested). This past weekend, we followed the sun. Ron & I and 5 other families from our neighborhood went camping in Goblin Valley. We had so much fun! Our group consisted of 10 adults and 19 children. Ron & I were the Grandma & Grandpa of the group. I'd adopt every one of those kids in a heart beat. (including the adults!) This picture is only part of the group. It was hard to get everyone together at the same time. We had a wonderful time. The weather was great! (It can never be too hot!)

(By the way, I figured out how to add pictures--did ya notice?)

Lamentation for Summer

2008-09-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

Monday officially marked the first day of Autumn. (deep sigh) I hate to see summer leave. Summer is my favorite of all seasons. I like all the other ones, but I think they should officially be shortened to three weeks each and Summer can have the entire rest of the calendar. Yes! That's an excellent idea! Does anyone know the address of Mother Nature?

What's your favorite time of day?

2008-09-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

What is your favorite time of day? Some might say "I'm a morning person" others might answer that "I'm a night person". Not me. My favorite time of day is 12:34. It can be AM or PM. It matters not. I just love it when the digital clock says 1234. It makes me happy. If I'm driving down the road or lying in bed and 12:34 is close, I watch the clock very carefully so I can see 12:34. If I happen to glance at the clock at 12:33 or so, I feel like I've just been cheated. Who says I'm weird?

Why Not Just Jump In?

2008-09-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've had thoughts about blogging for a long time. I thought it might be fun to share some of the random thoughts that pass through my head occasionally. I figure blogging is a way of journaling but it's on line for all the world to see. Well, I might as well give it a try! So here goes. I've got a lot to learn. Posting pictures and stuff like that are completely unknown to me, but hopefully I'll learn. Hope this is enjoyable for anyone who choses to visit my site.