Oh, ye of little faith

Bruce has a vision and I am a little skeptical. I should trust him, I know, because he has always done such a good job with the yard and flowers. I loved it the way it was though, stay tuned to see what happens.

Cowboys are alive and well!

Dad was a big hit at the Hoe Down at Camp Alpine last night, he always loves to get into character and fit right in with the kids. It was mighty cold even though they had a raging fire burning, it mainly just roasted out the performers. I was really amazed at the talent from the branches as well as the Cowboy poetry and singing by Van and Kathy Criddle. Another great activity, they do have a good time and we try to keep up. We left before the square dancing so we could make sure we got an extra hour of sleep since we had to turn our clocks forward and I'm glad we did since today they all said they didn't leave Camp Alpine until midnight! If I really try, I can remember having that kind of energy way back in the day.

It is a quiet Sunday as Dad has been working all day trying to find a problem that has been bothering them all week. I am catching up on things I love to do when I don't have time so it's good in that way.

I added the photo of the daffodils for Bella as she wrote the most adorable letter asking if they had bloomed yet. It just made my day! It seems like we don't have as many this year but they are beautiful and I love them. We do have a bunch of tulips coming up and yesterday dad removed the tacky fence so you can actually see them. I will pray the kids don't step on them now!!!

Dad is home and ready to eat so that's it for now. Have a great week. Birthday time has officially started. Can you even believe that Jennifer is 21? Next week is Brad's birthday, then Dontea and on to all those in April, May and we even have a June now with Justin.

Hello,
It's been a long time since I have blogged. I am pretty boring these days so there isn't a lot to say. The day care kids have all been sick this month and are just now feeling better. I am so glad it is getting warmer and we can go outside for a few minutes each day. Bruce and I started a project fixing up one of the extra bedrooms so that will be fun AND the daffodills are getting ready to bloom so that makes me very happy.

I was tagged by Le Ann so here are my answers to her questions.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Enjoying all the things my kids were doing. Jenni was in the 5th grade and Emily turned 16 and was playing softball. Darren received his mission call to Mexico City. Marc and Connie started coaching softball. I was walking every morning, serving in the Stake Young Women, and doing day care. Those were the days of Dariano, Marcus, Emily Ota and Alex. Good Times!

5 things on my to-do list today:--Practice the piano, read my book club book, post this to my blog, (that is a hard job for me), take care of five little girls, work on a scrapbook for Bethany.

"Things I would do if I was suddenly a billionaire: Give to the poor. Put money away for our retirement, if we ever have one, so we won't have to live with Darren. Put money away for my grand kid's education.

3 of my bad habits:---Procrastination, over eating, and I say a certain bad word when I get frustrated.

Places I've Lived:-Beaver, Utah - Logan, Utah - Carson City, NV - Reno, Nevada, Eugene & Springfield, Oregon

Jobs I've had:- Wife and Mother, Secretary at Marist High School, Waitress at Sambo's in Reno, motel maid in Carson City, Child Care Provider.

Things most people don't know about me: I take piano lessons, -
I tag...Emily and Jill

Ups and Downs

Em tells me I need to update my blog so I guess I'll give it a whirl.


January has never been my month. I usually don't feel well since I have to be the one to clean up all the sweets left over from Christmas and since I was raised in the day of, " we don't waste food" what else can I do. The let down from the holidays probably plays a part in the way I feel too and I hate to be cold. Some people, like those living in Rexburg, Idaho, would probably argue with me about it even being cold here but I am cold. It gets better, Tuesday I have the wonderful opportunity of having a colonoscopy, I've had a partial one before and believe me it was not fun! I hear the full meal deal is much less painful. Today was day one of prep by drinking lots of water, tomorrow is total liquids and the concoction they give you to keep you close to home is the nice way of putting it:) I'm sure it will all be fine and I'm not concerned. I have the next two days off and will scrapbook to keep my mind off it.



Now for the UP part! I have been blessed with good reason to love January! We have four grandchildren with January birthdays and it just brings such joy to think of them and talk to them and even see Nick, Kellen and Caleb. Megan turned 12 on January 11th. She called us since she was going to Branson on her birthday and it was so great to visit with her. I can't even believe she is in Young Women. What a beautiful, thoughtful girls she is and I love her. Then there is Nick, he turned 11 on January 15th. That happened to be the day his mom, Melanie, wanted to drive to Oregon for Brittney's funeral so being the helpful boy he is, he postponed his birthday party and accompanied Melanie on the 16 hour round trip to the funeral. Just what an eleven year old boy wants to do but he never complained. It was so fun to see them for that short time and I love him for doing that. Along with having Darren and Tina there, it was a bright spot in an otherwise very sad time.


Yesterday we went to Portland to see Kellen and Caleb for their birthdays. Caleb is one already, walking and a real happy little boy. Kellen is four, so smart and fun to be around. One of my favorite things in the world is to talk on the phone to him. He says, "Hi" in the cuttest way ever like he is really happy to hear from you. Caleb wasn't sure what all the fuss was about and he wasn't that interested in his cake but did pick away at it a little at a time. I'm having trouble with my camera card so the photo of Kellen won't show up, darn. Just imagine his cute face:)

Vicki Coffin shared a poem that she had received which reminds us how blessed we are and how grateful we should be compared to a lot of people in this world and that really helped put things in perspective for me. I am very grateful!! Enjoy the rest of January, I plan to.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I can't believe it is 2008 and hope it will be a great one. We can't complain about last year that's for sure. Christmas was so great and I always hate to see it end. We have Jennifer for the week end and then it is really over.
It was wonderful having family here and talking to those who weren't and just watching the little boys play was so fun and being able to kiss their little faces whenever I wanted, that's the life for me. I loved taking Kellen and Joseph to the movie and the library. Thankfully Jennifer went with me to take them to see Reptile Man. That was scary and they were so brave and even touched snakes! I loved holding and rocking Justin, Caleb and Easton and spending time with all their parents. I love shopping with Jenni and hanging out with her and all the help she gives me. I love watching Em and Jen learning dances and doing crafts. I could go on and on but let me just say, it was all great! Thanks for coming! We love you!

It is blowing up a storm here tonight so Bruce will be working on the railroad and Jen and I will probably go see a movie that he wouldn't like.

I haven't got all my photos on the computer yet but here are a few that I love.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Well, like the rest of you, all I have been doing this month is shopping and getting ready for Christmas. I feel like I am really behind for some reason and hope it gets done. We don't even have a tree yet, the kids keep asking every day when we are going to put up a tree and they all tell me they have had theirs for weeks. Oh well, this way Jenni can help us decorate it.

I wanted to show you my cute doll quilts before I wrap them. I had a good time making them from scraps for the little girls and they love to play dolls. I have to make something on the sewing machine or it doesn't seem like Christmas to me.

Merry Christmas to those I won't see. I love you all!

Pumpkin Pie!!

Every year I tell myself not to make so much pumpkin pie and then when the time rolls around again I just can't help myself. One last piece to go! I think I will have eaten an enitire pie by myself. Dad is busy trying to finish off the raisin pie, no surprise there. He thinks Warner does a great job of making a good one but I tried it this year and it just isn't for me. Thankfully Warner makes it so I don't have to:) We will finsih off the turkey soup tonight and take a break until next month this time. Maybe not with all the Christmas parties coming up. Oh, well, tis the Season.