Christmas

We started off this season by going to Indiana for our First Christams with the children. We saw the 2 kids there and the little children. Got tons of presents, for which we are grateful, ate great food by which we got stuffed, but more importantly we got to See them and visit with them. Then we traveled to Utah for our Second Christmas. We enjoyed ourselves there as well, again seeing the 2 kids there and the children. Again, a ton of gifts and a ton of food. Then we headed back home to wait a week for our Third Christmas with the kids and the children. We once again had an enjoyable time as we visited and and got our ton of presents. (this was on Old Christmas day... the 26th)

Since we are getting old (older) and have everything we need, I am sure it is hard for the children to think of what to get us. But they always come up with something great. Some times it is edible, some times it smells good, some times it is beautiful, but always just the right thing.

This year I had a dilema of what to get my hubby. He seems to have everything he needs. And what I don't know about tools could fill volumns. So I decided to give him a note that says how much I appreciate him. Then the more I thought about it, I decided to ask the children to write something about Dad. It did not have to be long, but just to write something. Well, they did and then I got it all together and put a little cover on it and wrapped it up. I knew he would never guess what it could be. He opened it up when we had our Third Christmas. He started to read it and then sneaked off to the back room to read the whole thing. When he came back he said he enjoyed it and that it made him cry. I told him that one of the children called it his eulogy.

I am glad he liked it and that the children could take a moment from their schedules to think about him. This man puts up with a lot from me...I mean what man in his right mind would tolerate a grown woman jumping on the bed saying, "It's Christmas, It's Christmas".

Laughter is the best medicine

The other night while lying in bed, ready to settle in for the night, my husband said something funny. What made it funnier is that it was perfect timing. And to top it off, one does not expect to hear such funny things come from him. He has a dry wit. Most people don't expect him to be funny. He just cracks me up. So I laughed out loud and then the more I thought of it, I laughed again. Then he laughed at how he had "gotten" me. So we laughed and laughed and it was such a choice moment. I love to laugh and I love to laugh with him. I guess it would not be appropriate for him to put Ha Ha on my tombstone though, would it?
I love how the children have weird senses of humor. Finding humor a comfort at times. I guess one could say "the joke is on me" and I would love that. I love to see them smile and hear them laugh, I love to see them make fun of themselves to get others to laugh. I love how they run with a gag and go the distance. Makes me smile and feel happy just to type all this.
Now go have a smile on me. Free of charge.

I Love A Parade....

Now that I have your attention....This has nothing to do with parades. But it does have to do with holiday and crowds.
I have always enjoyed going to watch Fireworks on the 4th of July. Sparklers, snakes, etc. in the front yard. Traditionally we have gotten together with friends and family and had a cook out and then watched the skies light up together. This year was different.
Being on sunday we went to all our church meetings and did not get home until 3:30pm (long-story). Then we ate and relaxed and I watched some MO TAB on patriotic themes while the man took a nap. Then I made chocolate cup cakes from the Family Favorite Recipe. And we took our lawn chairs and blankets and headed for the church lawn.
We met up with the other 2 daughters and their families and enjoyed Oohing and Ahhing together. I sure enjoyed that. Sharing a moment of pure satisfaction with those I love.
Then the bubble burst. The man says, "now I remember why I hate crowds and traffic". Shame on him. It only happens once a year, and it does not cost a penny, and I enjoy it so much. Then he had to admit that he enjoys watching the display, he just wishes it were not such a hastle. So now I have a whole year to figure out how to De-hastle the event.
Oh, Well.....Hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th.
PS I could not sing the national anthem in church without having to stop for the tears in my eyes and the crack in my voice. I love the land that Heavenly Father has so richly blessed. I love that I am an American. I love that we have a democracy for government and that we have the freedom to change things. I love that our country helps the downtrodden. I love it that we are not These United States but The United States, as a whole. That we are One Nation, under God.
I love the 4th and all that it stands for and for the belief in Freedom so strong that several gave their lives so that it can Ring.

"click, click, click....No place like home, no place like home"

We are back home from our travels. Long days on the road...ugh!
Funny thing though, it was not as bad as I had anticipated. Before we (my daughter and I) started our trip I was Really not looking forward to it. I do not like to travel long distant by car and choose to sleep it off rather than to enjoy the scenery. Wake me when we get there type of traveling. And I do not like the roads and traffic and what if we have bad traveling weather and so on and so forth.
So to make a long story short, too late..., before we left I asked my hubby for a blessing. He did give me a blessing and then left town himself. A sister and brother in our ward asked my daughter and I on sunday if there was anything they could do for our trip. (she is both of our VT and he is my daughter's HT) I could not think of anything and neither could my daughter. Then the couple talked about a GPS. I did not want to bother them and told them we had maps, but they would not hear of that and dropped off the GPS at my daughter's house.
On the day of departure I woke up and got ready for the trip and did not feel apprehensive. I picked up my daughter at 4 am and we were off. I drove the first part and she worked the GPS.
It was quite helpful and reassuring as we made our way through the towns and states.
After we had gotten to our cross country destination I told my hubby about my not feeling apprehensive and gave the credit to the blessing he had given me. Then he said that having the GPS could also be an answer because of the blessing.
Blessings come in many forms. Answers to prayers come in many ways. Recognizeng them and giving thanks is so very important.
We made our trip with good roads, good traffic, good weather. We did all the work we needed to do at our destination, had a good visit with family and friends, helped another daughter in the midwest, and was very grateful for the wonderful help from a busy son. We taxed our muscles and our backs, and did many good works. I was surprised at the stamina that I seemed to have through all this. Yes, I am old and have bad knees and taxed all the muscles but I kept on going. My daughter and son taxed their muscles and backs and took it to another level (they are younger and stronger). This strength and stamina I attribute to the blessing as well.
My daughter was going to have a yard sale on saturday to clean out her storage unit and get rid of some things she was not taking back home. On the morning of the sale it was raining lightly. I knew we wanted to put things in the yard and now the grass was all wet. And who would come out in the rain to a yard sale. I said a prayer. Then I got to thinking about it. Did I think that all I had to do was ask and my prayer would be answered? Did I have a special IN with God?
So I said a second prayer petitioning for the needed good weather. I still felt it was not enough. In the third prayer I poored my heart into it. I knew that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers and cares about us. And that we could do nothing without His help. The rain stopped and the weather cleard and it was a beautiful bright hot sunny day. I did not complain about the heat because I had already asked for this kind of day. We had the sale and took the leftovers to the good will store drop box. Hot and tired and sticky but truly blessed.
Now it was time for the trip home. I still did not feel Dread. We got an early start and had good weather (except a really brief rain), good roads and good traffic (for the most part- I hate construction areas) We made it home and felt good about that. Exhaustion has now set in and I am feeling my age. I am grateful to have been able to help 2 daughters with their differing projects. I am grateful for the answers to prayers and for the tender mercies of a loving and caring Heavenly Father. I am grateful for family and friends. And I am grateful to be safely home.

It's the small things

My daughter and I recently visited other family members in another state. We had a nice visit and all went well, for the most part.
On the day we were to leave for home it started to snow great big flakes. She did not have a scraper and just as we got a few blocks from home my daughter rolled her window down half way to look for traffic. Then the electric window did not want to go back up. I told her to pull over and try to jiggle the window while using the electic button. She did this a few times but the window would not move.
I told her to use 2 hands to wiggle the window, then use the button. She did but still no go.
I could not think of another thing to do and while I was contemplating this she said, "why don't you pray while I work on this?"
Well, with her faith in the power of prayer I quickly said a silent prayer. I thought about doing the jiggling from the outside. Without saying anything I got out of the car and went to her window. I said to push the button while I jiggled the window. It worked, I got back into the car and buckled up.
Then my daughter asked if I had prayed. I answered I did. She said she wondered because all of a sudden I was jumping out of the car and around to her side.
It was indeed a miracle to me and an answer to pray. I could not think of anything to do differently, but after the prayer I thought of "outside". Why did going outside make a difference? I don't know. All I know is that I got an immediate impression after I prayed. I had faith in her faith in the power of prayer.

Was My Face Red....

Well, if you are of the sweemish sort, I suggest you stop reading, because to get the full affect I will detail the info.
Last friday night I was at my daughter's house in Utah. Her family was there plus my daughter from Nevada and her two children. The little ones were off playing, and the teens were busy with their friends. The "adults" were at the kitchen table playing a game. We are known for uncontrollable laughter. We had eaten a bunch of food and had pop and snacks. Needless to say I felt bloated but had not heard or felt any rumblings.
Something that was said struck my funny bone and I started to laugh, and hard. Then I heard myself Ripp a loud one. My son-in-law shoved his chair back fast, as if it was going to get on him. Then the quote from the Simpson's came to my mind, "Well, that shut me up!" I began to laugh more and even started to shake because I could not get ahold of the gas attack. Spurt, Splort, Sputter! My son-in-law said, "I believe we have lift-off." And I laughed all the more. I was sooooo embarrassed.
We did calm down and I went to the bathroom to relieve any further gas and everytime I thought about the whole thing I laughed again. I am so glad and sorry at the same time, that it happened around family. On the one hand family will just chalk it up to Old People. On the other hand I will probably never live it down.
On Saturday we all gathered at another daughter's house and the first daughter brought along a can of room deodorizer. Funny.....
We all had a good chuckle at that, at my expense. I still feel so embarrassed at the whole thing and yet when I recall it I laugh all over again.
So my apologies to those of you who experienced this first hand, and my apologies to those of you who read this and are shaking your heads.
I shall go down in history as Rip Van Stinkle......

favorite cereal

When I was little we ate oatmeal and cooked grits for cereal, pancakes and bacon, eggs and toast, french toast....and while all these are still good I remember my favorote Store Bought cereal. My choice was Frosted Flakes, the tony the tiger one, because they're Great!
My brother chose between Sugar Smacks and Sugar Pops. I liked those too, but they weren't as good as Tony's. My dad's favorite was Wheaties. He ate so many of them that I am surprised they never put his picture on the box. These were special cereals. Back in the day it was the oddity, not the normalcy to have store bought cereal. And there were not many choices either.
Today eating cereal out of the box is the norm. We eat it for breakfast, lunch, and supper. Snack time too. The variety is so tremendous that I am sure you can find Something you will like.
Recently a family member came home with the Old Shredded Wheat in the Big Chunks. My hubby was surprised they still made it. Speaking of hubby, he was a farm boy so he had hot cereal and eggs a lot. He still likes those today. He will eat a cold cereal sometimes, but not too often. And when he does it is like this shredded wheat thing.
I bought boxed cereal for my little ones and also had hot cereals of oatmeal, mush, and Cocoa Wheats. Cocoa Wheats are made in Indiana. We can find them at the Walmart in the west though. The Big Walmart, not the Small one.
The cereals I bought were the generics of their day. Captain Crunch and the like. Occasionally we would buy the Real cereal for them, the kind with the commercials on tv. I am sure they had their favorites too. It seems like each child sat with a box infront of them.
And that thought brings me back to my childhood. I remember my brother and I sitting at the kitchen table with our little cowboy hat bowls and boot cups eating our cereal. Mine was red and his was yellow. Each with our favorite cereal box infront of us.
How about you, what was your favorite cereal?

Found Her

With the help of my niece and her husband I was able to re-connect with a high school friend. She does not have facebook but her daughter does and I have been following her. Sadly my friend's spouse died of a trucking accident a few years ago. Her mother is still alive and she is enjoying being with her. My friend has children and grandchildren and it will be nice to catch up with her after all these many years.
She was my best friend and she got me through a lot of tough years by just being there and being my friend. I was part of her wedding party and saw her first child as part of her family. Then we lost contact and I have been unable to find her through the years. My moving and her moving did not help very much.
We had a nice long phone conversation. We laughed and just enjoyed the moment. I look forward to visiting her in the near future.
Why don't you reach out and touch someone today. Let your fingers do the walking. It will lighten your spirits..

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

The other day the garage door did not work. It was frustrating. It went up part way and then went down again. I could not get my car out and had to make arrangements to get to work. I tried to respice the wires, no go. I tried to unlatch the automatic latch so I could open it up manually. The latch was hard to pull and it took all my strength. Finally it came down but it made no difference. I was not able to open the door manually. Talk about frustration now. So I had tried everything I know and nothing was working. It had taken me quite a while with the wire work because it was old and brittle and kept breaking as I endeavored to strip it.
So I decided to put the manual latch back into place and then my hubby could look at it when he came home. The stupid latch would not go back into place. Ugh!!!!! I was up and down the ladder several times. I tried to put it in by hand and then by hammer. No go. Double Ugh!!! So I asked myself "why don't you pray about it? you are always asking your hubby that/"
I stopped what I was doing and said a short prayer asking for the strength to put the latch back in place. I took my trusty hammer and climbed the ladder. Voila! Latch went back in to place.
I remember another time I said a 2 word prayer and was immediately helped.
Prayers can be for anything, anytime, anywhere we need help. I pray fully expecting to receive an answer....even if the answer is no. I trust that I am only a "prayer" away from the Father's help.
There are not enough words to express my belief in prayer. The only thing I can say is that with God all things are possible.

You want fries with that?

Little granddaughter was over and she was pretending to be a waitress. She brought her pencil and pad of paper over and asked what I wanted. I told her a hamburger, She said "we're out of that" so I said "chicken" and she scribbled it down. Now since she is only 3 it really was a scribble. Then she asked what else I wanted. I answered "french fries". She echoed "fries" as she scribbled that down. Then she asked what else I wanted. I answered "chocolate mild shake". She scribbled that down. Then she asked what her dolly, which was sitting beside me wanted. I told her "a chocolate milkshake". She echoed " a small chocolate milk shake". Now I had to smile because she processed that since her dolly was small she gets a small shake.
Then she went over by the couch and held out her hands for the order and said "thank you" and brought me my imaginary order.
Then she went over to her mom and asked what she wanted. Her mom started to say what she wanted but then the grand daughter says "we're out of that". Then the mom asks "what do you have?" The grand daighter says she has chicken and the mommy answers that she will take that and the other things she will have. Then the grand daughter walks over to the couch to retreive the order and the mom says "oh, that must be the kitchen". I answered, "yeah, what do you think? these things just appear out of thin air?" We laughed at that. Grand daughter will make a good waitress some day.

We laughed and laughed

So I came home this morning and the man randomly says, " either someone has been eating chocolate on my side of the bed or I poopied my pants in my sleep." I snorted and chortled and almost could not catch my breath. He laughed and I said that will be my next blog, so here it is.
While he was gone I ate a few chocolate chips in the bed and a couple must have gotten away from me. Sorry about that. If his jammies were stained it was from the outside, not the inside. I though Sweet Sassy Molassy would like to know that.

To Dye or Not to Dye

So the question was whether to be nostalgic and go red again or stay mousy brown with gray. Well it is short enough and will continue to be short, so go ahead and have fun was the answer. My youngest colored my hair the color it was since I was 16, and before I went Natural. It looks good and unless you think about it the color doesn't pop out at you. It almost looks natural. I guess I wear it well. If I can figure out how this machine works I may add a photo. If not, oh well. I might just send a photo to the children. Anyhoo. I will enjoy it while it lasts. I don't want to be an 80 y.o. still coloring my hair. I want to enjoy growing older and looking the part.

time

"There was a time....or once upon a time....this one time...." I am sure you have said something similar to this or maybe even these words. So what is time anyway? It is a measurable thing. I can see it on the clock and on the calendar. I can measure time used wisely and time wasted. I am surprised by hours I can waste by watching movies on tv or dvd, and how fast it flies when I am in the middle of a project.
I have stayed up all night doing sewing or painting projects. I have forgotten time when engrosses in doing things. And I have discovered that I couple time with tasks. I know that I am task oriented and like to accomplish things in a timely manner. I do this at work. I have medicine to give patients before they go to sleep and I know that I should be done with those medicines and treatments by 10:30pm at the latest. Anything later than that and I feel that I am interrupting their sleep time. When I have been delayed or interrupted in my work and it is after 10:30 then I know the rest of the night I will be behind and try to play "catch up".
At home I look at the big mess ahead of me and that is when this coupling of time and task come in handy. I say to myself "cleaning the kitchen will only take a half an hour and then it will be done". So I do the kitchen and it only takes 20 minutes because I have a dish washer and only have to do the big items by hand. Then I say " the bathroom will only take me 20 minutes", which really only takes 15 and then I am off to other rooms. See what I mean? I break each task down to the time in which I think I accomplish it. If I look at the overall picture of the mess I get overwhelmed and don't do anything. I can get it done faster if I play music. A good fast beat helps me to forget the task and hum or sing along. I like 40's and 50's music the best for this.
One thing I must mention is that I can clean it up faster by myself. If you have the children helping it will slow you down, but it is good for them to learn to clean, so add extra minutes to your alotted time.
Time will and does go by... so use it to your best advantage. In time all good things will come to pass. Time will tell. Time after time I have regretted not using my time wisely. And right now it is time I get moving and clean the house. Thank you for your time.

How To Totally Gross Out The Children

I am going to tell you all about my love life.
I have a lover that is so totally wonderful. When he holds my hand, he holds my heart. I melt when he sits next to me and lets me cuddle up and just be there in the moment. Or when I warm my cold feet against his in bed. He also sacrifices his time, talent, and energy in doing things for me. He does things around the house, he builds things, he never raises his voice in a cross word to me, he watches chick flicks with me, and even will take me dancing sometimes. I guess you say I am Wild about him.
Is he perfect? No, I can't say that he is. Does he expect me to be perfect? I hope not, because I am far from it.
We have a mutual respect and love for each other which is hard to explain. Infact I cannot really figure it out. I am not easy to live with. Those who know me are also probably surprised that I have such a nice fella in my life.
I could go on and into great detail of all that I love about him, but that would really gross out the children. So suffice it to say that I have a great man in my life and he is wonderful in all respects.
He is one in a million and I am grateful that I am the one that he is with. Thank you so much and I will miss you while you are gone and will count the days until your return.

Teach, Testify, Touch lives

We went to a training meeting and Bro. Leatham talked about teaching, testifying, and touching lives of those we teach. What an interesting thought. Sometimes when we teach we know that we are just imparting knowledge. Some times we know that the students or converts, etc are ready to hear our testimony. And then there are times when we actually touch the lives of others and feel we are doing Christ's service.

It is that way in our families as well. We want to teach, testify, and touch the lives of our children and grandchildren. I am hoping I do that. I want to spare them trouble and anguish. I want to keep them from making the same mistakes I did.

So listen to the spirit and follow the promptings. And remember that you too are an example to others.

Mommy's Day Off

Mommies are jacks of all trades: Secretary, Laundress, Forman, Chef, House Keeper, Nurse, Accountant, Teacher, Librarian, etc. Mommies work long hours. And they are on-call 24/7. The pay is minimal and the recognition and advancement are non-existant. Mommies must work even when they are sick, they can't call off work a day. The children still need to be fed, clothed, and sent to school. The baby still needs to be changed, fed, and rocked to sleep.
So just when IS Mommy's day off? When does Mommy get to play hooky or take a day to herself? When does Mommy get to play and not be on-call for the family's needs?
I remember when I felt I wasn't appreciated or being helped enough and I went on strike for a weekend. The children were always tired of me being after them to do things around the house and I was getting tired of telling them to do things. So I took time off. Mind you I did not have little bitty children and there was no school on my strike. There was food in the house and if they wanted something extra they could go to the store.
I just got my own food and took care of my own things and watched tv. Kinda like a mini-vacation. I found out that my children did not like it a whole lot. And maybe they did move a little faster and more willingly when I was off strike and asked them to do things around the house.
I am not advocating to strike against your family... I am just saying, "Take a little time for yourselves. You cannot give from an empty well."
Be nice to yourself today and take 15 minutes just for yourself. Every 4 hours you should take a 20 minute break. Every 6 hours you should take a half an hour for yourself. There is no union but there is a sisterhood and we do need to encourage each other. Even Ferris Beuller got a day off.

SMART

In Relief Society we learned about being SMART when making new year resolutions. My youngest said that SMART meant Spiritual Men Are Rare Treasures. And even though I agree with that I will tell you what the teacher said.
Specific- be specific in making your goal
Measurable- Make it a measurable goal so you can keep track.
Achievable- Make it an achievable goal. One that CAN be obtained.
Relevant- See that it is relevent to you and your situation so that you will want to keep it.
Timely- Set a time frame for the accomplishment, a time limit in which to achieve your goal. See that it is timely in your life.
So there you have it. Be SMART with your resolutions.

Thank you for being an American

My army son came to visit us for the holidays. He flew a flew different airlines to get here. On the way Delta gave him a first class seat for being a soldier. On another airline a passenger in first class volunteered his seat to my soldier. Those around him emcouraged him to take it, and I could sense that they also felt the pride in our nation. Bless that man for his selfless gesture. On the flight home my son was also given first class by the airline.

What moved me was the care that they gave him, almost an honor, or a thankyou for his service. Here were other people showing care for our son that we love so dear.

Thank you all for the flags you fly, for the flag pins you wear on your lapel, for the hand over your heart when you sing the national anthem, or stand when you see that flag go by you in a parade.
Thank you for being an American and not being afraid to show it.