Judy's Joys

2009-06-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

Wednesday-we had Elders and Sisters visit today. Its always fun to visit with them. I received my commissary order today so I have lots of stuff again. It gets depleted soon though. We spent 500 dollars on PACs and DVDs and phamplets and BOM from different languages. We do not have to charge the Elders anymore for supplies< i am so glad.

I left early today to get my hair cut. Dad said I look like Sis. Porth, I was so mad because bless her heart she does nothing with her hair. Men!

We did some cooking to help Kelly out. They are cooking up at girls camp tomorrow night.

The Elders are so disappointed when they dont receive mail, I understand because we do not hear from anyone.

2009-06-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

We have a new couple in the office training to take the Porths place. They are really nice. Just a couple of years older than we, yes we still are the old timers. Sis Crotts brings in all kinds of food and is constantly trying to feed us. The Porths have been going to the training meetings to bear their testimonies and say goodbye. I am keeping busy.

2009-06-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

Monday reports need to happen. Last week we had trouble with the fax machine and they took all morning.
The reports went well. I think its hard for the Elders to have to fax in the reports before they start their P day. Elder Wright and Davis came by. There are big changes in the wards, creating a new stake. The Elders and the APs were working on those changes. This means that I have to relearn some of the areas and companionships. I have been so busy learning my job that I have let the referrals go. That is that part of my job is to keep the Elders updating their referrals. Elder Davis asked me what the percentage of the zone was and I justlooked at him like Duh. He showed me again what report indicated that and the percentage of reporting was pretty low.
Tuesday I called the zones with alot of unreported referrals and updated some and fix some of the errors, etc. I am anxious to see if it made a difference. I texted them as well and reminded them.
Everyone left w/o helping me figure out the new wards and stuff------

2009-06-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday, church. We are not assigned a ward as yet. We need to be so we can get involved with the missionary work.

2009-06-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

The 13th I tried to stay bored so the day would last longer. Danette is going to girls camp so she and Kelly have been busy preparing. We went swimming with Snells and then Maddy cooked dinner. It was yummy! Madison is going to girls camp as well. She is concerned about the 4th year hike but looking forward to it. The Dr. released her to go.

2009-06-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

The 9th, 10th and 11th are zone training. One of my jobs is to do commissary. We have 8 zones in our mission. El Paso, Mount Franklin, New Mexico, Gila Valley, Sierra Vista, Rincon, Tucson, and Northwest. I text each zone leader and ask them to give me a list of supplies their zone needs and then I fill the order. The APs take it across the mission. It is a hard job for an old lady. The Book of Mormons come in a box of 40 books. They are heavy! I mark the zone on the boxes and pile everything up for that zone. That happens every month and then there are transfer times too.

Sunday

2009-06-09T20:19:00.001-07:00

We went to church and said our goodbyes. WE had dinner for at Whitney's and then started for Az. Danette and I rode in the car, she did the driving. Dad rode in the truck. I kept worrying about him falling asleep. We stayed in Mesquite. Started out the next day after breakfast at McDonald's. We did alot of stopping, we old folks need to stretch our legs. I think we drove Danette crazy. she didn't say anything. We showed her the Belligo, however it is spelled. It is so pretty, she took pictures. I do not like this keyboard, I am typing on my laptop and I hit wrong keys and spaces.
Tues. we headed back to the office and doing that ever since. We usually get home about 6, clean up and go to bed. I have been reading and resting and then to sleep.
We went to dinner with the Porth's, they are nice people but talk about themselves constantly and butt in when your are talking. It gets annoying
Sat. P day, we met Melanie and the children and shopped alittle and had lunch. We then met Snells for a swim. I didn't go swimming because I am not supposed to get my incision wet. Jared took the stitches out Thurs. It is looking good for a scar on your face.

Sat.

2009-06-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

We worked in the house and yard getting last minute things finished. We went to an Italian place, Gloria's, for dinner. It was so much fun. They had a young man singing to us as we ate.
We met a couple from the MTC there and visited with them and exchanged e-mails.
It was a fun night.

MTC

2009-06-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

Monday the 1st we started in the MTC, Memorial Day. My dance group was dancing in Jackson Hole. We had a short day with an overview and get acquainted day. We received many supplies and teaching aids. Monday night we had the family over for dinner.
Tuesday we started to be taught. I was so stressed and upset. I didn't see the reason for being there, we weren't going to be teaching, I had things I needed to get done, I didn't like the food.
Wednesday through Fri. the spirit over powered me I was amazed at the things I was learning. The role plays were so real. We had about 4 situations to role play and resolve concerns and it was so spiritual. We had great trainers and leaders. I learned so much We also had lunch with Chris everyday.
Wednesday night we went to Dusty and Alexis' graduation. Da nette flew in from Az. She was a life saver. We couldn't have done it without her. I gave her a list

nd when I got home, she had it done. The other kids helped too. My kids are so awesome.

2009-06-07T21:32:00.001-07:00

Sunday we were set apart after our block at church. Everyone was there(Utah) It w as very special and we were promised great blessings. I think the Lord loves all His missionaries!

May 21st- We received our Call!!

2009-06-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

Guess where, the Arizona Tucson Mission Office. We really did wonder if there could be a change when it actually came. Sorena called from Whitney's and they read the letter to us over the phone. It is exciting and real. We wanted to go home the week of May 24th and get our affairs in order. Our papers said that we would go to the MTC on June 29th President did not like that idea. We left Friday after work and headed to Utah. On the road Pres. called and said we would go to the MTC on Monday. Well I kinda freaked because we already had so much to do and now we would be in the MTC all day. We arrived Sat. afternoon. It was exciting to see our family again! We missed them so much.

2009-06-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

We have been learning our duties and waiting for our call. We have name badges and name plates but no authority yet. I feel good about some of the things I have learned and need more time on some others. I have the mail down pretty well. Monday morning reports are going ok. Every other Thursday I have three reports to run and haven't a clue. I finally got some out but not totally correct.

Messed up dates.

2009-06-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

The posts about transfer and lunch etc. should have been May 12 and 13th. I really got confused. Then it was Mother's Day which I have already posted.

28th

2009-06-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

The corporate office where the mission office is located had a customer appreciation lunch for all the clients in the building. It was catered and very nice. Three free meals this week. After lunch I was walking to the bathroom and noticed signs for a blood drive. I went up and asked if they were taking walk-ins. They had me fill out the paper work and read their stuff. Then it was time. There was a man giving as I was preparing and he almost past out. I got a little nervous but went through with it. I did it in record time for me, five and a half minutes! I told the woman that was helping me that I wanted to give back for my daughter who required two units after her ordeal having her baby. She was so touched, she got a little teary and told me to kiss Gracie for her. She said they liked to hear stories like that, it made they jobs worth while.

April 27th

2009-06-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

We were again invited to the mission home for dinner. This time to say goodbye to the missionaries leaving the mission. We had a nice dinner and then had a testimony meeting. I was so glad we got to stay for that because it was very special to hear those Elders and one sister bear testimony and see their maturity compared to the new Elders alnd Sisters. I really enjoyed hearing President and Sister Walker's testimonies and council to these amazing young people.
A word about the home. It is a beautiful home on a hill above 1st and River. It has a dormitory room downstairs that the Elders slept in and the sister was upstairs. All their luggage was in the garage. They have a van that they use to transport them to the airport.
Sister Walker has a manservant who comes in and helps her with the dinners and I think other events. The house is furnished, but they have added some of their personal decorations and pictures.

26th of April-transfer day

2009-06-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

Sister Walker invited the Porth's and us to their home (the mission home) for dinner and to meet the new Elders and Sister's coming in the mission. It was very nice. The food was delicious and the company was great. We didn't stay long because they have a testimony meeting and get acquainted with the President.

2009-06-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

The workers were here on Sat. Monday we arrived a little early to put things back together. We had everything put back together and then the computers and phones wouldn't work. It took another hour or so to figure out the problem

2009-06-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

The workers are coming to remodel our office. They will do it on Saturday so we had to empty the filing cabinets we didn't need and get other things out of the way. We will have new counter tops and new keyboards that are attached to the desk.

2009-06-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

Catching up! We have been so busy and tired. I think I am finally catching up and feeling like I can do more than just my day at the office. I have had trouble learning my duties. Some days go ok and others I just want to go home. I have thought about Fran alot and would like to talk to her.

Mother's Day

2009-05-15T05:32:00.000-07:00

I totally skipped Mother's Day. What a beautiful day it was to reflect on our family. I loved that Gracie was blessed and is doing so well! I was extremely upset when Bram burned his feet but the love that was shown there too was amazing. We are so blessed to have the family that we do. I know that things go wrong but we pull toge-ther when one has needs. I appreciate the love that was shown to me by my beautiful children. I always loved Mother's day until we moved to Tucson. I had friends there that did not like it and I decided I did not like it either. What a silly, worldly decision that was. I haven't always made the right decisions, or handled things the way I should so I would like to mention Dad here as well. He has tried to help me calm down and then he got in trouble. I love you all so much, my fourteen children, and I will be there for you always.!! Love, Mom

Wednesday

2009-05-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today Elder Davis practiced shadow leadership. He was there but stayed out of things. The corporate office fed us lunch today, a company appreciation meal. It was very good. On my way to the restroom I saw signs for a blood drive. I went in and they said they could draw my blood. When I finally got to the chair to do it I was talking to the nurse and I told her about Jeanene needing blood and she got teary. She told me that they love to hear stories like that, that it makes their job worthwhile. It was really sweet. She told me to give Gracie a kiss from them.

This evening we went to the mission home for dinner. There are 7 Elders and one sister going home. We had a very nice dinner and then we stayed for testimony meeting. I loved the testimonies of these great young people. I felt the spirit as they bore their testimonies, they are amazing. Sister Walker expressed her love for them and Pres. Walker gave them great council. One of the things that he said was "focus on the temple". He feels like that is the next biggie in their lives.

2009-05-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Wednesday are transfer days. We went to the Mission Home and had dinner with the 12 new missionaries. Tomorrow night we go again and have dinner with the missionaries who are going home. Elder Davis and Elder Wright are being transferred but are still to help us when we need help. They will fill in for us the week we are gone. Elder Davis is a District Leader. I hope I am ready. Of course Marlin is, he is doing things Elder Wright didn't even do.

2009-05-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Danette made a beautiful and yummy dessert for the Moms! She let the men eat it too.

2009-05-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday Gracie was blessed. I didn't get a picture of her in her blessing dress but Grandpa did. She wore Maddies dress that aunt Danette made. she is unhappy.

2009-05-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday Bram went outside without his shoes and burned his feet. Look at those blisters! It was so sad. He was in so much pain

2009-05-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday was also Ethan's birthday! What a great young man he is! Handsome too. He is so helpful to Jeanene. He cleans up after his brothers and wherever he sees a need.

I have had some good days and bad days at the office. I ordered vhs instead of dvd movies. The distribution center would only take one case back. Elder Davis was so mad. We needed them and now we have to wait until the one case is credited back and order some more.

Transfers are next week. That is going to be a hectic week I am told. We will be going to the mission home Tues. and Wed. night for dinner. Tues. to meet the new Elders and Weds. to say goodbye to the ones going home.

Weds. the Corp. office where the mission office is located is having a customer appreciation day and we are having lunch on them.

Tomorrow(Sunday) Snell's are having Gracie blessed. Greens will be down later today.

Tomorrow is also Mother's Day! I want to wish you all the best Mother's Day! I love you all and are so proud of you and your families. You are such an influence for good and are nuturing caring women of God.

2009-05-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

Noah is scaling the wall. Bram enjoying Gracie. He is so curious about all the baby stuff. Jared is going to have a hicky.

Getting ready to jam!

My pictures are backwards! The bottom ones were Sunday morning and the bottom ones Sunday afternoon.

Bradeigh was blessed Sun. morning and then we went to Jared and Melanie's for brunch. We had a good time eating and visiting.

Bradeigh is wearing the dress I made, she is a cutie!

Sunday afternoon we went to Snell's and had hamburgers and more visiting.

Group shot in front of Jared and Melanie's. Green's and Shimeks

2009-05-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

This is Elder and Sister Porth. They are the Executive Secretary and Secretary to the President. They are from Wisconsin and going home the end of June. Really nice people. He has a great sense of humor!

2009-05-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

This is Elder Wright. He is Grandpa's trainer. He says Grandpa is doing so well he is out of work. Elder Davis is not saying the same.

2009-05-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

This is Elder Davis, he is my trainer. He is sitting in a corner of our office. I ordered name tags and name plates for Dad and I yesterday.

2009-05-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

We have been driving Kelsey to school or work in the mornings to try and help some of the running around Danette has to do. Weds. we called Maryn from the car and sang to her.."misery, suffering, and despair...We had a great conversation with her. Thursday was Asher's birthday! Saturday the Green's came down. They usually stay at Snell's so they booked a motel. We went swimming at the motel with Green's, Snells, Kelsey, and Hannah and Noah. We filled up that little pool. I took some pictures but I couldn't see my camera lens in the sunlight so they are not great!

2009-04-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

I have not written on my blog for so long! This is the story of my life so I need to write the news even if it is old. My life has changed so much in the last month. My biggest complaint was the weather. I am so sick of a nice day followed by a snow storm! I want it to stay cold and snowy until it is ready to be sunny and warm. April is a month with many of my loved ones birthdays, this year it is the last month of aprons. Melanie had her baby on March 31st and it was a girl. I just knew it was going to be a boy. As the time grew near she really wondered if she would be born on April Fool and turn out to be a boy. hehehe Jeanene was due on the 27th and she ended up having her baby on Fri. the 17th. This was not a normal delivery to say the least. She went to the hospital and had an emergency c-section. I won't write all the gory details here but we came close to losing her. She had 2 blood transfusions and is not out of the woods yet but doing sooooooooo much better. I am so thankful that Dan can stay home with her for 2 weeks. Danette and I are doing what we can. Oh, that part....Marlin and I were going to come down and see both babies but we had a few things to do to get our mission paper s turned in. We left Utah on Sunday morning and drove straight through to satisfy our need to see Jeanene for ourselves. Marlin called Pres. Walker and told him that we would be in Tuc. and could we volunteer in the mission office until our call came. He was for that and we told him we would call when we were ready. Danette and Kelly invited us to stay for the year that we are in Tuc. They are being so helpful and sacrificing alot! We spent Mon. through Wed. getting settled and visiting. We started in the mission office on Thurs. I had no idea what we were in for. I am over referrals and Marlin finance. We receive referrals from missionaries over the phone, from SL., and other missions. I find out what companionship they belong to and text them. (that is a simple way of saying what I do) I also do anything that comes up like make keys for cars and such. It is way more complicated than I ever thought. Marlin says the same thing about his job. The 2 Elders that are training us are very efficient and helpful but they want to be out of the office. Makes me wonder why, they know something I don't know. Just kidding, they want to teach! Sunday I made green chili burros and had everyone over(Danette has been doing all the cooking and I thought she needed a break. I really miss the Utah kids-that means you to Maryn. Monday as we were driving to the office I had a mini-melt down. I started crying and told Marlin I couldn't do this and I wanted to go home. Today was a better day. I do not like feeling stupid! We went to Snells on our way home because we had a tire that was going flat, Marlin used Dans compressor to pump it up. Caleb wanted me to watch him play hockey. He goes in the alley next to Snells and skates with his stick and puck. I was helping him make a goal and he raised his stick to cheer and wacked me across the nose with the stick. I saw stars and moons ande heard crunching noises. All's well we will see if I have a black eye in the morning. Kelsey and I played Rumicube, I am so tired I only played one game even though she beat me. Good night

2009-04-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

I love Conference! I love what I learn, I love what I feel, I love the whole experience. It was a great conference. We loved having the Hillmans here. Saturday it snowed alot. We watched both sessions and then the guys went to Priesthood. Danette, Maryn, Kelsey, and I went to Deseret Book in the Univ. Mall for Ladies Night Out. That was an experience. I will let Danette tell about that. I will say it was packed and we got sensory overload. Sunday Hillmans went up to Conf. and the spoken word. The weather was beautiful. We had everyone for dinner and the kids ate outside. Jen and Greg were here, we enjoyed seeing them and their sweet family. I really hope to implement the things I learned and strive to be a better person because of the experience!

2009-04-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

It has been sleeting ALL day! Our weather has been poopy. Karsyn has the chicken pox so I have been taking care of her on the days that Whitney works. I am also doing some Easter sewing. And oh my gosh, the April birthdays, thats a full time job. (just kidding) We have been working on our mission papers. We had to get 2 shots, one in each arm, they were sore. I think we are just waiting to give the papers to the bishop. The electronic stuff has gone to the Stake, I think. We need to decide what to do with the house. Well, I have decided just waiting for Marlin. I went to dance last night, we are finishing up Single Ladies. I probably will not ever dance it, maybe that's a good thing. Relief Society had a party last night, Hats Off to the Sisters. They had a nice dinner and an adorable speaker. I won a prize for my hat. It was one of those birthday hats with the candles. I borrowed it from Margaret. Annie Gordan was there and she has a pretty engagement ring, getting married in August. She is so cute. Sorena and Alexis went to New York last week, they had a great time. They saw plays and ran, ran and ran to see all the sites. We got to spend time with the kiddos. Nico is getting big and trying to talk, esp. without Sorena there to interpret. Grandpa has been working on the bathroom downstairs and tiled the bathroom floor upstairs. Of course he is not doing taxes, another deferment.

2009-03-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

My computer is up and running but I have been so frustrated with all new setups. Trying to teach an old dog new tricks. I get things figured out and then it all changes. The password that I use to sign on hasn't been working, finally Dad was here when I tried it and he told me to try another way that I thought was the password. Anyway, it worked. He said I had to think like a computer, I said that was my problem. I expect it to be the same every time. Anyway, I think I am up and running.
I had fun in California. I was so sick Monday I had a hard time deciding to go. I had a sore throat that felt like knives were in there every time I swallowed. I had a temp. of 101.8. I didn't feel good and I didn't want to get anyone else sick. I was rooming with Jane (our 92 yr. old) and Margaret (who had hip surgery and now needs to work) I took medicine that Sorena gave me called Plague. It is so nasty! I took a spoonful every hour all day. I decided to try to go because I would lose all my money and Jean said she needed me in spite of being ill. When I got to the airport Marylynn, my Drs. nurse, brought me antibo. I started taking them right then. I think she saved my life.
Tues. we went to Universal Studios. I enjoyed it but didn't feel great. We went to the Blues Brother show, we went last time and really enjoyed it. We were enthusiatic enough that they pulled about 8 of us up to dance on the stage. When they were finished "Jake" came and got me and said help me. He started twisting me around dancing and the girls were impressed that I could follow him. Tues. night we went to the Pantages and saw "Grease". It was good but I liked Wicked better. They had a picture of Taylor Hicks on the Marque like he was the star. He saw one song, Teen Angel.
Weds. We went to the Fashion District, the Farmers Market, and Alvera St. Shopping and nosy around. I really haven't found what is so great about the Fashion Dist. It is like Mexico to me. Little shops everywhere selling junk. Weds. night we danced at the Staples Center for the Clippers. They were a good audience. We stayed and watched the game and they won. I think we brought them good luck.
Thurs. we went to Long Beach and ate luncha t Bubba Gump's. I like that place. We then walked around looking at the sites and taking in the little shops on the Pier. We flew out of the Long Beach airport. Just as we arrived at our gate they froze the airport. Ya you guessed it. OBama. He was taking off after filming Jay Leno (I think) We did get to see Airforce One, THAT was exciting. The people who were taking off at that time were delayed about 40 mimutes. We had a 2 hr. wait. All in all it was a fun trip. I got to know some of the gals better and enjoyed their company.
It is always nice to be home. Dad has been working on the bathroom downstairs and decided to tile the upstairs bathroom. It looks so nice. He is putting it back together. I am excited because it was such a gruggy bathroom. I had my mammogram and a dentist appt. I think I am finished.
We have had more snow and cold! Spring time in Utah.
Now we are just waiting to hear about that baby Green.

We Surround Them

2009-03-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today is the big day!! Can't wait to hear what Glenn has to say. I signed up on his web site to see what was happening and I have been swamped with e-mails from all over the country. It is mostly people's opinions about issues so I just push delete. Then I push delete to get them from my Trash! Is there any other way? I am having the family over to watch and eat. Yesterday I heard a guy call in to the radio show and said he is traveling on business and will be watching with co-workers, some D___. and l______s. Anyway, he wanted to know if Glenn was going to be serious or kooky like he has been lately. Glenn laughed so hard!! Stu said compared to Glenn's shows he would not be kooky. I think that is sooo funny. I lol. Marlin and I had our physicals yesterday. Went well. I also had that thing removed from my face, they are doing a biospy because it is the 3rd time. He also injected something in my scar to fix it so it looks better. He may do it again. I don't think so it hurt like blazes!!!!

2009-03-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I need some tutoring from a very patient teacher. I did the Pageant pictures backwards! Start with the cake and go forward.

2009-03-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

The picture of the Belly's and how they looked when they sang in Sacrament, I am a Child of God. They look the part don't they? It was very sweet!

2009-03-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

Lexi in her beautiful orange dress! She was an escort.

2009-03-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

Here they are receiving prizes and just moments before the crowning of the king and his court.

2009-03-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Answering the random question, which was about doggie do-do.

2009-03-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

Evening wear, 1st appearance.

2009-03-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

Swimwear portion of pageant. Dusty stripping off a T-shirt, no worries he has more on.

2009-03-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Dusty performing "Lunchlady" with the Lunchlady!

2009-03-09T09:13:00.001-07:00

The opening number to the "Duke" pageant

2009-03-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is Dusty's cake. The title is Grandma's house

2009-03-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

It has been another good week, things to do, places to go, people to see. I had my hair done on Wed. We danced at UVU Wed. night. Maryn came to see me. She stood at the top of the portal and I danced just for her. We visited a while after the halftime. Thurs. we went to the temple. We were the witness couple and the clip on my apron broke causing me some jitters for awhile. Melanie called and said the baby is trying to come into the world! She is anxious to start this new adventure of life and having a body. Alexis and some other of the Senior girls have been working on a first ever, Mr. Skyhawk at the school. They had competions all week for the young men finishing with a pageant on Sat. night. Well, Dustin was one of 11 candidates. We ran over Fri. and took pictures of the cakes they made. They had a kissing booth where the boys handed out kisses, Hershey kind. We went to watch SAt . It was so fun. The theme was the Dukes of Salem(closely resembly Dukes of Hazzard) They all came out and danced in jeans and cowboy hats. Then each displayed a "talent", which was hilarious! Dusty sang and played the guitar. He did the "Lunchlady" from SNL. For the bathing suit competion he came out with 4 or 5 shirts on and "stripped" them one by one, never baring his chest. For evening wear he came out the first time looking dressed up, but changed each time he came out with clothes he found back stage that belonged to the drama dept. When it came to the random question, he spoke gibberish that sounded like he was really talking. We laughed so hard!! Well, I bet you want to know the results. Dusty was the 2nd runner up. If you have ever watched Miss America then you can visiualize how he accepted this honor, shock, surprise and yes tears. I have taken pictures but forgot how to load them so maybe I will post later, or Whitney will on her blog. Alexis was a hostess and looked beautiful in her orange formal.
Sunday Skyler, Quincee, and Karsyn sang in Sacrament meeting! They did so well. Skyler and Quincee sang a verse all by themselves. Bro. Jensen came to me after and said, I happened to look at you while they were singing and I think you need to read up on pride. I guess it showed on my face. We had dinner with Marbles today Sunday. We watched that video that Whitney put on you tube on Elder Bushe (sp) It is so marvelous!! Bye for now.

Sunday

2009-03-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

We had dinner at our house yesterday. We had the Bellistons and Marbles over. The Greens lost track of time (of the month). It was so nice out that the kids ate outside. They continued to play outside all afternoon. Today is a much different day, its overcast and cloudy. I cleaned house and did some indexing.

Karsyn

2009-03-02T12:51:00.000-08:00

Karsyn's class is doing a unit on Patriotism. They are "touring" the US in their kiddy 500 cars. This is the car that she and her mother created. Is that adorable or what?

Dusty

2009-03-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures of Dusty in the tournament. He is #10.

2009-03-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

This is my friend Margaret, also in the motel. She and Pat are sisters. We had a good time together dancing in Cedar.

2009-03-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

This is Pat and Linda in the motel in Cedar City. I guess I should have gotten them standing up and dressed. Hehe

2009-03-02T12:16:00.001-08:00

This is my Sunday School class, part of them. They are an awesome bunch of young people

2009-02-26T08:30:00.001-08:00

As I read the other blogs I have enjoyed the thoughts that have been expressed in words. I thought of a Neal Maxwell quote that I have on a book mark. The more we ponder where we stand in relation to Christ the more we realize that we do not stand at all...we only kneel. I LOVE that. I am so proud of all my children and where they "stand" in their relationship to the Savior and the gospel! Life is hard sometimes but we need to "come what may and love it!

2009-02-26T08:12:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been writing on my blog like I write in my journal, spasmodic. My mind is all jumbled with thought. We are preparing for our mission, for sure. We need to proceed with all the papers and Dr. and dentist but we know where we are going. When we are ready to submit, we call Pres. Walker in the Tucson Mission home and he will intercept our assignment. We are trying to think about what to do with the house and stuff in it(that is the hard part). We are trying to fiqure out our budget and such. On a lighter note, we danced in Cedar City last weekend and had alot of fun. Margaret went and actually drove down. She has been recouping from a hip replacement. It was fun to spend time with her again. We met Pat and Linda at the motel where the 4 of us stayed together. We ate lunch and rested and visited. We danced our Hip Hop for the girls game and the "Good Times" for the guys game. They were a good crowd and told us what a good group we were. I got home about 1:30 Sunday. We danced for U of U last night, Wednesday. I think they knew we were from Provo, they were not as enthusiastic. We will dance for UVU next Wed. We have the Ca. trip after that. Today we are going to go watch Dusty play basketball. His team is doing well and has a chance for state. That would be so awesome, his Senior year and their first year as a team in the new high school.

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

I did not realize that is almost a week since I wrote. I went to the quilt shop Thursday for a paper piecing class. It is really fun. This is the procedure people use to put together quilts with lots of little pieces. I am making an Easter quilt. We dance Sat. in Cedar City. We are doing our new hip hop dance. It does not look like hip hop but it is fun. We went to Dusty's last home game last night. It was so much fun! They introduced each Senior with his parents and told of their future plans. The game was intense. They would make a basket and the other team would make a basket, this went on quite awhile. Second half Salem Hills got 10 pts. ahead and kept the lead to win. Then they had the Seniors cut down the basket. There were alot of people at the game, good support.

2009-02-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Sunday, was another quiet day. We went to church and I taught my wonderful SS class. After church I went to bed and stayed there all day. I took a 2 hour nap! Dad went to Sorena's for a couple of hours and had dinner. I have been praying about going to Az to work in the mission home. I am not sure what Dad thinks. We will see what happens.

2009-02-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

We are going to be hit with another snow storm today. It is overcast and WHITE outside. As I have been reading Danette's and others blogs I am realizing that I am not a writer. And, I hope I don't talk the way I write. BORING. I thought I was a little entertaining, not so. Writing does help me think about the way I say things so maybe it will get better. I never took a writing class but thinking it is probably a good thing for everyone to do. Yesterday was a quiet day after several busy ones. Dad is recuperating from a cold and I think he shared it with me.

Dance

2009-02-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

We danced for the Utah Jazz last night. They were a good but different audience. There were the beer drinkers laughing and spilling their drinks when they bumped into you. The girls dressed very immodestly. But I saw Maryn. She said that she was going to the game Thurs. night and I said I am dancing at the game. We were excited and couldn't believe our luck. I was able to see her for a minute and give her a hug. I got home about 11:30, I am tired. Too many late nights.

2009-02-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

ok so I still have some things to learn, my names for people were under their pictures but I so frustrated right now that I am leaving it the way itis #*%#@^

One of my favorite things about Utah are the sunrises over the mountains

Little Women

2009-02-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

Alexis is in a group at school called "Spotlight Players". Last night we went to see their production of Little Women in which Lexi plays Beth. It was so good I even cried when Beth died. They brought her out in a wheelchair and she and Jo have a conversation about her dying. They sang a song called Some things are meant to Be. The they hugged each other and Lexi drops her arm and goes limp and Jo cries and hollers for Marnee. Lexi looked so adorable! She did a great job. Her big blue eyes were sparling in the lights. The girl who played Jo is Craig Christian's niece. The family lives in Sorena's ward. The father died last week so Celeste has been in rehearsals and grieving over her father. Isn't that sad!

Beth Jo Colleen Weaver-the masseur

Sunday

2009-02-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

Sunday was our Sunday to have everyone over, we had so much fun. It was Stake Conf. for Belliston, Marbles, and us. Green's came later. I tried Danette's recipe for the Chicken Garlic Farelle(close enough). The adults and most of the children loved it! It is so yummy. Margot's dental office has a conference in Vegas and they are having a dance competition. She was showing us the dance and being so funny we laughed til we were crying and coughing. She would do a step and say now I do this, now I do that. She would complete a step and ask did that look stupid? The Greens brought Michael Yakkman(did I spell that correctly?) over, he is attending BYU. He played the guitar and sang to us. Jordan joined him as did the rest of us when we knew the words. The guys watched the SUPERBOWL. Needless to say they were disappointed with the outcome. Doesn't sound like a very reverent Sabbath does it? oops. Some random pictures

Nico Mickenna and Bubba Bubba

Lindsey being creative with the paper shredder

Glenn Beck

2009-02-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

You may have already heard this but--last night when I was driving home from dance and listening to Glenn he said that he could imagine that we, his listeners, were probably feeling very frustrated about the countries woes and where we are going. He said that he was fortunate to have a job that gave him a voice that we might not have. Especially since our representatives do not listen to their constituency. He is giving us a chance to be part of changing America. This is big. What you do is sent a picture and an e-mail to wesurroundthem@gmail.com. He has 9 points of concern, they are on his web, I agree w/ all 9. They are things like God is the center of this country, the government works for me, I am in charge of raising my family (w/o government), etc. I wrote on my e-mail, I agree 9 out of 9 and sent it. I think the pictures are a way to indicate that these are concerned Americans and not made up. He will have a show around Feb. 27 that we can participate in either by going to NY or on the web. I think a trip would be fun because we could accidentally see Ryne. Just kidding about the trip. Please e-mail everyone and ask them to do this, we can change things!!

Dance

2009-02-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we danced at Westminister College in SL. I rode up with a few of my friends. It was alot of fun. It is a really nice school. We have not danced for them before. After the dance we went to Olive Garden. I do not like eating that late but it sure tasted good. When we dropped Jane off at her apt. she fell on the ice. She appeared to be ok. She was laughing and I told her to stop because I couldn't help her if we were laughing. She also has a really bad shoulder. This is a picture of her and Jean and the school mascot.

Nicolas

2009-02-02T10:22:00.001-08:00

Nicolas crawled through the doors on my fireplace screen and shut the doors after him. Cute huh! We haven't had a fire in it but it still is kinda dirty.

2009-02-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things in Az, besides my children and grandchildren are the sunsets. They are so fabulous! This was the night of Dad's birthday. We told him it was God's gift to him for his b-day

Dance

2009-01-31T07:05:00.000-08:00

We danced at Snow College last night. It was fun to be back w/ the"girls". We took the bus which is nice, not to have to drive or park. The students and others are such a good audience. I think they are 2nd to BYU. We ate at the pizza place in Ephraim and got home about 11:30. We dance tonight at Westminister College in SL tonight and Utah Jazz Thurs. night. Fun, fun, fun.

2009-01-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

I have a P.S. for the Almond Joy story. When we got home the bishop had sent over a birthday present for Dad, you guessed it, Almond Joys!!

Home

2009-01-29T13:53:00.000-08:00

We are home. We got here about 1:00. The trip was ok. We stayed in Mesquite and ate at Popeye's. I love their rice and beans. The roads were absolutely clear. I made an appt. to color my hair and get those grey hairs covered. I think I feel old when I see them. My dance director had a message for me, wanted to know if I was ever coming back and if I wanted to dance tomorrow night and Sat. night. I told her I would dance Sat. night. She said good because she had room Sat. night but not Fri. night unless she changed things around. Then in doing my e-mails I found out we have stake conf. Sat. and Sun. That is a bummer, I won't be able to go Sat. night. I talked to Michael last night (Thurs.) and found out what Twitter is about. Shall we Blog, Facebook, and Twitter??? Funny! What do you think about this stimulis package? I am so amazed at what is happening and we are letting it happen. I am glad the Repulicans did not vote for it but I am worried about the Senate. I am going to e-mail our Senator and I hope everyone will do that. It might not help but we have to try! Love you all!

2009-01-27T05:09:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a birthday party for Grandpa. Everyone came for dinner and cake and old movies. Kelly grilled steaks yum! We stayed up too late. Maddie is doing good, she is a little overwhelmed now that she is facing reality. She is worried about keeping caught up in school and such. I didn't take pictures but Danette did. I did catch a beautiful Az sunset though. I will post soon.

2009-01-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

We have been hanging out, entertaining Maddie, and eating. Saturday I poked my eye with my hairbrush when I was blow drying my hair. What a bummer! It hurt sooo bad. Jared came over and put numbing stuff in it, that hurt worse than the inital injury for about 30 seconds, than it felt great. He put antibiotic cream inthere too. Sunday i still felt bad so Danette patched it, it felt so much better to be closed. She took a picture. Monday, today, it feels better but not quite back to normal. Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Tool Man

2009-01-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

Tyler and Caleb put tools all over Dad. They thought it was so funny they were cracking up.

2009-01-23T09:38:00.001-08:00

Every day gets better. Maddie is walking, sitting, crafting. She takes walks outside with her Dad. We think she is about an inch taller than she was. We have been hanging out, visiting, etc. Dad finished Green's tiling.

The Day

2009-01-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

We went to church with the boys. Caleb started in Primary. He is a Sunbeam. He wasn't sure about his class. We stayed with him until he had been in class for a while. The big news is Maddie came home. The picture of her is when she walked in the door! She was really tired and laid down for awhile but later she was walking around, she played the piano for a few minutes. She kinda didn't know what to do with herself. But we are so proud of her, she keeps trying to be up and walking.

Trip cont.

2009-01-20T06:35:00.000-08:00

Wed. We played with the boys. They are great hockey players, even Caleb. Ethan can do anything on skates. Tyler is not far behind. Caleb wears like a Fisher Price skate and has a hockey stick. He takes the puck and "skates" down the alley and back up. He throws his arms up and yells I "core". Then he wants to fight. He puts his stick down and puts up his fists, one or both boys comes over and roughs him up. Then he puts himself in the penalty box. We laugh so hard. He mimicks anything he sees. We all have to be careful but esp. the boys. I also made a dress for Hannah. She and Jared had a Daddy/Daughter date at school. It had a Hawaiian theme. I picked out a floral pattern that she really liked. Melanie has pictures on her blog. Thurs. we saw Maddie for a few minutes. They moved her out of icu a day earlier than what they thought. Fri. we saw Maddie for a few minutes, she is looking so much better. She walks the halls. We took the boys and Noah to a movie. We saw Mall Cop. It was pretty funny, they show alot of the funny parts in the previews. Sat. I ran a few errands. Dad started tiling Jared and Melanies bathroom. Sun. The hospital said Sat that Maddie might come home today and then changed their minds because she had some minor issuses. But then Sunday a.m. they said she could come home! We went to church and Maddie got home about 5ish. She was a little nervous at first but then felt better, enjoying the normalcy of home. She walked a little, played the piano and enjoyed the comfortable bed. Mon. Melanie took Ethan and Tyler with hers to the Desert Museum and on a short hike. Maddie had some company. We hung out and helped where we could. Alot of laughing goes on with Caleb, he is so cute and funny. If I show up w/o Grandpa he wants to know where "ganpa bean" is. The pictures are not working yet but I will post asap.

Az, trip

2009-01-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

I haven't written for a week because of codes or something computereez. Dad could get his up but not mine. So here is a week's worth. We left on Sunday after church and after a nice visit with Maryn. She came over and went to church with us and had lunch after church (a hot dog). We traveled to Mesquite, had some beans and rice at Popeye's and went to the motel. We didn't get a very early start but I think old age has something to do with that glitch. We stopped in Vegas at the Bellagio because we love to look at their atrium. They were in the process of changing from Christmas and were opening the next day. It looks like the Chinese New Year is the next display. I took some pictures of the men working and also of the renderings. We will stop on our way back and take some more. We had a little slow down at the dam. It is amazing to me that they can build the road over the dam the way they are doing. I took a few pictures. We arrived in Tucson about 5 ish. Kellly, Danette, Kelsey and Dad and I went to Snells. Jared was also there. Madison, Dan, and Jeanene all received a blessing. We visited for a while and talked some of the surgery. Madison was so upbeat and pleasant in spite of what she was facing. Tuesday, surgery day, we intended to help with the boys and go back and forth from the hospital but we ended up spending the day with Dan and Jeanene which they seemed to appreciate. The surgery took 6 hours! Everything went really well, the Dr. was so pleased he seemed giddy. She spent almost 2 hours in recovery. Dan and Jeanene went into ICU for a time and Dad and I played with the toys. It was pediatrics after all.

2009-01-09T20:51:00.000-08:00

We just got home from our seminar. It is so good. Chris and Sorena attended as well. We were told alot about communication, I hope I learned alot. We have more tomorrow. Goodnight.

2009-01-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

I am so tired of not feeling well, not sick enough to be in bed but no energy. I have gained weight or I might be worried. Did you see the program on Patrick Swaze. He dropped weight instantly! Any way I decided to stay in bed all day and rest. Especially not to go out in the SNOW. I pretty much accomplished that. I did put egg on my face as a mask I saw on tv today. Pretty scary!! Dad and I have a semiar all day tomorrow and Saturday.

2009-01-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I was going to tell you that I met Lis Swindle Lemon but, they cancelled because of a storm. Nobody called me so Marlin and Whitney and I went. We did stop by to pick up something Ashlee had for Whitney. Ashlee and Bryce are so cute and have such a cute place. The roads were pretty bad so I am glad we made it safely home.

Sunday School

2009-01-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

I was asked to teach the 17 year old youth in Sunday School. I am so excited!! They are a great group of kids. Marlin is teaching 9 year olds, you go Grandpa!

Utah Snow

2009-01-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

I live in a winter wonderland, these pictures are at my back door. Look at the icicle reflected in the window. The other is pointed at the mountain and the park.

Marlin and Maryn went with Marbles to Soldiers Hollow for some tubing. I didn't go because.....you know I don't do playing in the snow. I really would have thought about it if I had the right gear for it. Really.

Marissa's art

2009-01-03T07:17:00.000-08:00

Marissa is taking an art class and is quite the artist!
She posed for me with a few of her pieces. Awesome isn't it!

2009-01-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

Kelly, Danette, and Kelsey left today. We enjoyed their visit so much!

Baby dancing

2009-01-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

Sorena's boys

2009-01-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

We sit around trying to get the boys to do "tricks", because they are SO CUTE!

Kelly's family

2009-01-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

Danette and Kelly wanted to see his family and Grandpa and I got to tag along. We had dinner at the Paradise Cafe and then went to a movie

New Year Fun 2009

2009-01-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve with Reuben sandwiches and soda at Grama's.

New Year

2009-01-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! I have had the greatest holiday season. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas I was able to see all of my children and grandchildren (except Ryne who is in New York). That is the best. We did alot of playing, eating, watching basketball, watching movies, shopping, and enjoying the tons of snow that we had! I decided to become a blogger because so many in my family are bloggers. I also decided I needed a camera to make the blogs more fun and guess what, Santa (Marlin) bought me a great camera. I would like to share some of the fun through a few pictures that I took.

2008-12-16T10:00:00.001-08:00

I did it, I started my blog!