...over a year, in fact. I have often thought of posting but never did one. But I'm here now, although I'm not going to post much this time. Just wanted to let anyone who reads this to know that I'm still around.
We had a wonderful Christmas with all our children and grandchildren around us, as well as my parents. We now have 11 grandchildren and 2 more are on the way, so our family continues to grow. I waited until the last minute, like usual, to come up with an idea of what to give the grandkids for Christmas this year and finally came up with machine embroidering t-shirts for each of them. I first thought of doing something different for each one but then as my time grew short abandoned that idea and embroidered the same thing on each t-shirt but in a different color for each child. Not much, but I hope they will like their shirts anyway. I truly enjoyed getting together with everyone, even with all the noise and commotion. On Christmas Eve, we gathered at our house for dinner and then the reading of the Christmas stories, "The Night Before Christmas" and the true story of Christmas from Luke 2 and Matthew 2. We also lit the candles on the German Nativity Pyramid that my 6th son brought home from his mission in Germany. The little kids really liked that: the "fire", the twirling of the figures, and the shadows on the ceiling. Then most of them went home. My 2nd son and his wife and son stayed here with us, as did my parents, visiting from Minnesota and Wyoming, respectively (enjoying the warmer Arizona weather!). In the morning, we ate breakfast and then opened presents, each enjoying what we received. In the afternoon, we all went to my daughter's house for Christmas dinner with everyone and socializing. The food was great and the company was better! All in all, it was wonderful to be together.
New Year's was quieter as everyone else was gone to their own homes, or in my parents' case, to my sister's home. My husband and I barely managed to stay up til midnight but we did and greeted the new year together and then went to bed.
So that's all for now, just a brief update. Hopefully the next one won't be so long in coming.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Sunday, March 4, 2012
What a week!
This past week was quite out of the ordinary. Monday I went visiting teaching and with my partner visited all 3 of the sisters on our route. We had lovely visits and I feel like I'm getting to know these sisters better. While at one of the sisters' homes, I received a phone call from one of my daughters-in-law who told me that one of her 3 boys was sick and could I come watch the other 2 while she took him to the doctor. So I said sure. I thought that I would have about an hour between the end of my visiting teaching and going to babysit the boys, but one of the visits ran over and I ended up with only 15 minutes! So I ran home quick, grabbed a lunch to take with me, and got ready to head out to babysit when the phone rang. It was my daughter and she wanted me come by and get the appliques she was cutting for me (on her new die cutting machine-a Silhouette Cameo) that evening. I told her that I was just heading out the door to babysit and she suggested that I just go by her house afterwards. So that's what I ended up doing. It was fun babysitting the boys-they were showing me their "workbooks" and I read them lots of books-and their brother got put on antibiotics. I then headed over to my daughter's and her boys were glad to see me too. It's sure fun being a grandma when the grandkids are happy to see you! I got to see how her cutting machine works, it is pretty amazing!, and then stayed for a little while before heading home just in time to fix dinner. My afternoon didn't go as originally planned-I had thought that I would get some fabric cut out for the next baby quilt but that obviously didn't happen, plus between 9 am and 4:30 pm I had only been home for 15 minutes!
Tuesday after voting in the primary election, I again went to my daughter-in-law's and joined them in a trip to the zoo (the doctor had said that her son was ok to go out and be with other kids as long as they were over 6 months old). Her oldest son, the 4 year old, pre-school class was going to the zoo and they said that siblings could come too. Of course his younger brothers wanted to come too and my DIL said she didn't think she could handle the 3 boys alone, so I went along to help her out. Even with the 2 of us, we sometimes couldn't keep up with the boys. Luckily the youngest is only 9 months old and was either in the stroller or the sling most of the time. We spent 4 hours at the zoo, going from one end to the other, the only area we didn't get to was the desert area, but since we live in the desert, that didn't seem to be too great a loss. We did get to the petting zoo (there were only goats to pet, I thought that there had been other animals to pet when I had gone with my own kids' classes to the zoo), the rain forest (Tropics trail) area, the savanna (Africa trail) area, as well as the lake area. We saw lions, and tigers, and bears (oh my!) as well as tortoises, giraffes, rhinos, elephants, and zebras (the boys favorite), and lots of different kinds of monkeys (apes, primates, whatever their classification is)-tamarins, orangutans, gorillas, baboons, and mandrills, as well as something that looked like a chimp but the sign said it was something else. Lots of animals at the zoo! Luckily the weather was nice-not too hot and not too cool (upper 60's or low 70's) and there were clouds for part of the day as well. By the time we left, our feet were hurting but the boys were still going strong, or at least that is what they wanted us to think-they fell asleep on the way home, or one of them did, the other 2 were almost there. I had to quickly get back to my car and head home as it was my oldest son's birthday and my husband offered to have him come over for one last birthday dinner at home (he gets remarried in two weeks), and I had still to fix the dinner plus my visiting teachers were coming to see me! I got home and briefly washed up and started to get things fixed for dinner, visited with my visiting teacher when she came (her partner had gotten sick and didn't come), and then finished fixing dinner, but didn't get it all ready before my son, his son, and his fiancèe showed up, but we were eating not too long after they got here. My youngest son showed up on his bike and asked where he was supposed to vote so we told him how to get there and even let him use our car to get there as there was only 15 minutes left to vote and his bike's handlebars were loose. He came back after voting and grabbed some of the food and called his wife to join us which she did (she had been getting their car from the repair shop and, with the help of friend, returning her mom's car). My grandson didn't really like the meat for the dinner so my youngest son and his wife ate it! Then we invited my next to the youngest son's wife (this son was on his yearly training for the National Guard) to join us for the dessert and when she came we all had strawberry shortcake after which everyone went home. I am quickly getting used to being able to send everyone home!
Wednesday I was able to stay home but instead of working on the baby quilt, I worked on the cover for my oldest son's wedding book. I've made 3 covers previously with very few problems, but this time I had to unpick stitches 5 times!!! I'm glad this is the last one I'll have to make! I use my embroidery sewing machine to embroider their names, wedding date, and temple for the front of the book as well as quilting motifs around that and on the back. I kept getting the placement of the quilting motifs wrong but finally got it all done, it's not perfect but will do-after picking it out 5 times, I thought it would be better to just stop instead of making it perfect. That evening my husband and I went to the temple and did baptisms for family names. Since that didn't take as long as we thought it would, we also helped with sealings (not family names though). That made a good end to the day.
Thursday and Friday were my regular days for babysitting my daughter's boys and so I was home doing that. While the baby slept, I managed to get the fabric cut out one day and then the appliques ironed on the squares the second day so I might get this baby quilt done in time. But I will have two more to do-one for May and one for August-my 3rd son and his wife announced that they are expecting and due in August and they just found out it is another girl. That will make a total of 7 grandsons and 3 granddaughters for us by the end of the year!
Saturday my husband and I went to my middle son's house, the one with the 3 boys, and while my husband helped him with his computer, I played with the older two boys, the youngest was napping. Once done there, we did some grocery shopping, man, our food bill has gone down a lot since it is just the two of us now (well, most of the time)! That evening we went to the temple again to be with our soon to be daughter-in-law as she went through for the first time. We also got to meet more of her family, including her dad who served his mission in Peru the same time that my husband was serving his mission there so when they met they talked about places and people from Peru. It was another good ending to a busy day.
So as you can see, we (I) had a busy week but it was all good! Also this week, my 2nd son took the bar exam in Minnesota, and my middle son found out that his contract will be renewed so it looks like he will have his job for another year, something they are relieved about (and us too)! Always something going on! But we are happy and blessed so there are no complaints here!
Tuesday after voting in the primary election, I again went to my daughter-in-law's and joined them in a trip to the zoo (the doctor had said that her son was ok to go out and be with other kids as long as they were over 6 months old). Her oldest son, the 4 year old, pre-school class was going to the zoo and they said that siblings could come too. Of course his younger brothers wanted to come too and my DIL said she didn't think she could handle the 3 boys alone, so I went along to help her out. Even with the 2 of us, we sometimes couldn't keep up with the boys. Luckily the youngest is only 9 months old and was either in the stroller or the sling most of the time. We spent 4 hours at the zoo, going from one end to the other, the only area we didn't get to was the desert area, but since we live in the desert, that didn't seem to be too great a loss. We did get to the petting zoo (there were only goats to pet, I thought that there had been other animals to pet when I had gone with my own kids' classes to the zoo), the rain forest (Tropics trail) area, the savanna (Africa trail) area, as well as the lake area. We saw lions, and tigers, and bears (oh my!) as well as tortoises, giraffes, rhinos, elephants, and zebras (the boys favorite), and lots of different kinds of monkeys (apes, primates, whatever their classification is)-tamarins, orangutans, gorillas, baboons, and mandrills, as well as something that looked like a chimp but the sign said it was something else. Lots of animals at the zoo! Luckily the weather was nice-not too hot and not too cool (upper 60's or low 70's) and there were clouds for part of the day as well. By the time we left, our feet were hurting but the boys were still going strong, or at least that is what they wanted us to think-they fell asleep on the way home, or one of them did, the other 2 were almost there. I had to quickly get back to my car and head home as it was my oldest son's birthday and my husband offered to have him come over for one last birthday dinner at home (he gets remarried in two weeks), and I had still to fix the dinner plus my visiting teachers were coming to see me! I got home and briefly washed up and started to get things fixed for dinner, visited with my visiting teacher when she came (her partner had gotten sick and didn't come), and then finished fixing dinner, but didn't get it all ready before my son, his son, and his fiancèe showed up, but we were eating not too long after they got here. My youngest son showed up on his bike and asked where he was supposed to vote so we told him how to get there and even let him use our car to get there as there was only 15 minutes left to vote and his bike's handlebars were loose. He came back after voting and grabbed some of the food and called his wife to join us which she did (she had been getting their car from the repair shop and, with the help of friend, returning her mom's car). My grandson didn't really like the meat for the dinner so my youngest son and his wife ate it! Then we invited my next to the youngest son's wife (this son was on his yearly training for the National Guard) to join us for the dessert and when she came we all had strawberry shortcake after which everyone went home. I am quickly getting used to being able to send everyone home!
Wednesday I was able to stay home but instead of working on the baby quilt, I worked on the cover for my oldest son's wedding book. I've made 3 covers previously with very few problems, but this time I had to unpick stitches 5 times!!! I'm glad this is the last one I'll have to make! I use my embroidery sewing machine to embroider their names, wedding date, and temple for the front of the book as well as quilting motifs around that and on the back. I kept getting the placement of the quilting motifs wrong but finally got it all done, it's not perfect but will do-after picking it out 5 times, I thought it would be better to just stop instead of making it perfect. That evening my husband and I went to the temple and did baptisms for family names. Since that didn't take as long as we thought it would, we also helped with sealings (not family names though). That made a good end to the day.
Thursday and Friday were my regular days for babysitting my daughter's boys and so I was home doing that. While the baby slept, I managed to get the fabric cut out one day and then the appliques ironed on the squares the second day so I might get this baby quilt done in time. But I will have two more to do-one for May and one for August-my 3rd son and his wife announced that they are expecting and due in August and they just found out it is another girl. That will make a total of 7 grandsons and 3 granddaughters for us by the end of the year!
Saturday my husband and I went to my middle son's house, the one with the 3 boys, and while my husband helped him with his computer, I played with the older two boys, the youngest was napping. Once done there, we did some grocery shopping, man, our food bill has gone down a lot since it is just the two of us now (well, most of the time)! That evening we went to the temple again to be with our soon to be daughter-in-law as she went through for the first time. We also got to meet more of her family, including her dad who served his mission in Peru the same time that my husband was serving his mission there so when they met they talked about places and people from Peru. It was another good ending to a busy day.
So as you can see, we (I) had a busy week but it was all good! Also this week, my 2nd son took the bar exam in Minnesota, and my middle son found out that his contract will be renewed so it looks like he will have his job for another year, something they are relieved about (and us too)! Always something going on! But we are happy and blessed so there are no complaints here!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The Blog Posts Never Written
Whew, where has the time gone??? It seems like just about every week I have thought up a new blog post to write here but I never did sit down and write them and now it has been 8 months since I actually wrote something here. I was kind of waiting for some pictures to add to the posts but never got them so I never wrote the posts. Oh well, I'm here now.
Here's a brief rundown of happenings since I last wrote (ok, so maybe not so brief, meaning this is NOT a short post).
In July 2011, my youngest son came home from his LDS Church mission in the Philippines. I think for several weeks after getting home he suffered from culture shock. He says that there is so much here that we take for granted that they don't have there, at least not in the areas that he served in. Things like reliable transportation and electricity: cars and other vehicles broke down a lot there, and there were also lots of brownouts for no reason. There were typhoons that caused lots of damage and also total loss of electricity for weeks at a time. And even when there were no typhoons, there was lots of rain, hard to get used to for a boy from the desert of Arizona. He also missed potatoes! There were lots of other foods that he missed but potatoes was one of the major ones. He sent home a list of foods he would like to have when he got back and it took us 2 or 3 months to have all of them, having one a day! But he now seems adjusted for the most part.
In August school started up again for my oldest grandson and my sons in college. My next oldest grandson again went to preschool. Lots of learning going on in the family!
In September my daughter had her second child, another little boy, and now I have the same gender mix of grandchildren that I have of children: 6 boys and one girl. Now that she went back to work after her maternity leave, I get to take care of her little boys. That's two or three times a week (she's a nurse and doesn't work every day), and the boys and I do lots of things together like water plants, play in the backyard, read books, watch tv, make cookies, and stuff like that. Mostly it's the almost 3 year old doing those things with me while the 4 month old watches or naps.
Sometime in either September or October, my youngest son announced his engagement to a young lady that he had been writing to during his mission. They've known each other since they were sophomores in high school, I just didn't realize that they were that good of friends! So now there was a wedding to plan for and they set the date for the Saturday before Thanksgiving. They weren't letting any grass grow under their feet!
I can't remember when, but my next to the youngest son and his wife announced that they were expecting! Yay, another grandchild on the way.
In October my oldest son started dating a young lady that was in one of his classes and who is also related through marriage to one of his good friends from school. Things went along pretty quickly and they announced their engagement on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. They plan on getting married in mid-March.
In the first part of November, my parents returned from their LDS Church mission in South Korea. They made it home just in time to join us for...
... my youngest son's wedding and things were going along just fine with all the plans and such. Until the day of the wedding when we found out that all the flowers we had bought for decorating had gotten frozen in the church refrigerator!!! So we had to scramble and find some more in the few hours before the reception. Luckily, between her mother and me, we found some in the right colors and quantities and thus were saved. Seems like something always happens to shake things up! I guess it gives us something to remember!! But other than that, things went really well. The bride was beautiful and the groom was handsome, the temple ceremony was wonderful, and the rest of the evening was great as well. They made their first home in a little studio apartment that was so small that they left most of their wedding gifts here at our house (but I resisted the temptation to try any of them out!). I think it was around this time that my 2nd son and his wife announced that they were expecting. Our family is growing by leaps and bounds!
Then Thanksgiving came and it was a fairly quiet dinner with just my husband and myself and our son-in-law and his two boys (my daughter had to work)--the smallest group here in a long time for a holiday dinner. But the food was good and there was lots of it! The rest of the family came for our Sunday dinner where we had leftover Thanksgiving dinner. By the time the weekend was over, some of my family had had 3 Thanksgiving dinners! Good thing we all love turkey and the trimmings!
The day after Thanksgiving, we started putting up our Christmas decorations and on Sunday when everyone was here, we all decorated the tree. With so many little kids, the majority of the decorations were kind of low on the tree but I didn't mind at all. I think that they liked seeing the decorations that their parents had made when they were little kids, especially the ones with photos. It gives them a chance to realize that their parents were once kids too. That week my next to the youngest son and his wife found out that their coming baby is a girl! So now there will be two granddaughters. The week before Christmas, my parents joined us again (they are making the rounds of visiting all their kids) as did my 2nd son and his wife-they came all the way from the cold of Minnesota. I've gotten used to the Arizona winters and sometimes forget that others have to deal with cold and snow. Anyway, for Christmas everyone gathered here both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. One of my daughters-in-law suggested that we have all the grandkids act out the Christmas story as my husband read it and so that's what we decided to do. It was a fun, funny, and wonderful evening. We had Joseph and Mary, and three wise men, although one of them kept saying he was a shepherd even though he brought a gift and not a sheep. The two youngest grandkids just watched, too big to be the baby and not still enough to be sheep. I hope we will do this every year from now on.
Since Christmas was on a Sunday, we all went to church before opening presents. I sang in the choir and the music and speakers were wonderful. We then went back to our house and were joined by all the kids and their families for the present opening. That was lots of fun and crazy too. Some of the families left for a little while (to try to get little ones to take naps) and then they all regrouped here for our big Christmas dinner. And as we were getting ready to sit down to eat, we realized that we had forgotten to cook the potatoes!!! So our food storage came to the rescue and we quickly made up some potato flakes to stand in for the mashed potatoes. It took almost the whole #10 can full to make enough for all of us (there were 25 of us) and when they were smothered in gravy, they didn't taste too bad. I've NEVER forgotten the potatoes before, I guess there is always a first time for everything. The rest of the food was great and it was so nice to have everyone here, even if it was crazy.
The day after Christmas we all gathered again for family pictures that I had scheduled but it turns out that many of us were sick! I hope the food didn't do it! In talking around, it was decided that it wasn't the food, it was just a flu bug that they all got, since not everyone who got sick ate the same things. But they all managed to stay upright long enough for the pictures and those turned out pretty good.
Just before Christmas, my oldest son graduated from college (finally) with his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He also got a job working for a laser etching company (?) in north Scottsdale so will have to commute every day but at least he has a job!!
In January, those going back to school did that. My oldest grandson turned eight and got baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with his father doing the baptizing and confirming and his grandfathers being the witnesses. Well, we were all witnesses but the grandpas were the designated witnesses. Most of our side of the family was there, and a lot of his mother's family were there and so were his soon to be stepmother and step grandparents. I'm glad that they came too, even though they left before I could meet them. They are trying to be a part of his life and I think that's great. I'm also glad that his mother's family were there as they are a big part of his life and we want them to realize that. It made for a big group but that's was the church is all about, bringing us to Christ and bringing families together.
A week or so after that, our 2nd son and his wife called us and told us that they just returned from the doctor and they had found out that they are having a boy! My son said that they were going name the baby after his grandfather (my husband's father) and I think that's great. They just need to decide on a middle name. My daughter-in-law said that it won't be my son's name as there are too many of them in the family already (one of her brothers has the same name). We'll see what they decide on.
Towards the end of January, my oldest son and his son moved out of here and into their own place. When he first got divorced, we told him they could stay here for a while, thinking it would be 6 months to a year, but it turned out to be 7 1/2 years! It was time, especially since he now was graduated and has a job. So now we are empty-nesters! It has been kind of quiet around here without them but I think we (my husband and I) can get used to it. We love all our kids dearly, but they need to be out on their own with their own families and their own lives.
I forgot to say that my 3rd son and his family bought a nice house in Mesa and are all moved and settling in. My next to the youngest son and his wife also bought a house, in Tempe, and are working on getting it fixed the way they want and then they will move in, hopefully by the end of the month. They offered to rent the extra bedroom out to my youngest son and his wife who jumped at the opportunity as with the bedroom and bathroom at that house, they would have more space than in their studio apartment, plus they would have a real kitchen to use instead of just a hotplate and a mini-fridge. So their part of the house got fixed up first and they moved in last week.
Now we are in February and getting things ready for one more wedding. Life just keeps happening and things just keep going along. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is how life is and to go with it. In the midst of all these goings on, I have been making and/or planning baby quilts, trying to finish the quilting on the large quilt I finished the top for last year, and making little gifts for other family members. It seems there is never a dull moment around here but for now, that's fine. We are all happy and healthy and know that we are so blessed. What more can I ask for?
Here's a brief rundown of happenings since I last wrote (ok, so maybe not so brief, meaning this is NOT a short post).
In July 2011, my youngest son came home from his LDS Church mission in the Philippines. I think for several weeks after getting home he suffered from culture shock. He says that there is so much here that we take for granted that they don't have there, at least not in the areas that he served in. Things like reliable transportation and electricity: cars and other vehicles broke down a lot there, and there were also lots of brownouts for no reason. There were typhoons that caused lots of damage and also total loss of electricity for weeks at a time. And even when there were no typhoons, there was lots of rain, hard to get used to for a boy from the desert of Arizona. He also missed potatoes! There were lots of other foods that he missed but potatoes was one of the major ones. He sent home a list of foods he would like to have when he got back and it took us 2 or 3 months to have all of them, having one a day! But he now seems adjusted for the most part.
In August school started up again for my oldest grandson and my sons in college. My next oldest grandson again went to preschool. Lots of learning going on in the family!
In September my daughter had her second child, another little boy, and now I have the same gender mix of grandchildren that I have of children: 6 boys and one girl. Now that she went back to work after her maternity leave, I get to take care of her little boys. That's two or three times a week (she's a nurse and doesn't work every day), and the boys and I do lots of things together like water plants, play in the backyard, read books, watch tv, make cookies, and stuff like that. Mostly it's the almost 3 year old doing those things with me while the 4 month old watches or naps.
Sometime in either September or October, my youngest son announced his engagement to a young lady that he had been writing to during his mission. They've known each other since they were sophomores in high school, I just didn't realize that they were that good of friends! So now there was a wedding to plan for and they set the date for the Saturday before Thanksgiving. They weren't letting any grass grow under their feet!
I can't remember when, but my next to the youngest son and his wife announced that they were expecting! Yay, another grandchild on the way.
In October my oldest son started dating a young lady that was in one of his classes and who is also related through marriage to one of his good friends from school. Things went along pretty quickly and they announced their engagement on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. They plan on getting married in mid-March.
In the first part of November, my parents returned from their LDS Church mission in South Korea. They made it home just in time to join us for...
... my youngest son's wedding and things were going along just fine with all the plans and such. Until the day of the wedding when we found out that all the flowers we had bought for decorating had gotten frozen in the church refrigerator!!! So we had to scramble and find some more in the few hours before the reception. Luckily, between her mother and me, we found some in the right colors and quantities and thus were saved. Seems like something always happens to shake things up! I guess it gives us something to remember!! But other than that, things went really well. The bride was beautiful and the groom was handsome, the temple ceremony was wonderful, and the rest of the evening was great as well. They made their first home in a little studio apartment that was so small that they left most of their wedding gifts here at our house (but I resisted the temptation to try any of them out!). I think it was around this time that my 2nd son and his wife announced that they were expecting. Our family is growing by leaps and bounds!
Then Thanksgiving came and it was a fairly quiet dinner with just my husband and myself and our son-in-law and his two boys (my daughter had to work)--the smallest group here in a long time for a holiday dinner. But the food was good and there was lots of it! The rest of the family came for our Sunday dinner where we had leftover Thanksgiving dinner. By the time the weekend was over, some of my family had had 3 Thanksgiving dinners! Good thing we all love turkey and the trimmings!
The day after Thanksgiving, we started putting up our Christmas decorations and on Sunday when everyone was here, we all decorated the tree. With so many little kids, the majority of the decorations were kind of low on the tree but I didn't mind at all. I think that they liked seeing the decorations that their parents had made when they were little kids, especially the ones with photos. It gives them a chance to realize that their parents were once kids too. That week my next to the youngest son and his wife found out that their coming baby is a girl! So now there will be two granddaughters. The week before Christmas, my parents joined us again (they are making the rounds of visiting all their kids) as did my 2nd son and his wife-they came all the way from the cold of Minnesota. I've gotten used to the Arizona winters and sometimes forget that others have to deal with cold and snow. Anyway, for Christmas everyone gathered here both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. One of my daughters-in-law suggested that we have all the grandkids act out the Christmas story as my husband read it and so that's what we decided to do. It was a fun, funny, and wonderful evening. We had Joseph and Mary, and three wise men, although one of them kept saying he was a shepherd even though he brought a gift and not a sheep. The two youngest grandkids just watched, too big to be the baby and not still enough to be sheep. I hope we will do this every year from now on.
Since Christmas was on a Sunday, we all went to church before opening presents. I sang in the choir and the music and speakers were wonderful. We then went back to our house and were joined by all the kids and their families for the present opening. That was lots of fun and crazy too. Some of the families left for a little while (to try to get little ones to take naps) and then they all regrouped here for our big Christmas dinner. And as we were getting ready to sit down to eat, we realized that we had forgotten to cook the potatoes!!! So our food storage came to the rescue and we quickly made up some potato flakes to stand in for the mashed potatoes. It took almost the whole #10 can full to make enough for all of us (there were 25 of us) and when they were smothered in gravy, they didn't taste too bad. I've NEVER forgotten the potatoes before, I guess there is always a first time for everything. The rest of the food was great and it was so nice to have everyone here, even if it was crazy.
The day after Christmas we all gathered again for family pictures that I had scheduled but it turns out that many of us were sick! I hope the food didn't do it! In talking around, it was decided that it wasn't the food, it was just a flu bug that they all got, since not everyone who got sick ate the same things. But they all managed to stay upright long enough for the pictures and those turned out pretty good.
Just before Christmas, my oldest son graduated from college (finally) with his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He also got a job working for a laser etching company (?) in north Scottsdale so will have to commute every day but at least he has a job!!
In January, those going back to school did that. My oldest grandson turned eight and got baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with his father doing the baptizing and confirming and his grandfathers being the witnesses. Well, we were all witnesses but the grandpas were the designated witnesses. Most of our side of the family was there, and a lot of his mother's family were there and so were his soon to be stepmother and step grandparents. I'm glad that they came too, even though they left before I could meet them. They are trying to be a part of his life and I think that's great. I'm also glad that his mother's family were there as they are a big part of his life and we want them to realize that. It made for a big group but that's was the church is all about, bringing us to Christ and bringing families together.
A week or so after that, our 2nd son and his wife called us and told us that they just returned from the doctor and they had found out that they are having a boy! My son said that they were going name the baby after his grandfather (my husband's father) and I think that's great. They just need to decide on a middle name. My daughter-in-law said that it won't be my son's name as there are too many of them in the family already (one of her brothers has the same name). We'll see what they decide on.
Towards the end of January, my oldest son and his son moved out of here and into their own place. When he first got divorced, we told him they could stay here for a while, thinking it would be 6 months to a year, but it turned out to be 7 1/2 years! It was time, especially since he now was graduated and has a job. So now we are empty-nesters! It has been kind of quiet around here without them but I think we (my husband and I) can get used to it. We love all our kids dearly, but they need to be out on their own with their own families and their own lives.
I forgot to say that my 3rd son and his family bought a nice house in Mesa and are all moved and settling in. My next to the youngest son and his wife also bought a house, in Tempe, and are working on getting it fixed the way they want and then they will move in, hopefully by the end of the month. They offered to rent the extra bedroom out to my youngest son and his wife who jumped at the opportunity as with the bedroom and bathroom at that house, they would have more space than in their studio apartment, plus they would have a real kitchen to use instead of just a hotplate and a mini-fridge. So their part of the house got fixed up first and they moved in last week.
Now we are in February and getting things ready for one more wedding. Life just keeps happening and things just keep going along. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is how life is and to go with it. In the midst of all these goings on, I have been making and/or planning baby quilts, trying to finish the quilting on the large quilt I finished the top for last year, and making little gifts for other family members. It seems there is never a dull moment around here but for now, that's fine. We are all happy and healthy and know that we are so blessed. What more can I ask for?
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Good Grief!!
Wow, I can't believe that it has been so long since I posted! But apparently it has. There have been a few happenings going on around here. One of the most important is that our newest little grandson arrived a week and a half ago.
Isn't he a cutie??
The happy graduate and her hubby, in the sun, it was hot that day!
Isn't he a cutie??
Here he is with his two brothers and his dad. This little family now has half of my grandkids! But that will change come October as my daughter will have her second little one then.
Another happening is that my number 5 son graduated from his AIT (Advanced Individual Training) in the Heavy Construction Engineering Course at Fort Leonard Wood in March. He was suprised to receive the only promotion in his group at graduation so he is now a PFC (private first class) and guess what he brought home for me??? His new rank badges for me to sew onto his dress uniform! I thought I was done sewing on badges when my youngest son got his Eagle Scout award. Not so, apparently.
A third happening is that my daughter-in-law graduated from ASU with her bachelor's degree in music education. Now she is searching for a music teaching job. Wish her luck, please!
The happy graduate and her hubby, in the sun, it was hot that day!
A fourth happening is that my daughter-in-law and I got our hair cut. We both went from waist length hair to shoulder length (well, hers is below her shoulders and mine is above my shoulders). We both donated the trimmed off locks to Locks of Love.
Before
After. Boy, don't I look like a granny with those glasses!?!
Let's see, anything else newsworthy? Hmm. I guess that's about it for news. Well, I did celebrate another birthday, we won't say which one :-), and it was nice to get well wishes from my friends and family.
I have been sewing and making things and am in the middle of making the new grandbaby's quilt. He arrived before I even finished cutting it out, that's how behind I am! But I did finally start sewing it together so that's something I suppose.
That's all for now!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Know what I've decided???
that I'm not going to become one of those bloggers who writes tons of posts, gets a book contract, writes the book, becomes famous, and makes the talk show/book signing circuit. And I'm ok with that, for the most part. But I do realize that if I have a blog, I should write in it more than once every six months, so here goes a post! Don't die of shock, but you can keep reading if you want.
I don't know where all the time went but here are some of the things that have happened since my last post, all those months ago:
1)My Number 2 son got (re)married in Minnesota July 3rd-for which occasion my husband got on a plane for the first time in umpteen years
2)5 days later my Number 5 son (child #6) got married in Arizona July 8th
3)Number 5 son and Number 1 son tiled the floors in the master bedroom and the family room
4)We got new furniture in those two rooms
5)Number 5 son joined the Army National Guard
6)My Number 1 grandson started 1st grade
7)I finished piecing my queen sized quilt top
8)Number 5 son went to basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri
9)My daughter, her husband, and their son moved to Mesa from Tucson and now are that much closer to us, and I get to babysit their son when they both have to work, yay!
10)Had the most of the family (including all the grandkids) here for Thanksgiving at which occasion my Number 4 son and his wife announced they were expecting baby #3
11)went with one of my daughters-in-law to the Black Friday fabric sale at Joann's-I'm not going to be doing that again anytime soon-what a madhouse!! Who knew fabric would be so popular??
12)I made 4 fleece blankets for the 4 younger grandkids for Christmas-the oldest one already has a couple that I made him-by attaching satin binding on all four edges of each blanket with a fancy stitch on my sewing machine, plus I got books for each grandchild that matched their blanket
13)Started a Christmas quilt with hand embroidered blocks (http://www.elefantz.com/) and used one of the blocks for a gift for my Number 6 son's Christmas gift, so now I have to make another of those blocks for the quilt.
14)Had a great Christmas, even though I had a cold-my Number 5 son was home from basic training, I got to talk to my Number 6 son who is in the Philippines on his mission, sometime during the day, each of my Arizona kids and their families came over, and I got to remember what Christmas is really about, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
15)Got woken up at midnight on New Year's Eve by fireworks going off in the neighborhood, oh and by a phone call from our Number 2 son in Minnesota (no we didn't stay up late, only made it to about 11, just couldn't stay up any longer)
16)Had a nice but too short visit from my Number 2 son and his wife as they came out to join us for a week before...
17)...I got my husband on a plane again to go to Missouri, with our daughter-in-law, to go to Number 5 son's graduation from basic training-and froze!!! BRRR it was cold there! But so nice to see my son graduate and in his uniform. My husband was disappointed that he didn't get to try out some of the weapons that my son got trained on, but we did see, from the road, some other recruits on the shooting ranges. We also saw the destruction left behind by the tornado that went through the base on New Year's Eve-the destruction was pretty awful.
18)Indexed (for familysearch.indexing.org) 211 records, all on just one batch, in one day-man that was a lot of work! Usually the batches have had no more than 50 records, but not that one.
19)My Number 3 son and his wife and their daughter (my only granddaughter) moved to Mesa and so they are now lots closer to us and all my grandchildren are now within 10 miles of us.
20)My daughter and I went to the Phoenix quilt/craft show on opening day-talk about a madhouse!!! There were so many people that you could hardly move around, let alone see much of anything. Next year, we'll go on a different day and hope that the crowds are less.
21)I finally posted again on my blog! I know, amazing, right?
So that gives you an idea of what has been going on in my life for the last few months. I think I got most of the important things in there. But life marches on whether we remember all of it or not. Bye for now!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
It's Been a Busy 2 1/2 Months!
I don't know where to begin! So much has happened since my last post. My parents got called to serve as office missionaries for the Korea Seoul Mission--KOREA?!?!! We thought New Zealand was as far as they would go (that's where they served their last mission) but apparently not. They left about a couple of weeks after my graduation. Speaking of my graduation, my final assignment was accepted and got a good grade and I was able to graduate. But before we headed off to that, my 5th son came home from his mission. Even though I knew that he was doing the Lord's work, it was hard to have him so far away. It was so nice to have him safely home.
Here he is at the airport with various brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephews, and niece.
This picture was supposed to have been on my graduation announcement but I never got it made up. It is me with all my grandchildren.
My husband and I met my parents up in Provo, Utah in mid-April for my graduation from BYU. I felt kind of old compared to most of the rest of those graduating but that just made it more special to me. I didn't know anyone else who was graduating in my college so in the lineup for marching into the Marriott Center I just picked an empty spot between some other people and marched in. As we were making our way to our seats, I noticed that under each seat was a copy of the booklet about graduation and so when we sat down, I reached under my seat and grabbed my copy. While waiting for the rest of the graduates to march in, I glanced at the book, wanting to find my own name inside!, and one of the young guys next to me asked me where I had gotten the book. I told him about noticing them under the seats and picking mine up when we sat down and he said, "Now we know why you are graduating!" I guess having a little more "life experience" then him made the difference! I don't know, but I thought it was funny.
The next day was the college convocation and it was there that I met a couple of other BGS graduates from my college and it was nice to talk to them about our similar experiences and about the classes that we took. It would have been nice to have been in contact with them while we were all taking the classes but it was nice to talk to them now. After that ceremony, we met up again with my brother and family and all went out to a late lunch/early dinner where another of my brothers joined us. He took the afternoon off of work and drove down from Logan to be there and I really appreciate his doing that. After the meal, he joined my husband and me back at our hotel room and we talked for almost 2 hours. My parents and other brother and family all went up to Salt Lake for another graduation dinner with some of my sister-in-law's family.
When we showed someone this picture, they said that I looked like a typical college graduate with my sunglasses and all!
Before the processional and commencement ceremony, the BGS (Bachelor of General Studies--the distance learning degree) department had a luncheon for all of their graduates and the graduates' guests. That was a really nice luncheon where they made a big deal about us graduating and also had a professional photographer take our pictures and they had a big screen where they were posting all the names of those graduating. It was neat to see my name up on the screen! Anyway, after the commencement ceremony, I met up with my husband and parents again and one of my brothers and his family as his youngest daughter was also graduating. It was good to see them.
The next day was the college convocation and it was there that I met a couple of other BGS graduates from my college and it was nice to talk to them about our similar experiences and about the classes that we took. It would have been nice to have been in contact with them while we were all taking the classes but it was nice to talk to them now. After that ceremony, we met up again with my brother and family and all went out to a late lunch/early dinner where another of my brothers joined us. He took the afternoon off of work and drove down from Logan to be there and I really appreciate his doing that. After the meal, he joined my husband and me back at our hotel room and we talked for almost 2 hours. My parents and other brother and family all went up to Salt Lake for another graduation dinner with some of my sister-in-law's family.When we showed someone this picture, they said that I looked like a typical college graduate with my sunglasses and all!The next morning my husband and I headed back home. It had been a quick, kind of expensive trip, but I'm really glad that we went. Going through the graduation ceremonies really made it seem real that I had actually gotten my degree.
Three weeks later, my 3rd son graduated from the University of Arizona with his master's degree in architecture so we went down to Tucson to celebrate with him and his family. He's our first child to get an advanced degree so that was exciting. We are proud of him and all our children.
Here's our son and his wife after the graduation ceremony. His little daughter was at home with her other grandparents--the ceremony was past her bedtime.
Here's our son and his wife after the graduation ceremony. His little daughter was at home with her other grandparents--the ceremony was past her bedtime.Two weeks after my son's graduation, my oldest grandson graduated from kindergarten! It was fun to see him with his class as they sang songs and recited different poems about what they had been learning.
Here he is marching in with some of his classmates.
And this is him getting his "diploma" from his teacher.
The 3 graduation ceremonies were VERY different from each other but each was special in it's own way and well worth the time spent to attend them.
While all this was going on, we are also in the midst of preparations for 2 weddings in July. The first one, on the 3rd, is that of my 2nd son (his second marriage), his wedding will be in the St. Paul, Minnesota temple so we are flying back there for that. It will be the first time I've been to Minnesota! The other wedding, on the 8th, is that of my 5th son, the one that just returned from his mission to Germany. His girlfriend waited the whole 2 years for him and within 3 weeks of his homecoming, they were engaged. They are getting married here at the Mesa temple so we are more involved in the plans for this wedding but even so, we really haven't had too much to do-one of the perks of being the parents of the groom(s)!
In between all of these goings on, I'm also trying to work on my current quilt. I don't know how some people can finish a quilt in just a month or so, I certainly am NOT one of those people! I have managed to get all the stitch and flip parts done and am now working on sewing some of them to each other and then they will be sewn into the squares. It is a slow process for me but it will get done, eventually. So a lot has gone on and a lot is still to come but I guess that's life. We wouldn't want to be bored!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Wow, it's done!!!
Well, I just now sent off my last assignment for my last class so that I can actually graduate!!!! Whew, I can't believe that I'm done!?>!?! Hopefully, I'll get a passing grade after all that work but for now, I'M DONE!!! It only took 35 years to finish my degree but it is done now. Sorry, that's all I have to post today, but I just had to share my elation! :-)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Lots to Catch Up On
Ok, well it hasn't been quite 3 months since my last post but it has been longer than I thought. Lots has gone on since my last post. We had a wonderful Christmas with all our family here who could be here--all our kids except the 2 on missions but we did get to talk to them on the phone, and my parents were able to be here too. That made quite a houseful, especially since 5 were age 5 or under--all our grandkids. Presents got opened, phone calls made, dinner fixed and eaten--we had two turkeys, one cooked in the oven inside the house and the other smoked outside on the grill. We had to wait a while before we had pie and we had lots of pies to choose from but there was enough for everyone and then some. It was a good few days to have everyone here.
Two weeks after Christmas our 2nd son came back, this time with his girlfriend so that we could meet her. She is really nice and we think she is great. That's a good thing as they just got engaged last week, so we will have a wedding this summer!
Other things that have gone on is that I finished my senior English class and now just have the final capstone class and I'll get my bachelor's degree finally!
Things I've forgotten to include in past posts include that my husband and I participated in the Tour de Tucson in November, he in the 35 miles with our daughter and me in the 66 mile portion. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done! But I finished, even though I had to walk my bike partway up 2 of the hills. I obviously need to practice on hills more. If we do it again this year, I'm going to repeat the 66 mile portion and see if I can't stay on the bike and not have to walk it up the hills again.
I've started a new quilt and cut out all the pieces. The girlfriend of one of my missionary sons figured out that I cut out over 1600 pieces!! Wow, I didn't realize it was that many. Now comes the marking and sewing. But like all the others I've made, it will get done eventually.
I guess that's all for now. Hopefully I'll get photos out soon.
Two weeks after Christmas our 2nd son came back, this time with his girlfriend so that we could meet her. She is really nice and we think she is great. That's a good thing as they just got engaged last week, so we will have a wedding this summer!
Other things that have gone on is that I finished my senior English class and now just have the final capstone class and I'll get my bachelor's degree finally!
Things I've forgotten to include in past posts include that my husband and I participated in the Tour de Tucson in November, he in the 35 miles with our daughter and me in the 66 mile portion. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done! But I finished, even though I had to walk my bike partway up 2 of the hills. I obviously need to practice on hills more. If we do it again this year, I'm going to repeat the 66 mile portion and see if I can't stay on the bike and not have to walk it up the hills again.
I've started a new quilt and cut out all the pieces. The girlfriend of one of my missionary sons figured out that I cut out over 1600 pieces!! Wow, I didn't realize it was that many. Now comes the marking and sewing. But like all the others I've made, it will get done eventually.
I guess that's all for now. Hopefully I'll get photos out soon.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Wow, it has been a while since I wrote anything for my blog. I hadn't realized how long. So life has been pretty busy and I just haven't felt the need to write anything here. Right now I should be doing homework but I'm obviously not doing that. You'd think that with a deadline, I would just get to it but I can't seem to make myself do that. I hate writing papers!!! I have a rough draft written but I need to polish it off and get it sent off so that I can get to the big major paper for this class. Oh well. Anyway, things are otherwise going pretty well around here. We just had a successful Relief Society event last night, one that I was in charge of, since I'm the Enrichment Counselor (I guess that's still my title). We did a La Posada progressive dinner that culminated at the church building where we had a Nativity program. A lot of sisters turned out for our event and I was happy to see so many there. And they seemed to be enjoying themselves, which makes all the hard work worth it. I hope it also reminded them of the real reason for the season, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful that He loves us enough that He was willing to come to Earth and give His life for us. What a precious gift for all of us and that makes this time of year so wonderful as we remember that gift.
Well, I guess that's all for the moment as my grandson is anxious to get on the computer. Hopefully I'll post again before 3 months have gone by!
Well, I guess that's all for the moment as my grandson is anxious to get on the computer. Hopefully I'll post again before 3 months have gone by!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Is Anybody Reading This?
Ok, it has been a while, I hadn't realized how long. But since I don't know if anyone even looks at this blog, it just didn't seem to be a priority to update it. But on the off chance that someone will be reading this blog sometime, I'm posting again.
Well, my oldest grandson is doing ok in school, although he is having a problem with socializing. He hits the other kids when they do things he doesn't like or he pushes them or cuts in line, those kinds of things. The teacher says academically he is doing fine, it is just his interactions with the other kids that needs work. So an incentive plan has been decided upon and it pretty much seems to be helping. He has had more good days than bad so I'd say that is an improvement. Hopefully he will get to the point where the incentives won't be necessary; we are just keeping our fingers crossed. As an aside, I pick him up after school and so once again, I'm walking to the school every day. I thought I was done with this 8 years ago!! Some of the teachers and other parents recognized me, which was nice in a way--it means I made an impression on them, I just hope it was a good one! It also means that I still know some of the teachers who work there, which makes it seem familiar. It just goes to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Our newest grandchild arrived on Aug. 17th and he is a little cutie. I have been going over to help out my daughter-in-law and thus am getting to hold both him and his almost-2-year-old older brother. It's nice to be close enough (location wise) to be able to help out and to be a part of their lives. One thing I've noticed is how much the two little boys look like each other--they are definitely brothers!
Because I've been going over and doing the grandmother thing, I haven't had much chance to work on the new baby's quilt. I worked on it a little this morning and I'm kind of frustrated as the parts are not going together like the pattern says they should. I put it aside to return to tomorrow when maybe I'll figure out what to do to make it work. The pieced border doesn't fit and I was very careful in cutting and sewing but I guess not careful enough. I'm not sure what to do to make it fit.
As far as my classes, I finished the poetry one and started the senior class--a big research paper is the main result of this class. Fun, fun.
Other than those things, life is pretty much the same old same old. Things keep chugging along and I keep adjusting, for the most part. And someday I'll add more pictures to this blog; just don't hold your breath about it though!
Well, my oldest grandson is doing ok in school, although he is having a problem with socializing. He hits the other kids when they do things he doesn't like or he pushes them or cuts in line, those kinds of things. The teacher says academically he is doing fine, it is just his interactions with the other kids that needs work. So an incentive plan has been decided upon and it pretty much seems to be helping. He has had more good days than bad so I'd say that is an improvement. Hopefully he will get to the point where the incentives won't be necessary; we are just keeping our fingers crossed. As an aside, I pick him up after school and so once again, I'm walking to the school every day. I thought I was done with this 8 years ago!! Some of the teachers and other parents recognized me, which was nice in a way--it means I made an impression on them, I just hope it was a good one! It also means that I still know some of the teachers who work there, which makes it seem familiar. It just goes to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Our newest grandchild arrived on Aug. 17th and he is a little cutie. I have been going over to help out my daughter-in-law and thus am getting to hold both him and his almost-2-year-old older brother. It's nice to be close enough (location wise) to be able to help out and to be a part of their lives. One thing I've noticed is how much the two little boys look like each other--they are definitely brothers!
Because I've been going over and doing the grandmother thing, I haven't had much chance to work on the new baby's quilt. I worked on it a little this morning and I'm kind of frustrated as the parts are not going together like the pattern says they should. I put it aside to return to tomorrow when maybe I'll figure out what to do to make it work. The pieced border doesn't fit and I was very careful in cutting and sewing but I guess not careful enough. I'm not sure what to do to make it fit.
As far as my classes, I finished the poetry one and started the senior class--a big research paper is the main result of this class. Fun, fun.
Other than those things, life is pretty much the same old same old. Things keep chugging along and I keep adjusting, for the most part. And someday I'll add more pictures to this blog; just don't hold your breath about it though!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Catching Up
Ok, so it has been forever since I posted. I guess I just like reading everyone else's blog and not posting on my own blog. What can I say? Anyway, there has been a lot going on here, mostly sending our youngest son off to the MTC in mid-July. My baby! Anyway, here is a big post about that adventure, starting with our trip up to Provo. (This is excerpted from the letter I sent to Abram-our son on a mission in Germany- about all this.)
Tuesday July 21st we woke up at 4:30 am to a thunder storm. While my husband was packing everything into the van, our son Ben stood just inside the open garage door looking out at the storm—all the lightning and rain. He put his new camera on video and caught a small violet colored bolt of electricity either coming from the fire hydrant at the end of our driveway or hitting it. It also hit the across the street neighbor's mailbox. He had thought he had seen it happen but wasn't sure so he watched his video frame by frame and sure enough that is what had happened, he showed it to all of us and it was pretty amazing! Luckily it wasn't a big bolt or we all could have been hurt! Dad said there was a lot of electricity in the air as he kept getting shocks when he would touch the doorknobs on the outside doors. We finally got all packed up, said our prayer and our goodbyes and headed out right about 5:20 am in a pouring rain. Joseph made the comment that Arizona just couldn't let him go without showing that he could have lots of rain here, he didn't need to go to the Philippines to get rain! We had rain through the city until we got beyond Anthem and then it petered out and the rest of the journey was pretty uneventful. We arrived at the hotel in Provo shortly after 6 our time, unloaded our stuff and then walked to dinner at a restaurant nearby. After dinner we went back to the hotel, sat around for a while and then went to bed.
The big day dawned sunny and bright. We all took turns showering and then went to breakfast. Joseph had no problem eating. We went back to our room and got dressed in Sunday clothes then sat around and read the Ensigns that I had brought along. Finally it was about 40 minutes before Joseph had to report to the MTC so we got all his suitcases back into the van and drove to the MTC. We got to the parking lot that we have always parked in, next to the "missionary field" and were there greeted by a MTC worker who asked if we were dropping off a missionary, we said yes and he then said for us to park anywhere, take all the pictures we wanted and then load back up and head over to the MTC and we would be directed from there. We had thought that we would be unloading Joseph's suitcases in that parking lot, like before, and then just taking Joseph and them over to the MTC but that turned out to not be the case. So we had Joseph unload one suitcase, took a couple of pictures with him and the suitcase, loaded back up in the van and drove over to the MTC. (Several other families were walking over with their missionaries to the MTC and taking pictures by the signs there and in front of the main building but as we have never done that before, we didn't do it this time either.) We got to the MTC entrance driveway and were directed around the building to another worker, who told us to go to number 5. I didn't know what he meant until I looked over to the side and saw cars along the side and there were big numbers up on posts by each car. We got to 5 and there was no way the van would fit there and another worker told us to go to 8, so we did but same problem. We were waved forward by yet another worker (some of them may have been missionaries, I don't know) and two cars left the curb by 11 and 12 so now there was enough room and so we pulled in there, backing up a bit to fit by 11. An elderly worker and 2 elders came forward as we opened the doors and got out. The two elders got Joseph's luggage and told him to say goodbye and then go into the building while they took care of his luggage and then he would come out and they would take him and his luggage to his room. Meanwhile the elderly gentleman asked me my missionary's name, found it on his list and checked it off, wrote something down on a card and gave it to me saying that it had the address to write to my missionary at and then he said you have 30 seconds til we need this space again! 30 SECONDS!?!?!?! I grabbed Joseph in a big hug, cried on his suit, said goodbye and got back into the van. The elderly worker said "We'll take good care of him!" Dad hugged Joseph and said goodbye, climbed into the van himself and we were waved off. I turned around as we drove off to see Joseph walking into the building. That was it for our goodbyes! I don't know if I like this new procedure. The family meeting/orientation may have drawn out the goodbyes but it seemed better to me. Oh well, change is always happening.
Other than that, things are going well as we adjust to less people here at home. Dad and I are trying to keep Joseph's garden growing, at least the herbs as everything else is pretty much dead from the heat. July 2009 was the hottest July on record here in the Phoenix area! The average high was 109.8º. We had 15 days with temps 115 º or above and 27 days with temps 110 º or above and every day in the month was at least 100 º. So it has been mighty warm. Yesterday it got to 111 º and so far today it is 110 º. We are hoping that August won't be the hottest on record but so far it looks like it is trying to be! I've used my solar oven once so far this summer to bake bread but it is just so hot to go outside that it seems to me it kind of defeats the purpose--I get more hot and sweaty making sure the oven is facing the sun than I do baking the bread in the regular oven inside!
Tonight we are going over to meet the teacher night at the school. My oldest grandson, the one who with his father lives with us, will be starting kindergarten on Monday. How time flies! It will be interesting to see how he does.
Lastly we are waiting for grandchild #5 to make his appearance. He isn't due until the end of the month but it doesn't look like he will wait until then. Always something happening around here. I wanted to include a few pictures, but Dad hasn't downloaded them yet so maybe next time, which hopefully won't be too far away!!
Tuesday July 21st we woke up at 4:30 am to a thunder storm. While my husband was packing everything into the van, our son Ben stood just inside the open garage door looking out at the storm—all the lightning and rain. He put his new camera on video and caught a small violet colored bolt of electricity either coming from the fire hydrant at the end of our driveway or hitting it. It also hit the across the street neighbor's mailbox. He had thought he had seen it happen but wasn't sure so he watched his video frame by frame and sure enough that is what had happened, he showed it to all of us and it was pretty amazing! Luckily it wasn't a big bolt or we all could have been hurt! Dad said there was a lot of electricity in the air as he kept getting shocks when he would touch the doorknobs on the outside doors. We finally got all packed up, said our prayer and our goodbyes and headed out right about 5:20 am in a pouring rain. Joseph made the comment that Arizona just couldn't let him go without showing that he could have lots of rain here, he didn't need to go to the Philippines to get rain! We had rain through the city until we got beyond Anthem and then it petered out and the rest of the journey was pretty uneventful. We arrived at the hotel in Provo shortly after 6 our time, unloaded our stuff and then walked to dinner at a restaurant nearby. After dinner we went back to the hotel, sat around for a while and then went to bed.
The big day dawned sunny and bright. We all took turns showering and then went to breakfast. Joseph had no problem eating. We went back to our room and got dressed in Sunday clothes then sat around and read the Ensigns that I had brought along. Finally it was about 40 minutes before Joseph had to report to the MTC so we got all his suitcases back into the van and drove to the MTC. We got to the parking lot that we have always parked in, next to the "missionary field" and were there greeted by a MTC worker who asked if we were dropping off a missionary, we said yes and he then said for us to park anywhere, take all the pictures we wanted and then load back up and head over to the MTC and we would be directed from there. We had thought that we would be unloading Joseph's suitcases in that parking lot, like before, and then just taking Joseph and them over to the MTC but that turned out to not be the case. So we had Joseph unload one suitcase, took a couple of pictures with him and the suitcase, loaded back up in the van and drove over to the MTC. (Several other families were walking over with their missionaries to the MTC and taking pictures by the signs there and in front of the main building but as we have never done that before, we didn't do it this time either.) We got to the MTC entrance driveway and were directed around the building to another worker, who told us to go to number 5. I didn't know what he meant until I looked over to the side and saw cars along the side and there were big numbers up on posts by each car. We got to 5 and there was no way the van would fit there and another worker told us to go to 8, so we did but same problem. We were waved forward by yet another worker (some of them may have been missionaries, I don't know) and two cars left the curb by 11 and 12 so now there was enough room and so we pulled in there, backing up a bit to fit by 11. An elderly worker and 2 elders came forward as we opened the doors and got out. The two elders got Joseph's luggage and told him to say goodbye and then go into the building while they took care of his luggage and then he would come out and they would take him and his luggage to his room. Meanwhile the elderly gentleman asked me my missionary's name, found it on his list and checked it off, wrote something down on a card and gave it to me saying that it had the address to write to my missionary at and then he said you have 30 seconds til we need this space again! 30 SECONDS!?!?!?! I grabbed Joseph in a big hug, cried on his suit, said goodbye and got back into the van. The elderly worker said "We'll take good care of him!" Dad hugged Joseph and said goodbye, climbed into the van himself and we were waved off. I turned around as we drove off to see Joseph walking into the building. That was it for our goodbyes! I don't know if I like this new procedure. The family meeting/orientation may have drawn out the goodbyes but it seemed better to me. Oh well, change is always happening.
Other than that, things are going well as we adjust to less people here at home. Dad and I are trying to keep Joseph's garden growing, at least the herbs as everything else is pretty much dead from the heat. July 2009 was the hottest July on record here in the Phoenix area! The average high was 109.8º. We had 15 days with temps 115 º or above and 27 days with temps 110 º or above and every day in the month was at least 100 º. So it has been mighty warm. Yesterday it got to 111 º and so far today it is 110 º. We are hoping that August won't be the hottest on record but so far it looks like it is trying to be! I've used my solar oven once so far this summer to bake bread but it is just so hot to go outside that it seems to me it kind of defeats the purpose--I get more hot and sweaty making sure the oven is facing the sun than I do baking the bread in the regular oven inside!
Tonight we are going over to meet the teacher night at the school. My oldest grandson, the one who with his father lives with us, will be starting kindergarten on Monday. How time flies! It will be interesting to see how he does.
Lastly we are waiting for grandchild #5 to make his appearance. He isn't due until the end of the month but it doesn't look like he will wait until then. Always something happening around here. I wanted to include a few pictures, but Dad hasn't downloaded them yet so maybe next time, which hopefully won't be too far away!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
It's been a while
I hadn't realized that it has been over a month since I posted! A lot has happened since then. I have another new grandbaby! This sweet little boy is Lowe Goodrich, my daughter's and her husband's first child. Unfortunately all the pictures are still on the camera! I've been waiting for my husband to download them but he hasn't yet. Anyway, I spent a week with the new little family to help them out even though I don't know how much help I was. I did spend one night up with the little guy so they could get some rest and I got to hold Lowe a lot on other days. When I got home, my other 2 grandsons seemed SO big!! It is fun to be a grandma, I don't have to worry about feeding the babies or changing them unless I want to, I can just hold them and love them. Another reason that I haven't posted in a while is that my parents came to visit from Wyoming. We haven't seen them for about 2 years as they just recently got back from a mission to New Zealand so it was good to see them. And their timing couldn't have been better as they got to see both of their newest great-grandchildren--they got here on the same day that Lowe was born.
Other things going on in our lives are that my youngest son got his mission call--he is going to the Philippines Cauayan Mission and reports to the MTC on July 22nd. We need to get him ready to go. The same day that his mission call came, I got a new calling at church, I'm now the Enrichment counselor in our ward's Relief Society and I have been going to lots of meetings to find out what that is all about and to plan our next Enrichment which is scheduled for one month from today! Nothing like having to jump right in with both feet and hope that you come back up to the top!!! I'd always thought that I don't mind being on the committee but I never want to be the Enrichment counselor! Never say never as that is usually what you get!
This weekend my daughter graduates from nursing school and they are blessing their baby too so we have a busy weekend ahead of us. I was talking to a friend and she said, "Remember when we were young mothers and never had any free time and we couldn't wait until our children were grown because then we would have some free time? Well, our children are mostly grown and we're still waiting for that free time!!" Isn't that the truth?? But you know, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.
Mother's Day was great for me. I didn't have to do any cooking--my husband and sons grilled chicken and we had bought a double chocolate cream pie at Costco for dessert. I can't decide which tasted better, they were both yummy!! I also got to talk to all my kids, even my missionary son in Germany. He has been out for 14 months now and you could tell that he was having to think of how to say things in English, he even asked his companion once how to say something! So he has definitely been blessed with the gift of tongues. It isn't an easy mission but he is working hard and learning a lot nonetheless. We are proud of him and all our kids as they are all making correct choices and living right. What more could a mother ask for?
I guess I've rambled on enough. Belated Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! Hopefully I won't wait over a month to post again! :-)
Other things going on in our lives are that my youngest son got his mission call--he is going to the Philippines Cauayan Mission and reports to the MTC on July 22nd. We need to get him ready to go. The same day that his mission call came, I got a new calling at church, I'm now the Enrichment counselor in our ward's Relief Society and I have been going to lots of meetings to find out what that is all about and to plan our next Enrichment which is scheduled for one month from today! Nothing like having to jump right in with both feet and hope that you come back up to the top!!! I'd always thought that I don't mind being on the committee but I never want to be the Enrichment counselor! Never say never as that is usually what you get!
This weekend my daughter graduates from nursing school and they are blessing their baby too so we have a busy weekend ahead of us. I was talking to a friend and she said, "Remember when we were young mothers and never had any free time and we couldn't wait until our children were grown because then we would have some free time? Well, our children are mostly grown and we're still waiting for that free time!!" Isn't that the truth?? But you know, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.
Mother's Day was great for me. I didn't have to do any cooking--my husband and sons grilled chicken and we had bought a double chocolate cream pie at Costco for dessert. I can't decide which tasted better, they were both yummy!! I also got to talk to all my kids, even my missionary son in Germany. He has been out for 14 months now and you could tell that he was having to think of how to say things in English, he even asked his companion once how to say something! So he has definitely been blessed with the gift of tongues. It isn't an easy mission but he is working hard and learning a lot nonetheless. We are proud of him and all our kids as they are all making correct choices and living right. What more could a mother ask for?
I guess I've rambled on enough. Belated Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! Hopefully I won't wait over a month to post again! :-)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Update and TAGGED
First the update. I managed to finish that cute pink baby quilt just in time for the new baby to come home from the hospital. I got my machine back and then ran out of the pink thread! But now it is done and given to the proud parents. But guess who forgot to take photos of the quilt?!!?!? Oh well. I asked my son to take some pictures of little Sophia with the quilt but so far haven't gotten any. We are going down there again this weekend, for Sophia's baby blessing, so I hope to get some pictures then. But for now, here is a photo of the happy family.
She was born on March 7th at 8:13 pm, was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 21 inches long. And she has tons of hair! Not something that is normal for either our family or her mother's family. But she is a cutie and a welcome addition to our family.
Now for the tag. My daughter tagged me and I think that I just have to put in my responses to what she had on her blog so here goes:
5 things I was doing 5 years ago:
- Working at the City of Mesa Library's Dobson Ranch Branch
- taking classes long distance from BYU
- being a mom
- teaching the spiritual mini lessons at Enrichment/Homemaking meetings
- becoming a grandmother for the first time
5 Things on my to do list for today:
- fill out this tag
- work some more on the quilt for my daughter's baby
- make dinner
- get our van back from the garage
- turn in another lesson for my class
5 Things I would do with a million dollars:
- Help my kids with their various expenses
- Put most of it in savings for our missions/retirement
- get new furniture
- get some new clothes for us
- donate a lot to the LDS humanitarian fund
5 Places I have lived:
- Provo, Utah
- Laramie, Wyoming
- Brookhaven, New York
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Tempe, Arizona
5 Jobs I have held:
- babysitter
- hotel maid
- refreshment stand attendant
- library page
- library clerk
5 Things I want to be doing in 5 Years:
- finally be empty nesters (no kids living at home)
- have all the kids married in the temple
- finished with school at last
- be a children's librarian
- have lots of grandbabies come to visit
5 People I tag:
- Jeannette
- MiriLou
- Crissi
- Ben
- Dave (this'll never happen!)
So there you go, a brief update and a tag. Enjoy!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Wouldn't you know it
I got the pink quilt top finished and then layered and ready for quilting. I started the quilting, outline stitching around the appliques. Then on Friday, when I went to finish the outline quilting, the needle bent! So I changed it out and then tried sewing again and the thread kept getting caught in the bobbin area. So I took it apart to clean it out, there was lots of lint in there, and while doing that noticed that there was a little metal piece that seemed to be loose, it was what the thread was getting caught on. I tried to get it back into place, but it wouldn't go. I fit it back in as best as I could and tried sewing again. The thread was still catching on it. So I took it out and tried again. Well, now the thread wasn't getting caught but it was doing all kinds of loops on the bottom of the fabric! So I re-threaded the machine and tried one more time, still some loops but not as bad. I was done!! My new machine just wasn't working. When my husband got home that evening and I told him my problems, he asked if I had called the store. Well, no I hadn't, so I called them quick and described the problems and they said to bring it in on Saturday. I was afraid of that. I had a feeling that they would want to take it and then I wouldn't be able to finish the quilt. So Saturday, after I put that piece back in, we took it over to the store and the manager sat down at it and had the same thread catching problem I had had. She took the bobbin area apart, like I had done, and found that loose piece. She said that it was part of the cutting mechanism (when you push a button, the machine will automatically cut the top and bottom threads for you) and was obviously broken so it would have to be sent in to be repaired. Great. Well, she did give me the store floor model of the machine so that I could continue working on the quilt so I wasn't out of a machine. I think it won't cost me anything to get the machine fixed as it has only been 4 months since I bought it, I was too afraid to ask. She said that she put a rush on the repair order so instead of 10 days from Tuesday, it should be less than a week. We'll see. I guess it is better for it to happen now, while still under warranty, than later. Up until now, this sewing machine has worked great, so I hope once I get it back, it will still work great.
As for my classes, I took the final for that other class and am now waiting for the grade to be posted. But I went ahead and signed up for the next class, a poetry class, and will be starting that this week. I hope to get it done within 6 months. Wish me luck!
As for my classes, I took the final for that other class and am now waiting for the grade to be posted. But I went ahead and signed up for the next class, a poetry class, and will be starting that this week. I hope to get it done within 6 months. Wish me luck!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Things are moving along
I have been going to chastize my kids for not putting up new posts and then realized that I hadn't put up a new one either, so here it is. I have been working on the first baby quilt, a pink one for our first granddaughter, and the baby shower was last Saturday. The quilt wasn't done but I took it anyway. I put it in a pretty gift bag but then when Lindsey pulled it out, I had to explain that it was a work in progress and that if she wanted it finished, she had to give it back! Nothing like being an Indian giver, is there? (I suppose that is not politically correct.) Anyway, one of the reasons that it is taking a while to get done is that there are several appliques on the quilt top and most of them in pink, and guess what, I didn't have ANY pink thread!! In all my years of sewing, I have never made anything pink. I guess that is to be expected when you have 6 boys and only 1 girl and she doesn't like pink! Even when she was a baby, I didn't make pink things, I made a yellow smocked dress, and several light purple dresses, but NO pink anything! Hence the lack of pink thread. So I had to go find some and after looking around at a couple of different stores finally found some that matched. So now I can get back to work. Less than a month now until the baby comes, so I need to hurry up and get this quilt done. Then I have to work on the next one, that baby (a boy) is due at the end of April, so time is getting short! Luckily the 3rd one isn't due until August so I can take a breather between the 2nd and 3rd ones, but not a long one. At least I like making quilts!
Onto another subject, I finally took the final for one of my classes, just have to take the final in the other one and then I only have 3 classes left until I can graduate!! The end is in sight, yay! Oh, and I have to get them all done by April of 2010, if I don't want to take 4 more classes! So I really need to get on the ball with the classes. Nothing like a lot of pressure in your life. Oh well, it is what makes us (me) get things done.
Lastly, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to one and all!
Onto another subject, I finally took the final for one of my classes, just have to take the final in the other one and then I only have 3 classes left until I can graduate!! The end is in sight, yay! Oh, and I have to get them all done by April of 2010, if I don't want to take 4 more classes! So I really need to get on the ball with the classes. Nothing like a lot of pressure in your life. Oh well, it is what makes us (me) get things done.
Lastly, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to one and all!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sewing Room
Well, my sewing room is all put together for the most part so tomorrow I can start sewing, I hope!! Woo hoo! I'm excited, can you tell? Oh, just a side note, my grandson asked me the other day if his and his dad's new room would soon be their old room and they would get moved into a third bedroom!?!? I told him no probably not. Interesting the things that go through their minds.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
More Quilt Photos
Well, I finally got my husband to transfer some photos to my computer so I could post them. The first quilt, the one with the trucks, is the one I made for my first grandson for his 3rd birthday. He still loves it two years later and it is none the worse for wear other than being slightly faded. Not too bad, considering all the use it gets and all the washing! Pattern from the Nov/Dec 1998 Quiltmaker magazine which someone gave me about 4 years ago.
These next ones are for the first bed sized quilt I made. I saw the pattern in a book from the library--Eleanor Burn's Quilt in a Day-Still Stripping After 25 Years --only hers was for a smaller quilt. I have a friend who works at the Quilter's Ranch (quiltersranch.com) who helped 
me enlarge the pattern to fit a bed. I think it turned out pretty well consideri ng it was the first time I had made such a big quilt and therefore it was the first big quilt I machine quilted. There are a few oops in it but overall, it is pretty. It took me over a year to make the quilt as I put it aside fo
r a while since I was scared to start doing the machine quilting but I finally got up my nerve and got it finished just in time for my husband's birthday, which was a lucky coincedence, I thought. As you can see I also made a matching pillow. My husband photoshopped the pictures to take out all the "distracting" stuff around the bed so that it why it seems to be floating in space! Also he changed the flash between the two photos when he took the pictures, that is why one seems more yellow than the other. 
me enlarge the pattern to fit a bed. I think it turned out pretty well consideri ng it was the first time I had made such a big quilt and therefore it was the first big quilt I machine quilted. There are a few oops in it but overall, it is pretty. It took me over a year to make the quilt as I put it aside fo
r a while since I was scared to start doing the machine quilting but I finally got up my nerve and got it finished just in time for my husband's birthday, which was a lucky coincedence, I thought. As you can see I also made a matching pillow. My husband photoshopped the pictures to take out all the "distracting" stuff around the bed so that it why it seems to be floating in space! Also he changed the flash between the two photos when he took the pictures, that is why one seems more yellow than the other. 
I'll post more quilt photos as I get them.
I couldn't resist!
My daughter changed the background for her blog the other day and it is cute so I thought I'd look and see what the site (thecutestblogontheblock.com) had for Valentine's Day and there on the next to the last page was this background with an owl!!!! I couldn't resist it and so had to use it. Anyone who knows me, knows that I like owls and so this was a nobrainer choice for me. It will probably be here on my blog for longer than just Valentine's Day, just to warn you! :)
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sewing room mess
With 3 grand babies on the way, I'm anxious to get started on making them some quilts but my sewing room is nonexistent at the moment! With all the moving around of stuff for when we had the house re-piped, we thought we might as well rearrange rooms since everything was already moved around. So my oldest son and his son moved into what used to be my sewing room and now my oldest and youngest sons are tiling the floor in what used to be my oldest son's room which will then become my sewing room! Did you follow all that? So needless to say, there is no place at the moment for sewing. But since I couldn't wait, this morning I cut out the fabric for the first baby quilt. Yay! My husband says that by this weekend my sewing room should be up and running so then I can start putting the quilt together. Yay again. So that's how things stand around here.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
1st Quilt photo
Well, I couldn't find any photos of the other quilts I have made up to this point, I'll have to ask my husband where they are. But here is a photo of a quilt I recently made. I made up the pattern myself, it is very simple but came out ok. This picture doesn't do it justice. I'll have to practice more on taking photos of my quilts. Anyway, this wall quilt was a baby shower gift for my husband's nephew's new son. 
So here is the first quilt photo that I'm putting on this blog.
So here is the first quilt photo that I'm putting on this blog.Obviously I need more practice on posting photos (and taking them!).
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