Our Thursday, End of February

How are you all? I am fine. Still taking pain meds at night, and that seems to cover things. Last night, Mark got me a giant baked potato at Smith's. Yum! Thank you, Mark! To answer you questions, Mark's talk was good, and he's the Sun. School President. Mark's got his hands full with work, with major people quitting, a building flooding, and crazy things coming out of the woodwork. I always think when events seem to conspire against you, that's probably happening right before something really good. At least that's true in my experience. It's like the machine that you push and stretch your body against, and you learn to associate it with something good, some good purpose. I think that's what opposition is, and you learn to appreciate it and also all the people that stretch your patience and understanding. I don't even feel that anymore, probably because I'm in a protected position, but maybe because I've seem how those ornery people provide us with a chance to grow in understanding and faith. Okay, Seth just left for work, and I have Rachel Ray on in the background. I'm reading The Vampire Lestat on Seth's recommendation. So far, it's been really interesting and I love Anne Rice's style and pacing, etc. So here's to the end of February! Only a few more days left till March! Wahoo! 'Love You, xoxoxo

Tues. Night and My Teeth Are Outa Sight

That means that I got my last two top teeth pulled, in hopes of getting a replacement denture. A partial didn't work too well for me; it will be a couple of months before they do the denture. The dentist (or Dentite, as we call him, after the Anti-Lehi-Nephites) had a hard time getting them out, and I have a bunch of stitches now. I've been taking pain meds that make me sleep, until this afternoon. I've been up enough now to eat some mashed potatoes and canned pears (yum!), and now I'll take a pain pill for tonight. Isn't that fascinating? Anyway, that's why I didn't post the past two days. But I'll get caught up pretty soon. Thanks for your patience! xoxoxo

Saturday Morning

I love Saturdays, don't you? Mark downloaded the pictures today! I'll post them soon; I just need to find them again and edit them. He baked really delicious chocolate chip cookies last night. The recipe has you brown the butter a little and then use mostly brown sugar. Gives them a lot of flavor. Mark has a talk tomorrow, on prayer and promptings. He's going to tell a bit about things that happened to me as a single mom, as part of his talk. Mostly about the persistence of the prompting about getting our car from the Allens, after our ancient car finally bit the dust. I was so horrified to call and tell Sis. Allen that I'd been told by the Spirit that they had a car for us. Imagine my relief when she gasped and said, "We've been praying about who to give one of our cars to!!" That was the Suburban that carried us to Logan and back to I.F., that died just as we got back here, after Mark and I were married. So many things like that happened to us, just when we needed them. Btw, when I relate things that I've learned, especially spiritual things, I'm not thinking that you don't already know them and live them; I'm just putting them down as a record of my life and beliefs. But if it helps someone, especially my descendants, then that will be wonderful. So Mark has his talk done now, Leto is whining to be let out where Mark is (in the office, which is just a few steps away, through the French doors), and I am listening to a documentary about babies. Jasmine is sun bathing on the floor, and Tut is outside. Seth is working, assembling delicious sandwiches. I want one! Okay, that's the skinny from here! Take care! xoxoxo

Friday, Forever

It's 1:24 a.m., so it's Friday! All the posts about watching the Olympics made us watch them tonight, and we saw our Men's skater win the gold! It was so exciting that we yelled and screamed when he got his scores. Did you guys yell? It's good for you to yell and scream over happy things; exercises your joy muscles. ; ) (I'm typing in the dark, so I keep making funny-looking typos!) What else? Ben's coming over Sat. to talk to us about Melaleuca. I've been wanting their detergent, cleaning pdts., shampoo, and lotion, so I'm excited. As far as selling it, if it doesn't involve that constant conference calls and stories that are in Reliv, then I'll see what Mark thinks. I renewed our distributor status in Reliv. I'll never stop taking it. It saved my life. I think everyone should take it, because. for the cost of some little purchase like a candy bar a day, you can make sure you are getting what you need. Look at how it helped Brenda, too! And my hair is thicker by far, and my nails are long (I have to trim them back now), and I can eat anything (exc. milk and cream, 'cause I lack the enzyme for that - unless I take Lact-Aid pills). I haven't used my electric wheelchair since I've been taking Reliv, either. So many differences. It's crazy. We only take the Reliv product, nothing else. Isn't that something? So we'll always do that. I told Ben he should do Reliv also, with Melaleuca. At least pay $30 to get the discount and the right to sell it, etc. All of you kids should. That doesn't take away anything of my excitement about Ben and Linda doing Melaleuca. I'm so happy about that, and anxious to learn more. : ) It's all about improving our lives: using good, efficient products that do what they say, and maybe making some money, too. Sounds good to me! Another topic. I'm very happy. I feel like I am hitting my stride in life, mainly by believing in being totally acceptable before Heavenly Father and Jesus, because of their power, right now. Tonight, today, and all the time. When I accept that myself, it frees my mind and brings me peace. I have to re-center myself each day, so I can remember. Doing that little thing every day and praying to Heavenly Father refreshes my spirit and puts me in the moment, a moment that stretches backwards and forwards, to an infinite degree. I will never not be in this moment. There won't be some sudden change, like Judgement Day or Christ's return, that I have to wait for, dread, or wonder about. I can stretch my awareness and then time disappears. Everything is what it is, which is good. Heavenly Father has everything in this universe well in hand. All He asks us to do is to come to Christ, to pray to Him in Christ's name.. In the scriptures, Jesus begs murderers to come: He tells them that His arms are stretched out to them, and He beseeches them to come into His loving arms. If He has His arms out to murderers, then He certainly wants us in His arms, in His embrace. He wants to kiss our heads and let us know that He has paid the price and taken us from where we are to perfection. Holy. Without spot. That is just transforming to think about and realize that we, and others too, can be holy and without spot, just by coming to Heavenly Father in prayer and asking for His help and believing in the power of Jesus and Heavenly Father to do that. Wow. I hope that when I tell you these things that you will know they come from my deepest being, that they were everything to many of our ancestors, and everything to the prophets, and to most of our dearest friends. The people we admire and love to be around either believe these truths and hold them dear, or they need us to bear our testimonies of these truths. I want you to know that I know that these truths will bring us great joy. Amazing joy. I love you. xoxoxo

The Sun is Out!!!

Wow, it feels so good! It's been so overcast lately. The world looks different in the sunshine, very full of possibilities! I'm watching Bob Ross's son paint some mountains. That was always fun to do. I miss painting, and we should set up a studio area for painting and stained glass, etc. Maybe we could move the office into the craft area and put a little studio in the office, where it gets more light. Or, move the exercise stuff and the tv into the office and put the art area in the family room, where the light is really good. It's nice to have so many alternatives! I thought of something for those of us who worry: whenever we start to worry about something, we should think about stepping on a nail and getting tetanus (or a husband or kids doing so). It's possible, yet very unlikely, so it diverts our attention while pointing out the absurdity of worry. Anything like that would work. I tried it this a.m., and it really helped! On another topic, Mark and Seth found a bag of grain (the other grain bags are in bins) that mice had been eating. It's on a shelf above the basement stairs, and there's a little opening there that they come in through. Well, Seth got out his BB gun and has been getting them with that. He must be a good shot, 'cause he kills them instantly, and he got several just on the first day. I hope word is going out in the rodent community, tho, because it's kind of sad. The mice were probably very excited to find the readily available, abundant source of food; kind of like us at Golden Corral. That's the report from here. And thank you for your kind attention! xoxoxo

Our Family, or The Day After "The Bachelor" Gave Away Only Two Roses

Hi. Okay. I can't tell any more about the bachelor's doings, 'cause I might spoil it for Megan, who watches it on her computer the next day - or for someone else who may not have seen last night's program. I half-titled my post what I did, simply because "Tuesday" sounds boring and repetitive. So there! :) I just want to reply to the question about whether Seth enjoyed his birthday: yes, he did! His knife came yesterday, his dream knife which he is partly paying for, called a Black Sable from Cold Steel. It's super high quality and feels great in the hand. Anyway, Seth couldn't wait to get it and he was so happy with it that he sat in the car, while we went in to Dollar Tree, just admiring it. His arms won't have any hair left on them, 'cause he shaves little patches off to show how sharp it is. I'm jealous! Seth also enjoyed dinner and the movie. The food was all excellent at Golden Corral. I ate chili, deep-fried, good-sized shrimp, real mashed potatoes and poultry gravy (my favorite part), some green beans, and some ice cream with whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top. I also took some gummy bears for the movie. Hehee. Mark and Seth ate meat of all kinds, besides a few other things and desserts. I kept thinking of the eating scene in "Spirited Away", although we had much better manners than the people who turn into hogs in that movie I love Mr. Myasaki's movies! There are only a few that we don't have on DVD yet. One just came out here in our theaters, although it's been out other places for a long time ("Pom Poko"), another ("Porco Rosso?") is on my wish list, and the third I don't care for - can't remember its name.

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So Seth is 17, Phillip is 19, Haley is 21, Melinda is 29, Megan is 31, Justin is 33, and Ben is 35. Did I get that right? We have 1 Army guy (for now), one new mommy whose husband is in college, three in transition (new daddy Ben, Seth, and Justin), and two mommies of bunches of kids. That is besides daddy of four now Cameron, a health dept. administrator who is in school to be an RN, Jaylynn, mommy of two, who is a CNA, Katie, mother of two, who works for a beauty/cosmetology school, Marra, who may work in a dermatologist's office, and, of course, Stephanie, whose daughter has been adopted by Cameron and Janick. We also have Mark, who is a Psychologist-Turned-Manager grandpa and still dad, and me, who is a blogger/grandma, and still mother. Our family is resourceful, and we help each other. Considering that my generation is the first to get some college, we have come a long way. A number of you have advanced degrees and/or multiple vocations and talents. You are all good, honest, kind, and intelligent people and you who have married have found wonderful spouses. But we're more than the sum of our parts, because we are a family, and we extend outward and backward and forward to many hard-working, righteous people (I was tempted to say dudes). We are an eternal unit which will still be intact on the other side of the veil. We have a duty to teach our families and to set an example for them. This isn't practice; this is the real thing. Please remember these things, but also remember that each and every one of us is worth our potential, or what we were intended to be, to borrow a phrase from "Ink." The Atonement takes us from where we are to perfection, right here and now, and it does the same for each of us. The worth of souls is great, to borrow another phrase. Rejoice in your perfection. Love You! xoxoxo

Valentine's Week

This post is about last week, and I thought I'd have pictures, but still waiting on those; I asked Mark this a.m., but he forgot. Oops! So you'll have to wait a bit longer. Sorry. However, I will tell you about last week. Let's see...well, Friday was Seth's 17th birthday! So that was exciting. We ordered him a knife he wanted, to be delivered today. He was so surprised! And we got him some junk food, too. We used the gift card from Megan and Brooks (from Christmas) to eat at Golden Corral, then we saw the movie, "Edge of Darkness," with Mel Gibson. It's quite a good movie, but has some language. Anyway, it was a fun evening. Saturday we spent at home. I can't remember what we did, but it was pleasant. Mark found out from Greg Olsen's company that he couldn't use the particular photo of Jesus he was planning to. They were really nice and grateful that Mark checked with them. It just leads to greater problems, they said. Maybe we can use one of the church's pictures. Sunday we went to church and then I can't remember the rest of the day. In Primary, the leader said that Jesus died for everyone, so we could go to Heaven (or something like that. A four-year old (or younger) boy promptly piped up with, "For Heavenly Father." She hesitated and then said, "For everyone." And he replied, "If it's everyone, that includes Heavenly Father." Later, during the sharing time, a toddler that was sitting on a teacher's lap said, "It's taking too long." Both comments were spoken loudly and very matter-of-factly. I thought they were so funny! Today Seth and I went to the dentist in Pocatello. I really liked him and his staff! His name is Dr. Evans. His brother has a chiropractic office by his, and the chiropractor is in our ward. His wife is my visiting teaching companion. Anyway, he is probably going to barter with Mark for my dentures, in exchange for a stained glass work. Isn't that cool, if it happens? Then we will save so much money! After our dental appts., we went to the Dollar Tree. That was so fun! I haven't been out for sooo long, other than church. We got sugar-free Hawaiian Punch that is super-good, and we got antibiotic ointment and 'Diabetic' socks for me (they have a nice, loose cuff that will fit on my leg), to add to my knee sock collection, and some sticky notes and sachets. Mark got some Bugles, too. Isn't that exciting? Now you are up to date, and I will try and get pics up soon. Love You! xoxoxo PS Mark got me Lindor truffles for Valentine's Day!! And thank you for the Valentine, Haley and Dallin - I loved it and the pictures of your little Gerber. : )

Is it Thursday?

Hi! I guess it is, because American Idol had their second night this week. I watch it while Mark goes and works on his own projects. Same with The Bachelor. He always lets me watch whatever I want, with no protest. He likes The Mentalist, Fringe (which I like too), House, Bones, and some new show, but I don't remember its name. It's pretty similar to The Mentalist. We both love getting more educational programs. They go all day on digital channels that are just free. : ) It's almost Valentine's Day. I love Valentine's Day, and I always intend to make and send elaborate Valentines. I have lots of materials I could use, but I never get them done, 'cause it's cold out there and I'm a big coward! And procrastinator! So, don't hold your breath, 'kay? We got some snow last night. I like it when it snows some. It insulates everything and muffles the noise, adds light, and covers any eyesores with pristine white. That's about all I have to say this a.m. I'll add more if I think of it. Thanks for reading! xoxoxo

O When the Saints...

Well, I can't wait to hear from Haley about being in New Orleans when the Saints got to their first Super Bowl and won. It must be bedlam there! How cool is that, that you guys are there at this time? What are the odds of that? Fun, fun! Knowing you are there helped lessen the pain of seeing the Colts lose the Super Bowl. And it helps that the Saints are an actual worthy team. The Colts' defense really couldn't stop the Saints, and a couple of bad calls messed up the Colts momentum in the second quarter. Also, why did the Colts' coach call that series of running plays in the second quarter. Those two things really hurt them. The Saints' quarterback was really good under pressure. And the team is nice - I saw them patting the Colts players on the back, even when the Saints were behind. I like that. So I'm actually happy that the Saints won. It's a lift for the whole country, I think. Mark and I had clam dip while we watched the game. Very nice family gathering, except Seth wasn't here. We're used to that, tho, so we had fun. A charming little girl named Alexandria (she's around 10 or 11 years old) sat by me in Primary. She loves to help me in any way she can. I got pushed to a classroom by the teacher, then. I guess she thought I was helping her that day, since I sat in their row. It was fun visiting their class of 5-year olds. The teacher was kind, and she had methods in place to reinforce good behavior. Her husband (they are team teachers) joined us at the end of class time. He was great with the kids, too. With teachers like those, no wonder we have such a wonderful Primary! I mean it, those kids are great. Every class has a couple for their teachers. That helps tremendously with reverence. And they get great support from the other leaders. I'm always amazed at the way every little aspect of Primary is attended to by someone, and that every single person goes about doing their part quietly and cheerfully and well. It is something to behold, let me tell you. I've never seen anything like it. So now Mark and I get to make pictures of the kids for their birthdays (actually, Mark is doing the work on that project for me :), where the child's face is blended into a picture of Jesus with children around Him. Isn't that an inspired idea? Our Primary president thought of it, and she'll frame each picture before it is given to the birthday boy or girl. The photos were taken with their faces turned and looking up, at a 45 degree angle, just right for the picture. They'll be right next to Jesus, smiling up at him. We'll do them in sepia tones, to help with the blending. I'm excited to see them. Mark already did a test photo insert, so he knows it will work. I will be finishing up some 'Missed You" cards for Primary. I have a list of children that were inactive last month, and I'll mail the cards out to them. I hope to get pictures of them and the birthday photos and put them on here for you to see! No, our camera isn't broken. I just need to have Mark download the pictures. Whenever I think of having him do it, I just can't. I'm waiting for an opportune time, when he's not eating or resting or working on something. Sorry, but I know you understand. At first, I was sick. Then I kept forgetting. And now I'm just waiting for a good time to ask him. Anyway, then I can show you how well those thing turn out. : ) I know, I have too much time on my hands, and not much to talk about. That's true! The oxygen man just filled the tank. Mark and Keith are going to Twin Falls today. Oh, and we got to watch the game on our 42" tv! It's on the dresser in our bedroom. We'll have to get a big one for the fam. rm. some day, but for now we moved our bedroom tv to the fam. rm., which is a huge improvement in there. The other tv was too dark to see! It's really fun having a screen I can see clearly. Usually I just see a blur of activity. Now I can tell what's actually going on, and I can't wait to watch GWTW on there! Plus other shows, like The Wizard of Oz and Meet Me in St. Louis. Think of what I'll see! The cats are on the bed again. I've taken to putting a wadded quilt on top of the bed, after it's made. That gives them alot of warmth and softness to curl up in. There's just a bit of snow on the ground right now, left over from the last snowfall, and the sky is overcast. Looks like more snow could fall one of these days. Pretty safe bet in Idaho, this time of year. I've got some projects to work on now, so better close. I just want to 'say' that I'm totally enjoying your posts, so thank you for doing them! TTYL! xoxoxo

Snug as a Hug

Hi! It's me...remember? I live in a nice, cozy house with my nice, cozy husband and a tall, skinny teenage boy. I'm not kidding! Seth is really skinny now. With muscles, though. Crazy. And we have a new tv, after waiting almost three years for Keith to keep his promise. Yay! Mark helped me make "Missed You" cards for Primary today. He printed off a picture of Jesus holding a child's face in his hands, using nice, heavy paper. I'm excited to show the Primary president! Mark also made clam dip for tomorrow. Nummy...clam dip. Yes, basically I sit around or lie around (haha - no choice on that) while Mark works or we watch tv or movies together, or we read (he reads about baking bread). Lots of tv seems silly, but we also have to change the channel frequently when not watching educational television, if you know what I mean. Just flipping through the channels is dangerous, and we don't even get cable television channels. What a telling commentary on our times. Fortunately, there are quite a few channels with interesting programming that we thoroughly enjoy. Today I learned how to fry rib pork chops (they are the meatier, 'more fatty' cut). If you cut the fat on the rim a couple of times, it keeps the chop from curling up, and if you salt them and put them in the oven at a low temp for a half-hour before frying, it makes them juicier and more flavorful. After frying, you can hold the rims down in the frying pan to make them crispy. Isn't that great to know? Not that I'll be frying any pork, but, still. : ) Seth's birthday is coming up, Mark helped out at work today and did the shoopping, and we got a new sheet! Seth worked, and the cats curled up on our bed all day, as usual (Jasmine is finally learning not to climb on me!). And Leto was excited to get new dog food. There you have some of the highlights of our Saturday. Now tell me about yours! xoxoxo

Early a.m. Post

Just posting to let you know that we are still alive and well and it's very dark outside and in our room! Thank you for your comments, and I hope Megan will write a brief comment again, on a couple of posts back, just to summarize the comments that you lost. Two things: One, Justin and Melinda and the kids came down yesterday afternoon, and it was so fun! I'll post some pics later, but I just want to say that I really enjoyed it and I feel refreshed by it. The kids watched Finding Nemo and the first of My Neighbor Totoro, which they loved. They also played and had suckers and ate some regular food while Seth and Justin put a load of Justin's things in the Campbell-Monster-Car and we talked about Megan and Haley and Ben and Phillip. Joke! We actually talked about Seth. The second thing: Right now I want to write about Mark's good care of me, and I can do that best by giving you an example. Last weekend, I had to take a break from my old, ratty wheelchair, so Mark fixed me up with a comfy pillow. It was warm and cozy inside, compared to outside (you know that toasty feeling) and Mark was in and out, doing things like baking bread, making homemade vegetable soup, cooking meatloaf, fixing the kitchen sink, playing wonderful music, doing improvements in our bathroom, baking cookies, and talking and joking around with me. If you can picture that, then you have a little glimpse into Mark's giving and caring nature. Mark is a helper/healer/teacher, and I'm a gathering in/nurturer/teacher type. Besides that, we're both silly and adventurous, yet really homebodies. We're both impatient by nature, anxious to learn everything and wanting a chance to make the big, dramatic sacrifice; we're still learning about letting go and trusting. Anyway, we suit each other perfectly! I hope you've enjoyed these little glimpses into our life. And thank you for your kind attention. xoxoxo