The End of March Already? That's Crazy!

I can't believe it's almost April! Time goes really fast on DST in the warm months, doesn't it? Just when you're having fun, the days just fly. :/ Oh, well...I still love it. Not much has been going on, except that Haley's having a girl - Yipee!! And we went and saw The Hunger Games, which I liked better than the book, because it wasn't as grim. The casting was good, I thought. I certainly left an impression on me, but I can't figure out what it is that makes it so memorable. It's not just the actors, it's the society. It seems real. I want to share this link to Britain's Got Talent. It's really inspiring to see unknown, shy people get up there and share a tremendous, hidden talent! Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt3Utn4mjeg. Sorry, I couldn't get the actual link to work. Have a happy rest of March! xoxoxo

Our Weekend

Wow. Friday night and Saturday I went with Haley to Time Out for Women (they have a site on Facebook) and it was so much fun! We heard great speakers, including Virginia Pierce, John Bytheway, and Emily Watts. And we sat right up in the orchestra pit with them! (Due to my wheelchair) My favorite performers were the singing group, Jericho Road - oh my goodness, they are such a presence! Such nice, nice guys, so funny and so talented and inspiring. We got pictures with them and some of the other speakers, including Sis. Pierce. (Haley has all the pics to post) Then, yesterday we went to church, but had to leave early because I kept falling asleep without knowing it, and I almost fell over or said things out loud, etc. While we were there, the rain turned into a blizzard! It was pretty exciting. Today is cold and windy, then sunny, then dark, now sunny again. It's supposed to warm up after tomorrow. Tonight is The Voice! I really like to watch singers go head-to-head on the same song, and it's not necessarily the loudest that wins. You get to see them being coached, and the judging is pretty spot-on, rather than vague. I went to Bingo this afternoon and won twice. I got a Spring sign to go in our flower pitcher outside our door. We already have flowers and an Easter hanging. Don't you just love the seasons? I saw a sign online that said, "Love Wins." That really is a great thing to tell yourself all the time. I love it!!! Take care! xoxoxo

A Good and Comforting Cry

I followed a link on Nie Nie's blog which took me to a cjane post that made me cry, and I followed it to her older post with her cousin Katie's obituary, after she succumbed to drug addiction. This post and it's comment were really touching, and I followed one comment to this post: http://prayformatt.blogspot.com/, which really made me cry, as well as comforted me. If anyone is in need of some comfort, I recommend that you follow this same trail. I know we all have been touched by addiction's sorrow and losses, in one way or another. I'm so grateful that Jesus is waiting for our loved ones, with more love than we can even understand. All of this makes me think of Easter and the resurrection. I think of new babies and baby animals and Springtime, and the promises they symbolize, and that soothes my heart. Jesus still loves us. He really does, and He will restore all things to this Earth, in their rightful place, with no death or distances between us. I'm loving those thoughts. And I love you, a bunch and a lot. xoxoxo

Wrap & Shake

Wrap & Shake
This is my favorite post of cjane's (see nie nie on my blog list - cjane is her sister).  It's pretty touching.
xoxoxo

Joshua L.

Joshua L. is a contestant on Am. Idol, and I'll try to put a link to his fantastic! performance last night on here. If it's not posted on here yet, look it up, ok? He's so likeable and it was amazing. JLo couldn't believe it! Really, it's worth finding! xoxoxo

Hello, March 14th!

Hi! How are you all? We are fine. We had a State inspection here yesterday, and it went really well - thanks be to God. The residents were happy, they said, and things felt good here. Yay! For Mark's bday. Monday I gave him a cookbook and a newer Dave Barry book. (He'd already purchansed an MP3 player) Mark's really itching to get the oven moved to the acts. room from the break room (that no one uses), so they can cook and bake in there. He really wants to bake some artisanal bread. Speaking of bread, Haley and Dallin gave Mark some baguette bread he loves, along with the Philly garden-style cream cheese spread that he loves. (I can't wait for him to eat it, so I can have some. :) Church was fun on Sunday, because of the grandkids, plus the people and the messages. We finally watched The Help, and thought it was good, but we won't buy it. It's not one I'd want to watch over and over again. I thought the movie was much better than the book. Otherwise, we are just plugging away. Isn't the weather crazy? It's 76 degrees where Megan and Brooks live! How hot will it be this summer? Scary! We'll have to move to Bear Lake. They mentioned Bear Lake on Napoleon Dynamite's animated show - that's all so funny! So that's the scoop for now. Hope uou are all well and happy. Take care! xoxoxo

Pssst!

Tomorrow is Mark's birthday. Yay!

Hey, Youse!

Where are the comments? Is anyone out there besides Megan? I have tons of new posts that you've missed! How do you like my new look? That mtn. picture was taken by Mark, from in front of Susan's house. Isn't it cool? Megan and I are sad when no one else comments on our posts. What happened? We miss you! Sunday is Daylight Savings Time, which I hate! It makes the time go too fast each day. We have been going through things and gathering things for storage, making lists of the shortfalls, and organizing stuffs. (Thanks, Justy, for the emergency items!) We were cleaned out of so much by people who lived in our house and used it as their own personal shopping center. Hellooo? I just pretend that we had a fire. I love doing this kind of work! Be good, be sober, have fun! (It is possible to do all three ; ) Mark and I love you all... xoxoxo

Seth's Birthday - Pictures Plus, Miscellany

These are pictures from the dinner we had with the family for Seth's 19th birthday Happy Birthday, Seth! Also, Linda had a birthday this past week, so Happy Birthday, Linda!

Mark made roast beef with potatoes and carrots and Danny brought chips and I think Melinda brought the salad and we had rolls, too Mark got a scrumptious ice cream birthday cake along with a smaller strawberry cake Yum!

I think most of the pictures speak for themselves (Sorry for my shaky photography)

I love this picture of Josh He often looks like he's daydreaming (or maybe bored?)

Justin in his standard pose, holding a baby This is baby Beth, Ben and Linda's newest She's quiet and sweet and purty : )

Justin delighted Emme by picking her up in this bin

Seth got a cool 72-hour kit from Justin and Danny and Melinda It was packed!

Seth's girlfriend, Brooke Her eyes are closed, so you can't see how blue they are Sorry, Brooke! We all really like her, especially the kids, who surrounded her the entire time they were here

Emme and Irelyn

Okay, now a quick pictureof my hair, when it was actually fixed - a once-in-a-lifetime occasion:

And, finally, Tristan with his Valentine mailbox that we made together He looks sad here, but he was concentrating on holding it carefully He's very conscientious!

Mark dropped me off at the used bookstore yesterday, since almost all our books are packed up I spent the whole time in the science fiction isle I adore good science fiction My favorite is Dune Two authors that were highly recommended were Neal Stephenson and Steven Erikson I got an Erikson book, the middle one of a trilogy It's called Deadhouse Gates, and I'll save it till I can find and read the first Game of Thrones is a series I want, too Terry Goodkind's Wizard/Rule series was highly recommended as were many that I already have packed up in storage

I miss my history books, too, but these will hold me over for a good while, and I can only read so many books at a time Melinda has the next book club choice, and I'm really excited to read Unbroken by Laura Hildenbrandt(sp?), the author of the excellent book about Seabiscuit Misty helped me go through the craft room closet today It holds our clothes, artificial flowers, pillows, coats and suitcases Whew! It looks so much better!! Well, thanks for checking out the party and all our miscellaneous activities I love you all! xoxoxo

Link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayYNAEs0few&feature=colike If you haven't seen Jessica Sanchez' song from last night's Amer. Idol, you need to watch this! xoxoxo

Two Things...

Today I finally figured out how I wanted to do something on Tamathy's book (see fairy house pictures - we made/are making things for each other; I got the fairy house that she made for me, and I'm doing an altered book for her) (I'm a wee bit late, because I couldn't figure out one major thing). I hate the idea of doing something normal, since I want to be an "artist," not a copier of what other people do. That's the only way that it's fun. The only way I'm motivated. So that's a BIG thing. Secondly, I went to book club tonight. The book was Nelson Mandela's Conversations with Myself. I didn't want to read it, but I immediately liked it. It's an edited collection of his writings, from letters, journals, and an unpublished manuscript. A little dense and confusing, but with some great thoughts and interesting history. I need to finish it, 'cause the end is supposed to be the best part. Otherwise, I posted comments and replied to Megan's comment on my last post, so I'm glad I got to read your blogs and respond. I want to get at least one blog book now (see Megan's latest post), and more as time goes by. Yay! I love you! xoxoxo

Doings :)

Howdy! Now that I'm more caught up with pictures (I'm so glad this computer works, 'cause the old one just wouldn't upload pics toward the end of its life), I'll get back to posting about what we've been doing: First of all, it turned warm today! It was a lovely change from snow and crazy winds and whiteouts! Secondly, Mark got some 55 gallon drums for water, off of Craigslist (thank you for the tip, Kattie!), and Mark's been working super-hard on organizing what we have in our food supplies. He put up some freestanding shelves and put our canned and powdered goods on them, and now he's working on our 72-hour packs, besides filling the drums with water. He bought something called Ion, and it keeps the water good for 7 years. Isn't that cool? I'm trying to organize the craft room and closets, which is definitely a gradual process. It's fun to get anything accomplished that has a visible result, don't you agree? They had Family Bingo last night, and I won four times! I picked an Ella Enchanted dvd and some snacks which I gave to Kattie for Ben, for his birthday, haha. We went to Kattie and Ben's on Saturday to celebrate with bbq sandwiches, chips, Mark's pork and beans, and ice cream and brownies. Ben and Linda got there after we'd left, so we didn't see them, and I missed the baby's blessing on Sunday (as well as Irelyn's this winter), and I can't wait to see baby Beth and big brother Josh again! Melinda and Danny and family were there, plus Dallin and Haley and Hunter (in a few weeks they find out the gender of their new baby, which isn't even showing yet). Cute little Wesley and Cooper were there too. The kids had lots of fun playing together, and Alex wore his Grinch costume, along with Tristan wearing his Cat in the Hat costume. Wesley later stated that the kids are his "best friends!" New cousins are great! Kattie and Ben extended their dining area's beautiful hardwood floor into the kitchen, which they also painted, fixed up the cabinets, put up a new tile backsplash, and installed new counter surfaces. They opened up the kitchen by raising the cabinets between the dining room and kitchen, which always makes the rooms seem larger, and they've painted the large cabinet in the dining room. The living room looks awesome, and Ben built a log bed for them, like the one Dallin made for him and Haley. Kattie and Ben have a great little place in a pretty little town, right next to the church. They have chickens and a horse and cats outside, and they plant a large garden. That would be my ideal life, with all our properties right next to each other. Maybe in the Millenium? I'm putting in a bid for that! Let's see...what else? We had a family meal for Seth's birthday - did I already write about that? I still have pictures of these events, and I'll post them asap. I don't sleep at night anymore, so this is 5:25 a.m. and I'm not up for doing more pictures right now. Whew! I sleep about 3 hours during the early morning and I'm wide awake until around 5 a.m. or so. Weird, but about par for me. I look tired, but feel good, at least. : ) This morning I felt like I was floating. It was really cool! Mark is doing great, counting calories and losing weight. That's quite an accomplishment, since we seem to be flooded with desserts and candy and baked goods lately. I try to turn them down; cookies are my Achille's heel. I'll have to resist them, or I'll gain weight and that's not my goal, for sure! I know I'm forgetting something...a bunch of residents have passed away lately. It's sad, yet I'm happy for them. Statistically, after Christmas a lot of people let go of this life. Working and living here means a real awareness of that, and there are always new residents, too. One of my friends here is not expected to live through the night. She's unresponsive, so I hope that means she is not suffering. Bless her heart, she is a good woman and we'll miss her a bunch! Our loss, and her and Heaven's gain. Melinda brought the three oldest kids over today, and we watched Ponyo and got hot chocolate and jabbered. It was so nice to have just them, for a change. We went in the Activities Room with Leto and the kids played their piano pieces they've been learning. Alex plays a song from Toy Story III from memory, and he can really play the piano! The lessons are working! That always seems miraculous, like learning a new language. It's crazy how that works, just like Melinda's ballet lessons. She kept going and practicing, and she became an actual ballerina. Wow, that's just so cool. We can shape so much of who we are, over time. It's quite startling, as we age and discover that we have skills and experience in whatever we've been spending time on. So many things are gradual, and you don't realize how you are changing until later. It's confidence building to have experiences under your belt, even bad ones. Our first encounters with the legal system really threw me for a loop, but I'll never be shocked by that again. It's kind of like being inoculated. Well, I reckon that's enough for now. Hope you're all doing well! I love you. xoxoxo

Trip to Mesa Part III: At the Cemetary

Pictures from Grandpa Stephenson's burial (We miss you, Grandpa!)

Moana nee Sanders (on right)