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