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