JACOB D. IS 12!

Jacob D. is 12 today!

Gosh.  Where did those years go?  They flew by.

He will be ordained a Deacon on April 10th.

We send all our love and hope you have an AWESOME day!

(I took dinner to Marjean F. tonight.  Lasagne.  Homemade.  She is a widow in our ward and has been having a lot of knee and foot problems.  Shaun went with me.  We visitied while she ate and I left her some for tomorrow too.  Got her iced down.  Night time is bad.  Her foot swells a lot.  The Dr. thinks it might be broken this time but can't quite figure it out yet.  I felt bad leaving her all alone when I left.  I thought of Duff's mom when she was alone.)

I Might Be Dead Soon. At Least Christine Might Be.

This AP Euro project is going to kill us.
It's all she is doing.  Her partner is her friend, Sammie.  Those two are here everyday every spare minute working on it.  Not to mention how much it has cost us in supplies to do it.  About $100 so far.  Yeah.
I've heard that AP Euro is the hardest AP class.  I believe it.
All I have to say is, THEY BETTER GET AN A!

Certified Parent Coach

Duff and I have been taking classes every Tuesday and Thursday nights.  We are becoming certified parent coaches.  Not that we are anything extra-ordinary or special, but we have had many experiences with raising our own family and have weathered some interesting times.  Maybe some of what we have learned along the way can help others.  We sure felt isolated and alone at times and wished we had someone to listen and help us find the answers we needed. 

Being a 'coach' is not the same thing as a therapist/counselor. (They are wonderful--we definitely learned a lot from them.)  They can be very expensive.  A 'coaching' experience is one without diagnoses and a way to help others find solutions for themselves before a situation might get to the place where deeper help is needed. 

Our first motivation to take these classes was to improve our parenting skills now that we have adult children.  You know--once a parent always a parent--and it is a different kind of parenting when they are grown up.  Boy have we learned a lot! 

We have homework and interactive practice.  I'm really enjoying it.  And it's a fun night out twice a week.   

ER

Shaun ended up in the ER tonight.
He has had really intense stomach pain the last few nights.  Can't pin it down, except that it is always after dinner.  No other time during the day.
They can't find anything wrong and sent him home.  If it continues he is supposed to go in for a regular appointment and perhaps an upper GI.
I stayed up until 2am.  I couldn't sleep because I was worried.  I did get a lot of laundry done while they were gone. They got home around 2:30am.

FHE At Costco

We all needed to do some Costco shopping.  I haven't been since before Christmas.  The freezer is just about empty.  We decided we would all go and make it our Family Home Evening. Haha.

 Chris was at practice, so it was the other seven of us.  We had 5 carts between us.  Costco was surprisingly empty tonight.  Each couple cruised the aisles filling our carts.  We met at the check-out.

We had our dinner there and closed the place down.

Woo hoo.  Gotta love Costco.

Now we just finished putting it all away.  That is always such a big ordeal for us.  Is it like that for you?  We buy several months worth of things and it takes forever to clean out, rearrange, and get it where it needs to be.

It's About Time = Thank Goodness

Look at this mess on my kitchen counter!

Friday night as we were leaving the lax game, we got a call from Mike.  A glass had dropped in the sink and shattered.  We have Picardie glasses and tumblers from Williams-Sonoma that have lasted us for 20 years.  I love them because you can use them for hot or cold beverages and they stack nicely in the cupboard.  They practically never break, but if they do, they shatter.  Kind of like when a Corelle plate finally breaks.

This is what happened and some of the glass got into the garbage disposal and broke it.

Big SAD and SIGH.

 A plumber came on Saturday morning.  The fiance of Adrianne's co-worker.  For free.  On a Saturday.

The garbage disposal had pretty much corrected itself.  Thank You.  While he was here, I asked him to check the dishwasher.  A few months ago it wasn't working right.  The plumber then, told me it was the pump.  No reason to fix a pump on an old machine.  We have been handwashing and drying dishes since then.  We keep waiting for the economy to turn around so our kitchen can have an all-around make-over that it desparately needs.  My dilemma:  do I purchase a really nice one that I would like in the new kitchen?  or buy a really cheap one just to get us through?  I am out of touch.  I thought a dishwasher was going to be in the 2-3 thousand range.  When he told me the prices would be about $200- $600 and just to get one until a remodel is in the works I felt much better about it.

 Bye-bye to our broken one.

We bought it from a neighbor a few years ago when they remodeled their kitchen for $100.  It has been good to us.

 I was amazed how clean this space really is.

What we learned from 2 different plumbers:  GE's aren't the greatest.  They do quite a few repairs on GE's.  They are notorious for the pumps going out, and the electical panels going out.  Good to know.

Lowes was having an appliance sale.

We narrowed it down to a Maytag, Bosch, and Kitchen-Aid.  If I'm getting a Bosch, I want a higher end one, and those weren't in the price range this time for this purpose. I ended up getting the Kitchen-Aid.  It was on sale for a really good price, has a food disposal in it, and is stainless steel inside which makes it very quiet.  So quiet in fact, that you can hardly hear it.  The decibel reading is 50.  A library is 40, and a normal conversation between two people is 60.  I ended up going with the white outside since all my other appliances are still white and it fits in nice.

I'm glad we got it.  With all the people in our house we run two loads a day, and we are all happy not to be hand washing anymore!

Installation was today, and Adrianne got the honor of loading and starting the first batch of dishes.  It was fitting since she was my biggest cheerleader in getting it. Hahaha!

THHS LAX Tourney

Last night we had an awesome lax game against El Toro.

In the end, the win went to us.

Today, was a big tourney at THHS all day long.  Duff was there the entire time and I came in the afternoon.  Our team came in 3rd.  We lost to Foothill and they went on to win the tournament.

 The draw.

 Watching the action and waiting to go in for relief.

 Chris with all her pads on.  The freshman goalie was in at this point.  She is getting some experience.

Chris is ready to go in.

Good day.  And really cold and windy.

Lately...

Lately it seems like all we do is run from one thing to another.
Today was filled with laundry because I was gone most of yesterday.  We had a small window of time to get Christine home from school and to the Alberson's parking lot for the carpool to the temple for baptisms.  She went first and met Duff outside to go straight to her lacrosse game at THHS.
Meredith came over after work (she has picked up a 2nd job working as a wedding/formal gown assistant/consultant) and drove over to the game with me.
It was a great game, but very cold.  I was cold to the bone.  THHS has done some remodeling.  They've added a parking garage!  It was really nice to have so much parking available.  I think all the high schools should do that.
Mere went home to do some homework.  Josh was at a dinner with his firm with George W. Bush!  How cool is that?!

Mimi's

I went to lunch today with my visiting teacher.  Her name is Amy and she is 80.  I love my visits with her.  She is a lot of fun and full of wisdom.  We went to Mimi's.  I hadn't been there since we moved here.  I wasn't disappointed.  I had the French Onion soup and 1/2 a turkey with avacado sandwich.  It was just as I had remembered it.  Amy had quiche.

When we lived in Westminster, Duff took me and the kids to Mimi's every year on my birthday.  We were really poor at the time and it was our big splurge.  Being there this afternoon brought back lots of good memories. 

What About Meatloaf?

It has rained and rained today.
Christine had practice tonight even in the downpour.
She came home soaked to the skin and shivering.
I hope I can get her bag and equipment dry by tomorrow.  Only the clothes can go in the washer and dryer.
All the pads and guards and cleats may have to take their turn in a low-temp oven.
She got in a steamy hot shower and had hot chocolate after.
I think she finally got warm.

Adrianne had Young Women.
Duff had HPriest visits.
Mike had to work late.
I made meatloaf.  I love it.  Duff likes it.  No one else does.  They never have.  It is such a good recipe.  My grandma Myrna's.  It's my dad's favorite dinner.  Oh well.  Leftovers for sandwiches tomorrow, I guess.

Blessing Dress

Last fall when I was in Arizona, my mom was going through her cedar chest and she came across my blessing dress!  My sister, Lisa, also wore it when she was blessed.  I asked her if I could have it so I could clean and preserve it and have it framed.  I was so excited when she handed it to me. 

 I picked it up today after 2 months at the framer.

I had no idea all that goes in to doing a shadow-box like this with antique items.

They are very thorough!  Making sure it is just right, little tiny stitches taken to make the fabric stand just 'so', the pressing, measuring, to get every detail perfect.  I had it professionally cleaned, but Teresa at Aaron Brothers did all the rest.  Extra fabric to make sure the thin organdy would be highlighted in just the right way, polishing my baby locket, little jewels on the shoes, etc.

 My mom gave me my baby locket when I was a teenager.  I'm so glad now that I had saved it after all these years.

 Look at all the fine details.

The lace, the sleeves, the hem--it is scalloped underneath and hand stitched with oh-so-tiny stitches, the embroidery of the nursery rhyme Little Bo Peep.

Here is the story about the blessing dress and my blessing day:

My parents went together to buy the dress.  They got it at The Broadway department store.  It is a white organdy dress with a cotton slip with one little button on the right shoulder made by Feltman Brothers.  It had short puffy sleeves with no elastic, just the stitching and a very thin ribbon of 'entredeau' between the stitching and the lace.  Little Bo Peep is embroidered along the hem line with her sheep in light blue and in-between them and all around are pastel pink satin stitched dots.  It cost them about $20 in 1956, which was a lot of money at that time.  I wonder what the cost would be in today's money?

I was blessed on a Fast Sunday in the Westchester 2nd Ward.  Bishop Steed was the bishop at the time, and the building was on Arizona Avenue in Los Angeles.

We lived with my mother's parents at the time because my mom and dad were saving money to buy their first home in Torrance, California.  My grandparents address was: 8419 Truxton Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 90045.  This was the only home I ever knew for my grandparents my whole life until my grandpa passed away in 1973, and my grandma moved to Yucaipa, CA about 5 years later.  The Truxton house was very close to the Los Angeles International Airport. 

My father gave me a name and a blessing.  Those in attendance that day: 

Ward F. Davis--Father

Sigrid  G. Abramowski Davis--Mother

Kurt E. Abramowski--Grandfather

Minnie Giesewski Abramowski--Grandmother

Floyd W. Davis--Grandfather

Myrna Ward Davis--Grandmother

Rita Abramowski (Walgren)--Auntie Tia

Darlene Abramowski (Hurdsman)--Auntie Dolene

Ann Davis (Penney)--Auntie Ann

Robert L. Davis--Uncle Bob

After the meeting, everyone gathered at the Truxton house for a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings.  Funny thing:  that is still my favorite Sunday dinner today!  It's what I ask for on my birthday.

My mom and dad say it was a very happy day with lots of love.

I was the first grandchild on both sides of the family.

SatSunMon

Saturday:

• The whole house slept in since we were up late with Christine and Mormon Prom.  While the rest of us did get up, I think she slept until 12:30pm! 
• Weekly marketing.
• Laundry catchup.
• Adrianne at the temple with the Beehives for baptisms.
• Josh and Meredith over for dinner and to watch the Cougs game.  We've been 'jimmered'.  Haha!

Sunday:

• Cold, cold, lots of rain.  Church was nice.  We bbq'd our dinner.  In the rain.  With an umbrella.
• Relaxed and regrouped for the week ahead.

Monday:

• Laundry.  Always laundry on a Monday.  It's my schedule.  That was pretty much my whole day amidst picking up from the weekend.
• The new season of DWTStars was on.  I'm missing Derek H.  Kirstie surprised me.  I think I'm leaning toward Ralph aka: The Karate Kid!
• Just LIFE.  You know.

Mormon Prom 2011

Tonight was the Mormon Prom in our area.

The multi stake area hosts a formal dance for the youth 16-18 in a good atmosphere, good music, appropriate dancing,and modest clothing.

Christine went with James Cooper.

He lives down the street and they have been friends since they were 6 years old.

No pressure!  Nice for a first date.

 The clever invite.

 Nails all done!

Her dress is silver.

The following pictures are NOT James Cooper.  They are Erik Peterson, Meredith's brother.

He had a big track meet the next morning and didn't want to be up late the night before,  so he didn't have a date for it.  Jeremy and Echelle and the little girls had come out for a visit from Arizona to see Josh and Meredith, and we all met for a bbq at Patti's.  So that was where Christine got ready, since Mere was doing her hair and Patti had hemmed her gown.  Patti and I made dinner while the little girls swam, etc.  James was playing in a volleyball tournament and the timing was going to be close as it was, BUT then we get a text from him that the bus broke down and he was stuck in Newport Harbor!!!!! The school district was sending a new bus to get them.  Would he get here in time?????

Erik was a sweetheart.  He heard what was going on and told Christine he would get ready and take her until James could get there.  Sigh.  What a great guy!

 Erik and Christine are about to leave when she gets a text from James that they are now on their way and for me to take her straight to the Drasso's, where they were meeting up with another couple.

Change of plans and deep breath as we get in the car and Erik goes up to change back out of his clothes.

(have I mentioned that he is a really nice guy?)

Here are the pictures of Christine and James!
Kathy, Robbie's mom, had a nice dinner set up for them in the dining room and they were having a good time eating and laughing while we waited to take some photos when they were done.

 Christine, James, Mindy, and Robbie

Her beautiful corsage.(by Junko Ball)
Boutineer by Allyson Didlake.

Her dress was from A Dressy Occasion. (Donna Anderson who has this store in her home so girls, teens, and women can find modest formal and bridal wear.  This is where Natalie and Cherise got their wedding dresses.)

The dance was held at the Soka University in Aliso Viejo.  The guys took them straight out to the middle of the dance floor and they danced every dance.  They went to get some breakfast and dessert after at Corky's in Ladera, and then back to Robbie's to watch a movie.

James walked her to the door, just like a gentleman should!

They had a nice time.

Marine Funeral In Town

Chris had early out because tonight is open house.  We didn't even end up making it to the open house because of her lacrosse game which was away.

We raced home when school was done.  We had exactly 30 minutes for her to change, gather her gear, eat some lunch, get fitted for her formal to be hemmed for the dance this weekend, and get back to the school to get on the bus and go to the game location.

We came to a complete stop on Antonio.

It was obviously a funeral.  The local streets were lined with wall to wall people.  I didn't know anything about it. 

 A local 20 year old  guy was killed in Afganistan.

He was a great young man and popular in high school.

He had just gotten engaged 2 days before he was killed.  And his fiance is the daughter of one of Christine's kindergarten teachers.

 Jordan and Julie

 His fiance above and then the flag being presented to his family.

Jordan is 3rd from the right and was an assistant team leader of his battalion.

I was so touched.  We sat in the car and waited and watched as the casket left the chapel at the Catholic church by our neighborhood.  The street had been shut down to two lanes so they could use the other lanes for parking. The motorcade left for the cemetery with a motorcycle escort.  That gave me chills.  It looked like there were about 100 of them.  And the men in uniform!

Here I was just going about my regular day annoyed that the road was closed down given my very tight time schedule, only to have a complete change of heart realizing that one had given his life for freedom.  The freedom that affords me all the things that are most precious to me.
(I got these pictures off the internet when I looked up the story and read about it.)

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO YE ALL!

We had our corned beef and cabbage with red potatoes and carrots for dinner.
We wore green and didn't get pinched!
We have had warmer weather and now it is turning cold again.  That's okay, because I'm not quite ready for summer I'm enjoying the spring so much.
We had a good lacrosse game.  They tied!  Chris played awesome.
We enjoyed the Cougars basketball win, even if it was by the skin of their teeth.  C'mon Jimmer!

(John is really sick.  Poor baby.  Nats stayed home from work today because he only wanted his mommy.  The doctor says it's a virus.  This is the first time he has ever been sick so far and he is 16months old.  Pretty healthy little guy.)

Lisa and Craig

Happy Anniversary to Lisa and Craig.
21 years.
We love you so much!

Activity Day/St. Paddy's Celebration

Today we celebrated St. Patrick's Day.

It was so much FUN!

 Our gathering activity was a 4 leaf clover maze.  We learned the differences between a shamrock and a 4 leaf clover.  A shamrock has 3 heart shaped petals.  They stand for Faith, Hope, and Love.  We discussed how these same qualities are in the scriptures.  A 4 leaf clover has 4 petals.  They stand for Faith, Hope, Love, and Luck.  A 4 leaf clover is not as common as a shamrock.

We had 'Leprechaun Punch' aka lime sherbet and 7up.

Andes mints dotted the table.

 After our opening (recite the Faith In God theme and a prayer), we talked about the history of the holiday.  We learned that St. Patrick was one of the first people to bring the written word to Ireland in the form of the Bible.  Isn't that interesting.  We talked about their customs and food and wondered what Activity Day girls might do in Ireland.

Then we played the 'hide-the-gold-coin' game.

 We also played 'Lucky' which is a version of Bingo and used rainbow Skittles as our markers.  We played until 'blackout' and it was very exciting!

 We had hot parmesan and garlic potato wedges to go with our Leprechaun Punch.

We learned that potatoes are a staple food in Ireland.

AND, in-between all of the above, the girls made a St. Paddy's banner to take home and decorate with! (from Simple As That)

Pages from an old book taken out and cut with a V at the bottom, green shamrocks cut out and glued on.  They all let their personality come out with the buttons they chose for the shamrock center.  We had some all the same, some were in a pattern, and some were all different colors.  Then we folded over the top of the page and they stapled it together on some twine.

They worked hard and were very pleased with their creations.

We closed and asked Heavenly Father to bless the people in Japan. The earthquake and tsunami is on everyone's mind.

As the girls left, we sprayed their hair with green hair paint!

It was a great way to end the activity.

And The Winners Are...

I just found out I WON a giveaway at Pine Needles Blog!  Sugar and Spice fat quarter fabrics from
The Quilted Fish.

I'm SO excited!  It is the cutest fabric.  Amanda--from the Quilted Fish--has a great pillow tutorial right now.  Go check it out.

I'll take a picture of the fabric when it comes and post it.

Happy Day!