Welcome, Welcome Sabbath Morning and The Duffy Ghost

This morning I was getting ready for church, and someone had used the master bathroom and when I walked in it was running over, and over, and over. The whole floor to the carpet was soaked.

Anything built in the last 15 years here, has these new water-saver toilets. Nice on saving water, but not much good otherwise. It is always important to do your 'business', flush, finish, flush. Otherwise it plugs up. Well, I don't know about your house, but in the Duffy house, we have a permanent GHOST. 'He' is responsible for everything that happens when 'no-body' else did 'it'. 'He' must have been here today!

No sooner did we get it all mopped up with towels, etc., then ALL the smoke detectors went off! You have GOT to be kidding me! We now know that if we ever have a real fire, we will not sleep through it! Those things are unbelieveably LOUD--screaming loud!!! We had to get the ladder from the garage and take every battery out of every one to finally get it to stop. Apparently, some water from the bathroom leaked down into the detectors directly downstairs and shorted them, so they all went off. This is of course at 7:30 A.M. and we had slept with most of the windows open so it is reverberating all through the neighborhood!

Well, I was totally late. And this morning we had to get the Primary room set up, the choir seats and stand set up, and the back of the cultural hall set up so we could begin practicing for our upcoming Sacrament Program. We are all sitting in the back of the cultural hall during the beginning of the meeting and will start the program by marching up into the chapel and stand singing our opening song of, "I'll Follow Him In Faith". It will be a GREAT beginning! I am so fortunate to have great counselors and music leaders who were there and had a good portion of it done by the time I made it over!

I had my visiting teaching stewardship interview this afternoon. I always leave there so motivated and feeling good about myself.

We made a turkey dinner today for 'sunday dinner'. I always make a turkey for General Conference Sunday. But Mike and Adrianne won't be able to come to the cabin next weekend, and I didn't want to make the turkey there, because what would we do with all the leftovers since we are leaving the next morning? So we made it today. I usually have an extra turkey in the freezer from earlier in the year after all the buy one get one free specials at Easter time, and fall conference is a great time to use it. It is a wonderful 'tickler' for Thanksgiving!

Got a call from Lisa, and Josh and Meredith had Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie and Uncle Craig over for dinner today. Meredith made tacos. Grandma brought the homemade taco sauce (another post!), and had everything set up so nicely in their tiny apartment. She has made it so cozy and homey. Lisa called while they were still there so I got to talk to her and Meredith. She is quite the hostess. She had all her Halloween decorations out and candles lit, and they had a nice dinner and visit.

I'll sign off for now, but still have more to catch up on in the morning!

(Coming soon--Weekend Wrap-up, RS Conference, Tutto Fresco Dinner, Wedding Dresses, and Conference Quiche!)

Busy Saturday

We're going to have a very busy day today.

Duff and Christine already are out the door for her soccer pictures. He will drop her off at warm up and come back and get me for the game. Then home, shower and out the door for the Stake Baptism of which our ward is in charge this month. It is at 1pm today because of the RS broadcast later on at 5. So I will barely get home from the baptism, assess things here, and go back.

Christine is babysitting J.T. for Patti, so I will drop her off at the Peterson's, Patti and I will go together to the broadcast, and Adrianne will meet us there. Then we are going to 'ditch' the RS dinner, and go out ourselves somewhere else and Patti and Adrianne will talk wedding gowns! Patti needs as much time as possible to work her magic at the sewing machine before February!

Duff was thrilled to finally learn that the BYU game will at least be broadcast on the internet. So he will park himself in front of the computer come 7 o,clock and hunker down for the game!

I'll report back later.

Grocery Shopping Cart

I went this afternoon and did my weekly grocery shopping. For years I've kept a paper taped to the inside of a certain kitchen cupboard door and the family knows that if they need something from the store, they need to get it on that list during the week. Then I take it down, turn it over, plan out a weekly menu, and add what I need for that on the other side. This keeps me on track and I only have to shop once a week.

While I was shopping today I thought about my cart. I divide it up. I put all the dry goods on one side, all the cold things on the other. Breads go in the seat area, and I get the produce last and it goes on the top of everything else. When I get to the check stand, I unload it the same way: all the cold things together, dry goods together, produce together, etc. That way it all goes in the bags with like items, which for me makes it easier to put away.

This TOTALLY drives my husband and sister, Lisa, CRAZY. The last time I was in Phoenix at Lisa's and we went to the store, she saw me doing that and she came over and messed up my cart on purpose! It just doesn't make sense to me to not have it organized! She just tosses everything in jumbled up (to me) but that makes perfect sense to her.

So, let me hear from some of you: How is Your Shopping Cart?

Attitude

Remember, a good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude fair results, a poor attitude poor results. We each shape our own life and the shape of it is determined largely by our attitude!
-- M.R. Ballard

Golden Spoon!

Last Sunday while I was gone, Christine made herself a bowl of oatmeal in the microwave for breakfast. She does this all the time, so no big deal, right? Well, she touched it in the wrong place as she was taking it out and it was too hot and she dropped it on her left thigh. Mike kept telling her to get her pajama bottoms off immediately, but I think she was just so shocked she couldn't react and he being a big brother, didn't want to go up and pull her pants off.

SO, she has a HUGE burn on her leg. They assure me that they did all the 'right' things to take care of it. Well, no one even mentioned it to me until Tuesday NIGHT, when Adrianne casually asked her how her leg was. I said, what's wrong with your leg? She pulled up her shorts and I saw IT. All the mother instincts kicked in immediately. A million questions, etc. It's about the size of a small grapefruit which on a tall, slender 12 year old is most of the thigh! They should have taken her to the doctor, but oh well.

She came home yesterday from school and was shaking and teary. I put my arms around her and asked what the matter was. (At this age, it can be anything...). She lifted up her shorts and the whole thing was turning into a blister. I called the pediatrician, talked it through with the nurse, and she tutored me with a course of action. In my 29 years of motherhood we've never had THIS injury.

It was just she and I for dinner last night (Mike and Adrianne went out with friends, and Duff had a last minute business dinner), so we ate some leftover tacos from the night before, and then went to the pharmacy. For being on the threshold of teenagerhood, surprisingly she was holding my hand and putting her head on my shoulder. Not that I minded a bit! It's nice to get your little girl back even for a minute! I guess we never outgrow our need for our 'moms'. We got all the necessary meds and bandages.

Now, what is right in the same center as CVS? Yep--Golden Spoon. A very FAVORITE frozen yogurt shop. The only bad thing is that it is too close to home and we quickly fill up our frequent buyer cards! (Well, maybe that's not a bad thing). I said, "How about a Golden Spoon?" Her face perked right up. I pulled into a spot and we went in. She got Chocolate Malt and I got 1/2 Cake Batter and 1/2 Chocolate Malt.( good combo--tastes just like yellow cake with chocolate frosting.)

We had a good talk about how our bodies heal, went over basic first aid again, and what we need to do with her leg-that she would be alright and it probably wouldn't leave a scar. By the time we headed home she felt so much better.

Thanks Golden Spoon for being a part of this mother/daughter experience!

Piano, Etc.

Okay--I've decided that I can't post until I get my 'chores' done. So yesterday and today I've been focused and worked hard in the mornings. I am happy to report that it has been a good thing. So with the morning completed, I can give an update.

Laundry is going, kitchen cleaned, beds done, picked up, visiting teaching completed. The piano tuner has been here and gone. He is a nice man. He's been tuning our piano for 13 years. We have a very old piano. It is older than me! It originally belonged to my grandparents, Myrna and Floyd Davis. Some of my earliest memories are of that piano in their duplex on 21st street in Manhattan Beach, California. At some point they gave it to my parents. It is the piano that I learned to play on. Every Christmas it was the platform for my mom's christmas village. We kids just LOVED that village. It had little mini lights, candles, lots of angel hair, etc. It was magical.

I guess Duff and I were married about 10 years and my other grandma, Minnie Abramowski, gave my mom her baby grand piano that my grandpa had bought for her when she was a little girl. So we were offered the upright. I remember bringing it to the Westminster house. We had to go to Utah to the house in Orem, and bring it back in a trailer. We were so excited! ( Knowing what I know now about pianos, I would NEVER have done that. I would have hired a professional mover, but we were quite poor and looked only at the most economical solution at the time.) Mike and Josh started piano with Lori Fronk. Then Natalie followed and Shaun. Now Christine is playing. About 8 years ago, we decided to have it restored. Like I said, it is an old piano and had seen better days.

It turned out sooo beautiful. He restored it to it's original look. When he called me to come and look at it before delivery, I could hardly believe it was the same piano. We were able to still use all of the keys. He had uncovered the different woods and stained them like they once were. Every time the tuner comes, he tells me, "Don't ever get rid of this piano! They don't make them like this anymore!"

I guess selfishly, I have such emotional ties to it. I remember as a child listening to my aunt play at my grandparents, and playing duets with my mom when it was at our house. Now I play duets with my own daughters. It is the foundation for my christmas village with the mini-lights and angel hair. (My kids insist I put it out every year. It is a favorite tradition.) If it could only talk, oh the stories it could tell!

The fun, the laughter, the tears, the frustration with practices, (with some pounding tantrums), the calming, the spirituality, how many times it's played Heart and Soul and chopsticks, practiced for recitals!

Just when I think I might like something a little updated, I get a funny feeling in my tummy. I can't part with it! I am sentimental--I know this about myself.
So it's staying right where it is!

( Last night Duff and Christine had the Daddy-Daughter date at YW. It was a western theme. They looked cute. Played some games, ate, and did some line dancing. She was beaming when they got home!

Made some Primary visits during the day, and one in the afternoon for a boy graduating this Sunday. They are new in the ward. A cute boy. Had a good interview with him. That is probably one of the things I LOVE doing in this calling: meeting with the kids in their homes as they graduate. He is a little scared and nervous to leave Primary--but he won't miss being in the program! None of them at that age miss that! I reassured him that I knew he was ready! That Heavenly Father set it up this way, for us to keep growing little by little. And it was time to move forward. We started a tradition a few years ago: the class or quorum presidency comes into Sr. Primary at the beginning and the child advancing comes to the front. We make a fuss over them for their 12th birthday, and then they get to break their 'stick' [that we pull out of a decorated can for participation], and then we sing a song. We took the liberty and changed some of the words to Hello, Hello. The Deacons or Beehives sing: Hello, and the Primary sings: Goodbye. Hello, Goodbye, We send you on your way! Hello, Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye, We're glad you came our way, To share with us our Primary days, And be our friend in a very special way, Hello, Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye-We send you on your way! Then the Deacons/Beehives take them to YW or Priesthood.

I had a PPI with the Bishop on Tuesday night. At the end we talked a little about an appropriate time for a release. It has been four years. I cried all the way home!

Darla and I walked while Christine was at soccer practice. It felt so California fallish. So after dinner, I just had to make some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. It was just the mix from Lehi Mill [which is so easy, and yet so good], and they are divine. Unfortunately, I had 3 for breakfast this morning. Then I ate blueberries to pacify my guilt! Ahhhhh....)

Thriller

We had a really good laugh last night.

Christine and I were flipping through the channels on tv and the movie 13 going on 30 was on. It was the part where she goes to the dance and gets everyone to dance to Michael Jackson's song Thriller. Christine and I were dancing away and singing to it. Duff walked into the family room and just cracked up! He said, ''What are you doing!?" We tried to get him to join us, but he declined. Instead he applauded as we got better with each verse and chorus!

It really is a fun little dance, and we laughed pretty hard!

Caught YOU Being Good!

Monday morning was crazy trying to get the cabin closed and down to Provo for Shaun's test and then to the airport. He and I had a couple of 'tense' moments due to some miscommunication.

Even though things were resolved and fine, when I got out of the truck at the airport, he came around with my luggage and looked me straight in the face and said, "I'm sorry for having words this morning. I love you." It takes a STRONG person of CHARACTER to offer an apology. You have both, Shaun.

LOVE YOU TOO!

Britta is now an AMERICAN!

It is OFFICIAL! Britta took her Oath of Citizenship yesterday! She is now an American citizen. After all the years she has been in America and all the hassles with her visas, etc. she changed her German citizenship.

Jeff was there, of course, and his family came too. She sent me some nice pictures and I will work on trying to figure out how to post them.

She and Jeff are really happy. They came up from Orem to see us at the cabin over Labor Day and it's just like they have been together forever. Too bad they didn't find each other sooner, but I guess the important part is that they DID! They celebrated their 1st anniversary in August.

CONGRATULATIONS Britta!

Taylor

Update on cousin, Taylor. (Jennifer & Shane's son) He is out of Primary Children's Hospital now and home. He has a condition called ulcerative colitis. What a blessing that they were FINALLY able to pin it down. He has suffered for the last 3 years with this, but the doctors weren't able to diagnosis it properly as he was so young and his symptoms weren't so advanced. Now it has a name and a treatment. It will be a process, but they are sure he will most likely be able to live a full, fine life. Interesting note though, when Shane was growing up he apparently had the same thing and so did some of his brothers, but it never got so advanced, then went into a remission and resurfaced later as adults. Also, the disease hadn't been given a 'name', and the thought was that it was food poisoning and that some people were more susceptible to it.

Technology and medical advances are a great thing!

Taylor and family are very grateful for all our thoughts, prayers, and phone calls.

Grandma Sigie

I talked to Grandma yesterday. Her 2nd eye surgery on Monday went very well. It is feeling a bit scratchy and a little uncomfortable, but she can see CLEARLY! Because of the way they do the cataract surgery, she almost doesn't need any glasses anymore. Her vision is so good. She says the bad part is when she looks at her house and sees all the cleaning things she's missed over the last year or so. She is restricted in lifting anything over 5 pounds and just needs to take it a bit easy for the next 2 weeks, and then she can do whatever she'd like!

Thank You and Gratitude

We are scattered all over geographically right now, but each of us has our own signs of autumn setting in! Since Fall is generally the winding up season of the year where our thoughts are reflecting and we are preparing for winter, I wanted to post this:

There is a difference between THANK YOU and GRATITUDE. "Thank You" is of the lips and voice. "Gratitude" is from the heart.
--David O. McKay

Something to think about for all of us.

Love, Mom

Caught YOU Being Good!

Josh called me 3 times yesterday to 'check in' and each time I couldn't talk and told him I'd call him 'right back'. Sigh. That's just how my day was yesterday.

Well, I finally connected with him about 9pm last night, and we had a quick catch up, and then he said, "Mom, I've got to go. Meredith and I are in the middle of reading our scriptures." Okay--some things ARE more important!

( Hmmm. Who will be the NEXT one 'caught' being good....)

Landing, Take 1 and Landing, Take 2

It was a very smooth flight home. In fact as the landing gear went down and we crossed over the 405 freeway approaching the runway, I looked out the window and commented to myself, that I hadn't had that smooth of a flight in a while. No sooner had I finished that thought, then we all heard this loud 'eeeeeeeeeeee'--the landing gear going back up---and the pilot pulled the plane straight up in the air!

We were climbing so fast and so steep that my head was smashed back on the seat and you could feel pressure. Everyone gasped and there were a few screams. The lady sitting next to me and I grabbed each others hands and squeezed tight and looked at each other with our eyes as wide open as you can get them. My heart was pounding.

We kept climbing very fast and flew out over Palos Verdes and San Pedro then circled sharply back around quite a ways over the ocean. Finally we leveled out and the pilot came on announcing that we were circling around and going to 'try IT' again. There was another aircraft on the runway we had been cleared to land on that was going too slow and we would have crashed right into it!

We were all giggling that nervous giggle and talking to each other sooo relieved, but that rush of adrenaline was still pumping!

The pilot approached again and this time it went just as it should. Nice, smooth landing! I know lots of silent prayers of THANKS were offered for a safe landing, protection, and a smart, observant pilot!

Snow to AC! and Caramel Corn

I am home now in California. I can hardly believe that this morning I started my day with snow, and I'm ending it in air conditioning!

Not only did Duff hold down the fort wonderfully while I was gone, but I came home to a HUGE batch of Caramel Corn! I had wanted to make some before I left but never got around to it. So he rallied the troops (Mike, Adrianne, Christine) and each had a 'job'. Mike and Christine popped the popcorn, he mixed the caramel, and Adrianne had the important task of mixing and stirring it all together. It is divine! So gooey and sticky! You know it's fall when you suddenly start 'tasting' Caramel Corn in your mind.

Here is the recipe:

1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light karo syrup
1/2 stick butter
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
popcorn, popped (about 1 gallon)

Pop corn (either several air batches, or old fashioned in the pan, or several bags microwave, unbuttered). Put in large bowl and set aside.

Combine brown sugar and karo syrup. Bring to boil, stirring constantly with wooden spoon for about 8 minutes.

Add butter and sweetened condensed milk and blend until smooth with wooden spoon or wire whisk. Cook and stir another 4-5 minutes.Pour over popcorn and mix evenly. Turn it out onto waxed paper to cool.

(You can double this batch, which is usually what we do)

Enjoy!
(this recipe is from Grandma Duffy)

Snug as a Bug

Well, guess what I'm looking at? Yep, you got it! SNOW on the mountains! It got sooo cold last night, wind and rain never stopped on the back side of the Wasatch. Watched the Talkin'Sports show, read some more Twilight, said my prayers, and climbed into bed. You know that 'snug as a bug' feeling when you climb in and get all warm under the covers and slip into dream land with the rythm of the rain as your lullaby. Oh, love it.

Woke up this morning and it was so 'gray', so I hopped up and quickly opened the blinds to see lots of clouds and the gorgeous snow. It looks like someone sprinkled a big serving of powdered sugar on the mountains. The pine trees outside have ice all over them--so pretty!

When I came last week, I arrived in shorts, tshirt, and sandals. I guess I'll be leaving in long pants, tennis shoes, and a jacket!

Gotta go finish cleaning the kitchen, and get the vacuuming done so we can close this place down. I think we are finally getting a good system in place for opening/closing the cabin. Of course it is nice to have the kids just down in Provo again. They can be here in a jiffy if we need them to. I'm putting a check in/out list together with boxes to check off when I get home. That will help to not forget to do certain things, like take the trash out of the garage down to the dumpster! Ooo, what a lovely smell when I arrived!

Duff held down things at home wonderfully. He is amazing. Always encourages me and gives me 'wings to fly'. He even made stuffed flank steak for 'Sunday Dinner' yesterday, Christine's request. No soccer game--it actually rained enough to close the fields! He said Darla is doing her moping around the house thing, sitting at the top of the stairs and staring out the window
waiting for me to come home. She is so funny when she does that! It doesn't matter if I've gone to run a quick errand or am on a trip. So cute. How did Heavenly Father KNOW we would need pets? I think about that often. So grateful for His wisdom!

California, here I come. Right back where I started from!

Rise and Shout, The Cougars Are Out!

Go Cougars! This is the 'view' from our seats.

The south end zone and score board. 3rd quarter: BYU-24 and AFA-0

Natalie just as the rain was starting to fall!

Dave French (in cap), Paul Day, Adam Day, and Shaun.

We slept in yesterday a little and had breakfast. Got ready and headed down the canyon for Provo and the football game. Oh, is it nice to be able to park in Lot #3! We went to the tent and had some lunch, watched the timer count down and the KSL pre-game show, then ran over to the stadium.

It was a great game every single minute. I don't know how to describe it, but there is nothing like watching a football game in person. There is just a feeling in the air that you can almost touch. The excitement of the crowd, the players on the field, the green grass, and all the smells: popcorn, hot dogs, nachos, churros, soda, water, air, sun, perspiration. The sounds: helmuts crashing, chatter, talking, yelling, commentary, up, down, seats, fans, the cougar growl, cheerleaders, music, arm-chair quarterbacking.

It was warm and then quickly cool. Then cold. We had a premature sprinkle before the downpour in the 3rd quarter that lasted the rest of the game. I brought black trashbags in my purse anticipating the rain, but during half time, I bought some ponchos--just in case. Boy was it good I did! I am happy to report that we are die-hard fans. We stayed until the very last, rain and all. It was interesting to watch the color of the stadium change as soon as it started raining. Blues, reds, yellows, neon oranges--lots of poncho colors!

Okay--I just need to mention that BYU (and Utah in general) needs some serious lessons in event traffic control/management/driving! Sheesh--that was a nightmare. The rudest drivers ever. I've been to a LOT of large 'events' and that was the worst ever. That's all I'll say on that matter.

In the middle of the 2nd quarter, Shaun leans over and says, "Mom, mom. Look who's coming up the aisle!" It was Paul Day and his son Adam. Paul is our dentist and good friend. They lived in California, where he still practices, but moved here about 4 years ago. He commutes every Monday-Thursday. And who should be with him but Dave French! who is in our ward back home too. After seeing so many at the airport and then the game, it almost didn't feel like I was in Utah. So Dave used Duff's extra ticket and Paul and Adam sat behind us in empty seats of people that didn't come. They ended up using the trash bags to keep dry!

After the game we met up with Lori Day, and daughter Brooklyn, who were shopping at Riverwoods, and had some dinner at the Happy Sumo. Oh good times. It is a blessing to have good friends that you can just pick up right where you leave off with.

Then the drive back up the canyon in the rain. It was dark and calm and beautiful. We enjoyed the rain all night long and most of today. Right now it is in the high 40's and they say it will be around 35* tonight, and we have a chance to wake up to a sprinkling of snow tomorrow morning. Love it!

The cabin is quiet, except for computers typing and the wind outside. Natalie is typing a law memo due tomorrow and Shaun is studying for a psych test tomorrow. I have been helping him study. I've been reading Twilight. I didn't know anything about this series, but a friend at church mentioned it and now I'm hearing about it everywhere. So I'm about 1/2 way through the first one and I'm liking it.

We're just going to clean out the fridge and have some soup and sandwiches for dinner. Light and easy. We'll watch the Talkin' Sports show tonight after the news and hear all the dish on the BYU game and the Utah game.

"We'll Raise Our Colors High In The Blue and Cheer The Cougars Of BYU!"

(Note of Interest: When the kids were little, I would swing with them on the swingset in the Westminster backyard and teach them the Cougar Fight Song. They would swing and glide back and forth on it singing the song at the top of their lungs! Shaun was about 2 at the time and he was not to be left out. He sang until he was hoarse. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were crazy!)

Ohhhh, The Colors!

Had a good flight, nice and smooth. I just got off the plane and was walking down the airport corridor when I hear, "Sister Duffy, Sister Duffy!" and this blob started moving toward me. I came to my senses and was embraced by Marky Hobbins, Scott Dallies, Kurt Le Sueur, and Landon Gregson. Four boys from the home ward. They were on the turn-around flight back to California so they could attend Jaron's funeral tomorrow morning. We had a good visit about how they are feeling since his death. It is very hard. It is fun to see them grown up now. Marky, Scott, and Landon all grew up on our street and were in diapers when we all moved there! Now they are in college! Good boys.

Then I'm almost to the escalator to go down, and there is Laurie Anthony, my dear, dear friend, and just recently released visiting teacher. She has been in Utah and was on her way home. For a brief moment I had to shake my head and wonder where I was: Utah or California???!!!

Well, the colors are ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR! They had started to change ever so slightly when we left a month ago, but now the reds and oranges are all over. I love it. It makes me want to hunker down and stay still with a good book or movie or project.

On the way to Midway from the airport, Shaun and I stopped and picked up the new foosball game. We could have been on AFV. I'm sure we made a hysterical sight trying to unload that thing out of the back of the truck! We were heaving and ho-ing and sweating and laughing so hard. Natalie finally got here and we got the legs on and turned it right-side up with the 3 of us. Shaun and I had a few good games of ping-pong. The 'old girl' hasn't quite lost her touch! He was rather surprised how good I did. When I was a pre-teen, my next door neighbors had a ping-pong table and during the summers that's all we basically did. Beach and ping-pong tournaments. I was pretty dang good, actually! We will most likely finish putting the foosball together tomorrow before or after the BYU game.

Duff is home just beside himself for not being able to be here. They are in the process of negotiations and closing a sub-debt deal and he could not leave. So Mike and Adrianne are off the hook for Christine's soccer game tomorrow. It is supposed to rain tonight at home and in the morning. I'm sure they won't call the game, but it will be much cooler. It's only supposed to reach 68 tomorrow. That is 32 degrees cooler than last week's game! Go Chrissy and the Diablos!

Travel

Hi--

I'm off to catch a flight for Utah. Shaun is picking me up. I'll post later tonight. GO COUGARS!

Spa Day and Unlimited Texting

Pampering day for me! First a haircut and then a pedicure. The scalp massage at the shampoo bowl was wonderful. So relaxing. When you leave you feel so good because you look great. Why is it I can never duplicate that same blow-out at home? I'm not really into manicures--I'm too busy with my hands, but a good pedicure is soooo nice. Smooth feet, nice nails, polish.

Christine is wanting a cell phone. She doesn't have one because we don't think she needs one and when we need her to have one then she will. That being said, she consistently makes her case for one. Yesterday she 'announced' to me that when she gets one she wants a picture phone with unlimited texting! So as a good mom I wanted to know all the reasons she would need a camera phone and why would she need 'unlimited' texting. She said, "To talk to my friends." I said, "Isn't that what you would use the phone for and the phone at home?" Of course I was promptly reminded that I am a prehistoric, resurrected dinosaur and know nothing of today's modern world. So we were driving in the car to soccer and gently (I thought) inserted into the conversation the reasons why those features were not the best for a young teen's first cell phone. She got out of the car and slammed the door.

She brought the subject up at the dinnertable. We patiently listened to and acknoweldged all her reasons. Duff looked at me with that look that asks: Is there anything I should know about this before I answer? The one that communicates volumes and opens up 'parental mind reading' between each other. I raised the ever so slight eyebrow only obvious to each other after 30 years of marriage. Then he so benignly said in between bites, "Well, Chris. We'll just have to see what our plan covers. It may not even cover that." She was like, "Oh. Okay. I didn't think about that." There it was: the simplest of answers that satisfied. Did the 'plan' cover it!

So after the slammed car door, no conversation on the way home from soccer, and walking 10 feet in back of me, I was reminded that the most simple answer is the best way to start!

( After dinner I had a Scout Committee Meeting for 2 hours. Got a lot done. It's interesting--a Primary President has both feet in scouting. Cubbing on the Primary side, and Boy Scouting because of the 11year old boys who still fall under the Primary, but are part of the troop. So I sit on both committees. The Church Handbook of Instructions is very clear why they have adopted scouting. It is the technical side of helping boys prepare for, and worthily receive the Aaronic Priesthood. The end result is character, building testimonies, applying gospel instruction received on Sunday in everyday life situations, and honoring parents. If we remember that, the program will include every boy at every level. And they thought it was all about the campouts, hikes, and merit badges! [please read that last sentence with 'wit']

When I got home at 10pm, Adrianne had already left, but not before making a pound cake while I was gone. Just the boxed kind, but so delicious. Nice little treat to come home to. Is she great or what!)

Broken Finger

Got a call from Josh and Meredith and Josh broke his finger. They were at mutual last night; Meredith and her girls had made dinner for the bishopric and were serving them, and Josh and the priests were playing flag football. He jumped up to get a high pass and the ball hit his finger. He knew it was immediately broken when he tried to lift it up and it just hung down.

Mere took him to the ER and it is broken in two places and the tendon was torn off the bone. He goes for a second opinion tomorrow and an orthopedic specialist on Friday.

It is his left hand which you would think is good because he is right-handed. BUT he does ALL his school work and work for the judge with his computer! And unlike handwriting, you need two hands for typing!

Ouch! (have Meredith take a picture so once I figure out how to post pictures, I can add it. Thanks, Love You!)

Such Sad News....

Got word yesterday that Jaron Scrivens from our stake was killed in a car accident on Monday morning. He was just 18 years old and in his first year of college at the SL extension of BYU. He had gone to Vancouver for a family reunion over the weekend.

He was driving back to Utah apparently leaving very early that morning. Around LeGrande, Oregon, he tried to pass a semi truck, hit him and rolled his jeep.

He was a GREAT kid. The youngest of 4 brothers. Just ordained an elder a few weeks ago. A lot of kids in our ward were really close to him and are having a hard time.

It brings back memories of when my roommate, Sandy Robbins, was killed in a car accident. She had just become engaged to Rick Starr, and they were driving to California so he could ask her dad for her hand in marriage. They left Provo late at night after the "Bread" concert. He fell asleep at the wheel just north of Las Vegas by the Valley of Fire sign, woke up, overcorrected, and went off the road, rolling the car several times and ejecting both of them. A woman driving behind them witnessed the whole thing. She drove back to Glendale, NV, to get help. But it was too late. (We NEVER drive by that sign on our way back and forth to Utah without commenting on it. Even after 30 years. Shortly after the accident that March, we stopped at the site on our way to Calif. and her electric curlers were still scattered all in the dirt.)

I remember getting the call the next morning from Sandy's mom. I think I went in to shock. It takes a while for those kinds of words to sink in. We had grown up together, went to school together, lived together, got engaged around the same time, skied together.

I had all her things packed up in my room to take home to her family when I went home to get married. It was hard to have it all there where I saw it 24/7, could visualize her, smell her. I was asked to give the euology at a memorial service in Provo. It was in that big double stake center building on 9th east near Wymount Terrace. It was completely full. To this day I don't know how I got through it, but I did. I still remember the dress I wore that day. (She was a BYU cheerleader at the time and was known by a lot of people).

These kinds of experiences can take you one of two ways: you either believe the gospel and the plan of salvation, or you question and get bitter. Either way life marches on and you must figure out which way you will go. It is a life changing experience as you work through it. For some it gets figured out in a blink, for some it takes a while. The important thing is to get there.

For a long time, years, I held on to the thinking that it was 'just her time to go, so the Lord took them'. Simple. It made her death easier to accept. But over time I began to see a bigger perspective: while we are each appointed unto death, God lets the natural consequences of our choices happen. They were driving during the night, tired, pushing. His dad had had an uneasy feeling about the trip and expressed it. As most of us do at that young adult age, we feel invincible, and Rick shrugged it off. After all, weren't they doing a good thing? Accidents happen! They really do. I think of my aunt killed in another car accident in Rexburg, and my father-in-law killed in a car accident.

Sandy's death impacted the way we travel. We always remind our kids when they are driving long distances: remember Sandy Robbins. That's all we have to say and they know what we mean. To be a little more aware, a little more careful, a little more cautious, a little more wise.

Our hearts, prayers, and love go out to the Scrivens Family!

Sushi

Early release day for Christine yesterday for Back To School Night. So she was home by 1pm. Mary Carpenter gave her a ride home and she was thrilled she didn't have to go on the bus and do the safety drills. Mary and I have too much fun talking and two hours later she and her kids left. Oh what I didn't get done, but what a nice break to catch up.

She did homework and then off to piano lessons. I did some handwork in the car while I was waiting--gotta get a jump on those Christmas presents! and I am famous for leaving everything until the last minute and then over stressing out, get sick, etc. So each year I am getting a little better. Notice I did not say I conquered it all at once. Just a little each year better at organizing.

Since it was just the 3 of us last night, we decided to go to get Sushi. We have a couple of places that we really love close by. It helps that Christine loves it! Most kids can't stand the thought of it, but she is so adventurous about it. She is not quite as brave as her dad, but way braver than me. We had a great Rainbow Roll, Crunchy Shrimp Roll, and Spicy Lobster Roll, along with fabulous tempura and our favorite edamame. We all navigate the chopsticks fairly well, but Duff is the best.

The funny thing is that 2 years ago Natalie's roommates gave her a pink and black beta fish for her birthday. She named him Sushi! No kidding, he looks like it because of his color. side note: Nats didn't take him back with her this fall because she was too afraid he wouldn't make the car trip for the umpteenth time. So I am now grandma to a beta fish. He loves me though and just does loop-di-loops when I come down in the morning to feed him. We laugh that one day he just may be on the plate!

We got home and Mike and Adrianne were there and Christine started telling them how she was home early from school and Mike asked why, and she and I both looked at each other with WIDE eyes because in our enjoyment of sushi by the lake, we totally forgot all about Back To School Night! Yep, we missed it completely. Oh well, it IS our 5th seventh grader.
Hopefully we know something about 7th grade by this time!

...Before You Speak...

I'm picking up and cleaning around home, listening, singing, and dancing to High School Musical. It's upbeat and fun and has a good motivating message, good harmonies too. Anyway--I came across this in some of my paperwork. I don't remember who said it, but I LOVE it!

...Before You Speak...ask yourself:

--Is it timely?
--Is it true?
--Is it kind?
--Is it necessary?

Take a breath. Half the time you won't say it!

Marine Layer and Mountain Lions!

Oooooo. Woke up to another marine layer morning! And it hasn't burned off yet. This means it is slipper weather. The cool, moist, ocean air (you can even 'smell' the salt and seaweed) coming in the windows. We don't close the windows, because it will warm up later on so you want as much of the cool air in as possible, but you do need to grab slippers for the morning and a light sweater or something. When it burns off it is so interesting to watch it being 'sucked' back out to sea and see the distinct line of blue sky and fog.

There was another mountain lion sighting at 11:30pm. We actually had one walking along our path in the backyard in '04 around 7am. Christine saw it out the living room window and started yelling. She thought it was a big dog at first, which how would that have gotten in to our fenced yard? No, the mountain lions easily hop the fence. Yes, believe it or not, even here in SoCal I live in 'critter country'. We have mountain lions, coyotes, rattlesnakes, bobcats, bunnies, mice, rats, ants, bugs, deer. Pest control service is a MUST! For the most part we just need to be 'aware' and they keep to themselves. We did have to change some landscaping early on as we realized we were feeding the deer with our plant choices! And the bunnies just LOVE our garden. We have to start with established plants or grow them from seed indoors first and then plant them. They seem to leave the established plants alone.

We have back to school night tonight for Christine. I have to say, I love how technology works these days with communication between parents and schools. They have this neat edline site that lets us know everyday what the homework is, the status of my child in each class, and an individual email address directly for each teacher. We had none of that with the other kids. We had to wait for report cards and progress reports to come in the mail. They have had daily planners since 3rd grade to record all their assignments and calendar due dates and make a plan to get it all done. That wasn't even heard of in my day, or even 10 years ago with her older siblings. It's a GOOD thing!

Sunday

A Great Day!

Mine started early with church meetings. It was so gorgeous in the morning as I was driving to ward council. The sun coming up in it's brightness over the mountains casting those A.M. shadows. Here in our corner of southern California, if you wake up to the sun, it's going to be a warm/hot day (at this time of year). If you wake up to fog or the marine layer/overcast it will be a cooler day. So it was warm!

Life doesn't stop here either on a Sunday. I was all dressed up in my 'Sunday Best' driving to church and the streets were packed with cars, lots of people walking around the lakes, the coffee/donut/bagel shops full. Here, Saturday is the day everyone gets things 'done'. Sunday is the day everyone 'plays'. All the stores are open. We squeeze it all into a Saturday! and 'rest' on Sunday. I had a reflective moment on my 10 minute drive to the church: How grateful I am to have the gospel in it's fullness. How I should be a better missionary.

Good meetings. I have been gone from Primary for 4 weeks, counting last weeks Stake Conference. Being in Primary was like being in Heaven! How can I ever get released from this calling???!!! When I walked into the chapel to set down my things after WC, the children ran over to me with hugs and smiles and 'we missed you's'. Little Anna N. took a flying leap into my arms and just about broke my neck with her hugs. I had plenty of helpers to get the Primary room set up and it went lickety-split! How I LOVE those 80 children!

Came home, got dinner going, and left for a Cub Committee Meeting. I was nervous for that--had to give a 'motivational talk' to the leaders. It went WELL. Whew! The words just came and thank goodness for the Handbook. When all else fails, turn to the Handbook. These are good people!

Met briefly with the narrator for the Program. He will do a wonderful job and it will add so much to the spirit of the meeting.

Finally home around 4pm. I had been gone since 7:30am. So nice to change clothes! Mike and Adrianne had worked on more of dinner for me. So appreciate them! The table was set and ready to go. Christine had a Beehive class presidency meeting while I was gone as well. She is the secretary. So fun to see her learning leadership skills.

Connected with all the other kids. Natalie is fighting a bad cold. Shaun and one of his roommates stopped by to see her. Their fridge was 'bare' and they begged off some food for dinner from her. Shaun asked if she would like a blessing since her next two weeks are so full. She did, so he and Christopher administered to her. She said he gave her a very nice blessing. She accepted a calling today to be a VT supervisor. That will be a great calling for her with her study schedule.

Shaun's 'football' get-together went well. He had a bunch of friends over to watch the BYU game. What a game!!! Like almost 100 points between the two teams. Too bad that we lost though. Max Hall (QB) needs a little more experience. He'll get there. He just turns over the ball too much.

Josh and Meredith had Stake Conference. Then after, they made some flower deliveries with Meredith's YW to people in the ward who would enjoy them. If I understand it right, each ward gets a turn to take the flowers after SC and give them to those who need their day brightened. I like that! Josh was the chauffeur, while Mere and the girls delivered at the door. Had a good long conversation with Meredith. Hadn't connected with her in a couple of weeks. Her jobs are going well, but her feet hurt at the end of the day. She sure is a trooper!

Lisa and Kristin had a great time at the scrapbook convention in Phoenix. They stayed in a hotel downtown and loved it. Lis wants me to come to another one in April. She says it would be good for me to 'expand' my abilities. Code for: I'm too methodical and need to break out and get more creative! It sounds like fun, so I will look into going. Besides, with Lisa and Kristin, there will NEVER be a dull moment and we will probably laugh ourselves to death!

It's a Monday, so that means laundry! Off to do that and pick up after the weekend. I didn't get to the market this weekend, so I'll need to finish up my weekly menu and get over there too. Soccer practice this afternoon with a trip to Target on the way home. I realized on Saturday during my rehydration experience with Christine in the church restroom that she is in desperate need of some new 'b-ras'. Oh my! Good time to get me a new hair dryer too, since mine is taped together. Probably not a good thing.

(oh I just realized how long this is again.)

A Nice Evening...

The Ward Adult Conference was awesome! Duff and I drove over with our good friends and home teacher/lucky to also be neighbors, Brett and Kim. Lucky for us it was just outside the gate at the Dove Canyon Courtyard so all of 5 minutes to get there!

We had two speakers for the workshops, Brian Andre and Brad Wilcox, with dinner in between from Tutto Fresco, one of our favorite places. Yum, yum, yum!!!

Here are notes from the meeting:

Happiness, Trials, and a Sense of Humor
--If you can laugh, you can live with it.
--Humor is the healthy way to cope. It is a 'safety valve'.
--Humor can be developed.
--Problems and Happiness can co-exist.
Told a story of when he was a 6th grade teacher and had a deaf student being integrated into a hearing classroom. She was always angry and bitter. One day in the cafeteria during lunch she started yelling and signing at him that it wasn't fair that he was always happy, smiling, and didn't have any problems. He got down on his knees to look her straight in the face so she could read his lips, and told her he had a LOT of problems, but that he chose to smile to help him feel better and get though/overcome the trials. It was a new concept for her that she could be happy in spite of hard things. It changed her life.

--Sometimes we say: "I'll only be happy when....." the bills are paid, the kids are good, my health is better, my job is different, I find love, I go on this/that trip, etc. Don't fall into that trap: the list will always change and you'll never be happy because you will never arrive at a point when the list is complete.

--Abraham Lincoln: Suffered from serious depression. (Who knew?) Once said that if the whole world took on part of his despair there would be no smiles. (That's sad.) And yet, look what he DID. How we revere him. The place he has in history. Lincoln said he cultivated a sense of humor to balance his depression. That is how he survived.

--There is a difference between 'lightmindedness' (making fun of sacred things, of which his list of sacred things was very thought provoking) and 'lightheartedness'. Don't confuse the two.

--Don't lower our priority of responding to the Holy Ghost. Identify and act on promptings asap. If we do, we will be more sensitive to His whisperings.

--Raise our 'Gratitude Level'. The brethren are concerned we are not grateful enough, and ingratitude begins the 'Pride Cycle'.(hmmmmm.......)

--We are not in the "OC" by chance. We are 60 miles from 'Babylon', live in a FedEx and IG (instant gratification) world, 'Great and Spacious Building' stuff. The Lord led us and directed us here because He knew we could handle it and He needed us to do the work here. (Reminded me of a few Stake Conferences ago when we had a general authority here and he stopped in the middle of conference to tell us that we lived in a very unique area of SoCal and that we were not here by chance but had been directed by the hand of God to live here and He had prepared this place for us.)

--2 Timothy 3-4
--Deuteronomy 8: 4-18
--Personal and family scripture study--sharpen it!
--Temple Attendance--increase it!
--PPI's with children no matter how old they get. Return and report is an eternal principle. Doesn't always have to be in a formal setting.

Well, that's the jist of it. I have a lot to consider and work on. I wonder if I am too wordy because my posts seem to be so long. But this my journal for the time being so I guess it's okay.

Maybe this week I'll learn how to post pictures!

Soccer Recap--

Christine's team lost today. It was 2-1. It was tied until the end, when both teams were completely tired, hot (100* today at noon), and spent.

Worse part was she got dehydrated in spite of all the gatorade she drank. She came off the field at the whistle, fell into a chair and kept saying she was going to be sick. We got her to the car and drove to the church where she was supposed to quickly change into nice/casual dress for the Brad Wilcox 'afternoon-side', but when she and I got into the restroom, she about collapsed. I got some more water down her, cool papertowels on her neck and face, layed her down on the cool floor tile. She got some dry heaves. I kept telling her she didn't have to stay, but she wanted to hear him and then do her babysitting service project for the Carron's so they could attend the Adult Conference that evening.

After about 40 minutes she felt good enough to get dressed. She got dizzy and sat back down on the floor and I gave her more liquids. She asked for her makeup bag, and promptly began putting on her makeup--sans mirror. I smiled and told her she was pretty amazing: probably the only female I know that is brave enough to put on makeup without a mirror. And it looked pretty good!

She forgot her sandals, so I took off mine and let her wear them and carried the soccer cleats to the car barefoot as she bravely walked in to the meeting. She ended up being fine and had a good time babysitting.

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!

The Quakies that I just LOVE!

The White Birch that I had to settle for, but equally as pretty.

It is so pretty this morning. Coolish, and looking out the window you can see evidence that fall is coming. I know this is Southern California, but we still do get the seasons, just not as 'pronounced' as other places!

When we built the house and landscaped, I naively told the landscaper that I wanted Quaking Aspens all over the yard. I was pretty insistent. He was kind enough not to laugh at me as he explained they wouldn't grow here. I was so disappointed. But he came back the next visit with some great news: we could plant white birch that would have a similar look and feel. I was thrilled. Well I didn't get them all over the yard, but I do have 5 of them! And they are just beginning to 'yellow'. The Liquid Ambers (which I also LOVE), are still green, but have touches of the orange and purple on the outside of the leaves. These are my Fall trees that I love so much. You can tell our house from way at the beginning of the street in the fall and winter when their leaves change and fall off. Now the landscaper was wise, and he talked us into having Camphor and Carrotwoods too so we do have some green year round.

Soccer is at 12:30 today, and then a youth lunch and fireside with Brad Wilcox. Then this evening we have the Ward Adult Conference. Several workshops and then concluding speaker, Brad Wilcox. It is usually pretty nice. Just for the adults of the ward, with dinner, and workshops, etc. The Activities Committee does a good job.

I'll check in later with a recap of the day.

Misc.

Well, it's 10:40pm and I'm trying to stay awake while I'm waiting for Christine to come home from babysitting. She is at the Green's tonight. Tomorrow she will tend at the Carron's. She probably won't be home until around mid-night tonight. I have always been more of a night person. I like the quiet and stillness at night and I get a lot done then. Duff is the opposite. He can't stay asleep past 6am for anything and can fall asleep in 10 seconds, but tonight I'm having kind of a hard time staying up. Maybe it's because it's starting to get dark so much earlier these days.

The 'newly' engaged couple is downstairs watching tv, and I'm also trying to stay awake to 'discreetly' chaperone. They are a cute couple. Adrianne and I worked on the wedding reception arrangements some more today. She has picked her colors: black with baby blue with accents of silver and white. VERY pretty for a winter wedding. Bridesmaids dresses very darling. Good for all body types and one that can be worn again. My sister, Sue, will do the flowers. She came down from Utah and did them for Josh and Mere's wedding and they were ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Even the photographer wanted to know who did the flowers because he said they were some of the BEST he's ever seen and he sees a lot of them. She sure has a talent for that and it is 'just' one of her hobbies. So they will be perfect and of course, reasonable!

Gwen will come from Arizona and help do all the food. She is so good at that. Adrianne has her folder of wedding gown pictures and we are calling Patti tomorrow to set up an evening next week to show her and see if she is available to make it. (Patti is Meredith's mom who is a fantastic seamstress. She made Mere's gown and it was breathtaking. She also made the patterns and helped my mom with my bridesmaid dresses when I got married......) So things are moving along.

When Duff got home from work and found out Chris was booked for the evening, he suggested we go out for dinner. "You betcha!" was my answer. We went to Wood Ranch. It was delish, as Rachael Ray would say. He got BBQ ribs and I got the BBQ chicken. So yummy. They give you so much we have dinner for tomorrow too!

I got 9 more pages done in Shaun's scouting scrapbook today. It is almost there! This has been 1/2 finished for 3 years now. I have been trying to finish all my unfinished projects since I've been home from Utah. I am motivated because I have Christmas presents I need to finish for the upcoming holidays. I am more of a subject scrapbooker than a chronological scrapbooker.

Christine and I were driving home from soccer practice and she looked over at me and declared: "Mom, you realize that in two months I will be an official teenager!" (13). Okay, yes I realized that. But the next part really caught me off guard: "And two years from now I will have my learners permit and can drive." Now I'm NOT prepared for that. That makes me feel old, and I'm really not old yet. (Even though some days I may feel like I'm getting a tad-bit older...)

We've been praying for Taylor today. He is my cousin's son. They rushed him to American Fork hospital yesterday and they couldn't do anything for him and had him taken up to Primary Children's Hospital. He is having a lot of stomach pain and they can't find out why, only that he is bleeding. We are pretty spread out on my mom's side of the family, but have a good communication 'tree' to get the word out on things like this. I'm in charge of the temples in California and called today and had his name added to all the prayer rolls. We hope the doctors have some answers in the morning.

Whiff, whiff. OH! Adrianne just pulled a peach pie from the oven she made for Mike. I think I will have to go down and have a bite. Just what I DON'T need at 11pm. The smell is so 'fallish'. I may have to look into making an apple crisp on Sunday! Well, this will help me stay awake for a while longer!

Sleep tight.

Thursday....

Well, it's been a busy day so far just leading from one thing to another. Very warm, but they say the marine layer should return tonight. That means a kind of foggy state that will burn off in the morning. But it brings cooler temperatures and humidity.

I had a presidency meeting last night. I am so grateful for good counselors and friends. Here I had been gone from Primary for 3 weekends and last weekend was stake conference, but they kept everything humming nice and smoothly. It was nice to reconnect and plan for the Sacrament Program. It will be the last weekend in October. It is already written, parts are assigned, and we are ready to practice! So after Duff went to work and Christine to school, I got on Primary loose ends and tidied that up.

Then on to laundry. Mondays and Thursdays you will find me doing laundry.

Got all the flower pots good and watered. Adrianne kept them all alive for me while I was gone. Good Job Adrianne!! The wisteria climbing up the patio covers, the geraniums, and all my herbs. I LOVE the herbs and I'm a sucker for geraniums. I have thyme, sage, mint, chives, and basil growing this year. They work better for me in pots instead of in the garden. I feel like Martha Stewart or Paula Deen growing my herbs. They smell so good and I love to go out and cut them off and bring them in the house to use.

Dinner is in the crock-pot. A good old standby of chicken that we will have with some rice, cooked carrots, and a salad. I'll have to submit it to the food-blog.

As I was folding clothes, I turned on the tv to see the end of Martha (it comes on at 2pm here). I'll have to go to Macy's and check out her new stuff. It looks fun. But then Oprah came on right after. I'm not particularly a huge Oprah fan, but I left it on because the Goldmans, Denise Brown, and the lawyers in the O.J. trial were her guests and this was huge here for us in 1994-5. My sister's husband used to be an LA police officer and was good friends with Mark Fuhrmann the police officer who was so involved in the murder case.

The topic they were discussing was about a book to be published detailing the murders, but the thing that really got me was to see all their anger, pain, and revenge. Let me qualify this by saying: I have never had a loved one brutally murdered. I can't imagine it or the loss it would create. But it was interesting to see the rage they still felt. Oprah was patient, and then she asked if they had been able in 13 years to find any kind of 'peace'. They responded no, and felt insulted that she thought they could ever have any.

I've thought about that a lot this afternoon. The ability to find 'peace' in one's life through all the trials and adversities. Most of us will never have a murder occur in our families. But how do I do at finding peace in the other kinds of hard times? And we've had our share! I don't know that I'm always very good at it, or that I have a foolproof formula. But I do think that one can be at some place of 'peace'. I think it is a process that we go through each time and every time is a different path to get there. Sometimes we don't stay there and slip back and have to start over again. We can't do it 'alone' either. We have to turn to a Higher Source. Hmmmmmm.........

Miguel (our wonderful gardner) brought us a dozen, yes 12, large avocados this morning. When ever his wife, Maria, goes 'south', she brings back avocados for us. They are SOOOOO yummy. We just love avocados--all of us!

Christine got a frantic call from Julie Smith to come and help her. So I ran her over for a couple of hours. She will still have plenty of time to finish her homework. The Smith's are a cute family in our ward and neighborhood who have 4 boys 5 years old and under. The twins just turned 5 and started kindergarten, then there is a 3 year old and an 11 month old. The Smith's married later, and couldn't have a famiy for a long time, so when they finally started having children they said they had to make up for lost time! Well, I guess so! Christine is one of her 'mother's helpers'. It is a GREAT paying job for a 12 year old. She has one set day a week after school and then 'on call'. She also tends for them on the weekends. She is a very good babysitter. She has a bag with a 'kit' in it, and takes her SafeSitter certification with her when she 'works'. That was the BEST training class!

Well, I'm off to get dinner on the table and then work some more on one of Shaun's scrapbooks. Now I am NOT a die-hard scrapbooker like my sister, Lisa and cousin, Kristin. They go to conventions, etc. I'm rather plain, but try to get it in a book and something journaled by it.

Later--

Tupperware

Since we got home from Utah last week, I have been cleaning out the vacated college kids rooms, bathrooms, and closets. It feels soooo wonderful. They are clean and stay clean all day. It felt like a victory to take the trash bag downstairs and outside to the garbage can. Now I don't want to imply that they are dirty, messy kids--you moms know what I mean. The 'stuff' just seems to collect and not make it to the round file.

My goal was to finish the upstairs before moving to the downstairs. But one day when I was putting the clean dishes away, I came upon the 'tupperware' cupboard. In my house, the 'tupperware' (which is what we call all the plastic-ware for some reason, whether it be truly tupperware, rubbermaid, glad or ziploc...) just gets shoved in the cupboard. It seems I am constantly reminding to please stack it nicely and keep it organized, to which no one does. Since we had so many home for the summer, I quit fighting it, and just joined in the shoving, closing the door swiftly in hopes that none of it would fall out.

Well, the house was calm and silent and I decided now was the time to do it! So I pulled everything out, matched it all up with a lid (and if it didn't have a lid or a lid didn't have a container it was thrown out), and reorganized it. I was kind of surprised at how much didn't match and I threw away. Still plenty to keep though. Now all the lids are stacked in an organizer in order, and all the round containers are together, and all the square/rectangle containers are together. All the colanders of various sizes, and the salad spinner. I moved all the plastic glasses up with the glass ones. I used to keep them low so when Christine was a toddler she could get her own glass for a drink without climbing on the counter. Well, she is 12 now. She's been able to reach the glass cupboard for several years already! The family is still trying to get used to that move and I hear groans when they go for a glass, but they'll get there!

This morning when I washed up the breakfast dishes, I put the leftover pancake batter in a 'tupperware' and closed and opened the cupboard again just to admire my work and rejoice that it has stayed that way for at least one week---so far!

9/11

Today is the anniversary of 9/11/01 when our country was viciously attacked. I don't think anyone who experienced it in any way--by tv, radio, newspaper or in person--is the same.

It was interesting: Christine had an assignment last night to write a paper on her feelings of 9/11 and what she remembered. She had me proof it before she printed it out and I was surprised to read what she did remember and how she felt then and now. She had just started 1st grade. I thought she might be too young to have 'really' picked up on much. Boy was I wrong!

We had just been home a week from taking Natalie back to BYUI and Josh was fresh home from his mission and getting settled in at BYU. We got up that morning, Shaun went to seminary and Christine was eating breakfast. Duff walked her to the bus-stop and was home really fast that morning and yelled for me in the kitchen and ran in and turned on the TV. The first plane had just hit the first tower. Everything stopped. I was washing the breakfast dishes. I don't think I ever went back to them until that night.

We immediately called all the older kids and none of them had heard about it yet. We agreed to all find a place individually and pray. That was the only thing anybody could do. I remember I felt very insecure that my family was spread out all over the place and not together. I wonder if that's how every mother felt. A mother hen wanting to protect her chicks.

Commentary was going on tv and then suddenly the truly unbelievable happened. The 2nd plane crashed the other tower. I don't think ANY one could believe what our eyes were seeing. Reports started coming in about other hijackings and shortly the Pentagon was hit. Then we learned about the brave people who helped to purposely crash the last plane into a field in Pennsylvania so it wouldn't hit another target.

In the chaos of all this, the 2nd tower groaned and in a matter of seconds this landmark of a building imploded to the ground. Smoke, dust, fire, ashes, everywhere. Screaming, people jumping out of windows. It looked like one of those controlled collapses they do when they tear down buildings that can't be used anymore. Then the 1st tower followed in the same way. I remember thinking: not both of them?!

Can I tell you how terrible it was, and yet we kind of felt guilty because we were feeling blessed. Duff traveled that SAME flight out of Boston to LA regularly! He could have been on that plane! As it was, he stayed in that Marriott hotel right across the street from the Twin Towers when he would go to NY. He worked with many people in those towers and did business there. So did our good friend and neighbor Brett Koelliker. Some of those business acquaintances were gone before our eyes.

We fly a lot. There is never a flight where I don't think about 9/11 in a brief way. All the changes in air travel. I am grateful for the bit of inconvenience. It reminds me of our freedom. How precious it is. How I get up everyday and usually take it for granted. How I need to do better. How my mom's parents left their German homeland to come here for it so their posterity could be blessed with it.

Everyone has a story about where they were and how they felt on 9/11, kind of like those of us who remember when President Kennedy was shot or Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Well, this is my second post on a blog that I'm still not quite sure I know how to use, but I wanted to write down my feelings and what I remembered for a journal entry. (I hope I push the right button so it posts and I don't delete it.)

Oh My Gosh!

Did I actually figure this out? I'm so NOT good on the computer! Okay--testing, testin, 1-2-3...