Seminary Is Almost Over

I have one more day of seminary for this year. Maybe then I'll remember to take the time to write all the things that have been going on around here. We had an auction today which was lots of fun, as always, but not so much fun for those who didn't earn much money. That was probably only one or two students, thankfully. Everyone else went to town. Top seller was a real lasso from one of the girls, it was nice and used, too (super dirty). The second top seller was a bag of candy, which was the last of what was in our treasure chest. The oldest candy was from Easter, not too bad,but if it's still in there, well...no one really wanted it. That was Willie Wonka Krispy Eggs and little packs of Twizzlers. The other top sellers . . Sunny D., Fiddle Faddle and popcorn. Those boys are always hungry. There were squirt guns, a real grenade that had been drilled out, a remote control car, a T-shirt that was from "Monopoly" that had the picture of the cop and said, "Go To Jail", and just a bunch of stuff. We always get a kick out of it. We had some wealthy people because some had not used up all their money from the Christmas Auction. I will miss this group and I am glad I will most likely get to do this again next year.

Violet Louise Glaus and My Grandchildren

I just got back from spending a few weeks with Joy as she awaited the birth of their daughter, Violet. I enjoyed very much everthing I got to do there. Oliver woke up on the first morning after I came, which was before Violet was born, and through the monitor I heard him say, "New baby." He was so aware of what was going on. Even though he wanted to do everything himself ("I do it!"), he was very patient with Grandma. What a sweet boy, but he is 2, so lookout world.

Violet is very beautiful and Joy and Nate did so great through it all. I was sorry to come home, but we all need to get on with our lives. Here a few pictures of our little Violet.

Each and every grandchild, whether newborn or 14, is very special to me and each is unique. I picture their faces, hear their voices in my mind, see their expressions and wonder what they are doing each day. I think of their talents, too and wonder what life will bring for them. The heart's capacity to love is amazing. I should not be surprised that I feel this way about them--even if I had 50 grandchildren I would know each and every one of them and feel connected to them. I feel that way about my children so why not all the grandchildren? It is a gift from God that we are so connected on such a deep level.

Family Pictures

It was a lot of fun getting everyone up, dressed and together the Saturday after Christmas. Brandon and Traci came the farthest and were there in plenty of time, with everyone looking so nice. At our house, we all shared bathrooms and got ready in shifts. I'm so glad that Heidi and Scott and their 3 girls were close by and, with 3 girls, I'm sure there was some scheduling of who got the bathroom when. I'm so glad that we did it.

Better Food In Schools

I put a link to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on my blog here. If you click on it you can sign his petition to the government asking for better, fresh food in the schools. I'm all for that. He did this in Great Britain and things there are so much better in the schools.

Holidays are Wonderful

Even though getting ready for Christmas can take much thought and effort, it is such a great time of year. Now we still feel in the holiday spirit around here. The spirit of family, friends and celebrating life's occurences, even the little daily ones. Whether it's Josie cutting teeth, Kelli's birthday, the deep emotions of Trent Snider's passing and the wisdom it brings to us, or working in the garden, it's all part of our life's experience and as Brigham Young said, "At least you are having experiences." Some we like more than others.

MIssing Beer and," Where are we going? Why?"

There is no doubt that Esther's short-term memory is going. The other day we returned all her alcohol to her--she didn't forget that it was gone. She even figured out that she had been done taking the medicine that would prohibit her having alcohol. Every day for a few days she would call insisting it was time to bring it back. We had to make sure the medication was out of her system, the recommended two days. Then I brought her over 4 cans of beer. When Jerry stopped by less than an hour later, there were 1 1/2 beers left in the fridge. The next day he brought her two more. Then the next day she called us up and said we were lying to her, because she did not have any beer there, and we did not bring her as many as we said we had. Yesterday, I took her back all of the rest of her stuff (case of beer, jugs of wine, etc.). I also gave her my firm vow that we were not liars or trying to trick her, that we are straight-forward with her. I told her that if she was missing beer, she must have drank it. I then showed her the 6 empty cans under her sink. SILENCE Later, after our errand, she commented that I hadn't brought her any beers at all, that right after I left she went and looked in the fridge and it was empty. Oh well. I left all her alcohol that I returned out, for her to put away, that way she might remember what she has. She did not agree that she could be forgetting anything. I am glad she's so feisty.

Autumn brings Thanksgiving

The leaves are turning colors on the trees, and that makes me think of Thanksgiving time. I have so many things to be thankful for. Especially for Jerry and all of my family, my kids and their spouses, and the beautiful grandchildren.

I'm thankful for good friends, and our sweet "best" friend, Rosie. She's snoozing away right now and it's only 9 a.m., but hey, she's been up a few hours.

I'm thankful to live here in this great country where we are so blessed.