My Day!

I keep thinking that I need to write something on this blog but my life really isn't that interesting. I'm NOT complaining at all......I have learned that boring is a good thing.

But I did have a good day today. I haven't been in a cleaning mood for many months now and one finally hit me today! Our bedroom is a disaster! So I went to town........it's still not finished but it will be tomorrow. I couldn't believe the dust in here, I'm sure it was half an inch high! I did my wall unit today so tomorrow I'll get dad's in order. And I need to dust the window sills. They are especially bad. Bored yet?

Dad and I were getting ready to go to the gym tonite when I got a call from Cheryl. She's a young mother in our ward with cancer. I'm the compassionate service leader in our ward and I'm in charge of making sure that Cheryl is being taken care of. It's been a great experience for me on many levels. Getting to know Cheryl has been a blessing. Her courage is remarkable. I'm not sure I could handle what she's going through with the same grace as she. It's not just that I've never seen her without a smile.......there's something else but I'm not sure what it is. I do admire her and have really learned to love her. The women in our ward have been great. I usually have three meals a week going into Cheryl's home. I would say that 95% of the time, these women thank me for calling and giving them an opportunity to serve! WOW. I've done this calling before and it was like pulling teeth trying to get people to take a meal to someone. So it's been a true example of love and kindness to me. Makes me think of the scripture, "In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these.....ye have done it unto Me". I have to admit that I have never thanked someone for asking me to take a meal to a family in need! So it's been a good lesson for me.

Anyway, she called and told me she was going to enrichment tonite. Her husband works nights so it meant taking three kids with her. She had mentioned earlier in the week that she wanted to go but the thought of taking three kids on her own was hard. I told her that I'd go with her if she decided to go. So instead of gym, I went to enrichment with Cheryl. I have to tell you here that this is only the third time I've gone in the four years we've been in this ward!

Well, both Cheryl and I had a great time. The meeting was on service. Everyone wrote down a service that they were willing to do on an index card. All the cards were put in a jar and we sat in a circle taking turns picking a card from the jar. They did it like we do our white elephant gifts. You could either choose a new one or steal someone else's. There was everything from a meal, to cleaning, to babysitting, to homemade Christmas cards! My service was to make a dessert.....the bishop's wife got it. So this Sunday I'm making their dessert. I'm getting a carrot cake from a gal in our ward who got the recipie from a professional chef. She can bring me the cake but isn't allowed to share the recipie. Well, I make a dang good carrot cake so I'm looking forward to seeing if it's as good as mine! It'll be fun.

When we were coming home the lightening was all around us! It was so pretty! So, you know me, I had to come home and take a picture of it! It took a bit of doing but I did manage to get some pictures! So that's what I'm posting tonite.

Anyway, I'm thankful today for good examples! And I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve in the relief society. I love the Lord. Have a great day!

126 Sleeps Until Christmas!

It's 12:35am. I went right to sleep but then woke up and had to go "potty". Now I'm wide awake. If it were Friday night I'd be able to wake dad up to keep me company! Actually, if it were Friday night, I'd just be going to bed!

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday so I'll do it now. I had a great day. Sarah called first thing in the morning. We didn't get to talk long but it was nice to hear her voice. Then I called her back last night. So we had a good visit.

Later in the morning, Clare called. So I got to talk to her, Cheska, and Nathan. I even heard Lolli in the background! Plus we did the webcam thing and Clare sent me some more pictures! I love when that happens!

I managed to get Nathan to at least think about coming home for Christmas. I wish money didn't always have to be such an issue. It's so much cheaper to have them come before Christmas.........but I WANT CHRISTMAS! With all my kids! Sarah and Jon could probably come for Christmas because that's when Jon's leave is. Seth worries that Barb will be to pregnant so doesn't want to risk it.........besides, we'll be there after the birth of their baby. I'm going to work this out! Come hell or high water this is going to work! I hope. Do you guys realize there's only 126 sleeps until Christmas?!!! Wouldn't it be great to all be together this year...........along with Cheska and Lolli!!! Let's make it happen.

I love you all!

Dinner at the Chinese Cultural Center

Today we all met at the Chinese Cultural Center and had dinner at the buffet there. Dad ate frog legs and duck! Theresa and Valerie tried a clam. Sam decided that he couldn't eat anything that still looked like it did before it died. Chris enjoyed his sushi. And I played it safe and stuck with tried and true dishes! We had alot of fun being together. It seems like these times are getting fewer and farther between. A great time was had by all!

My Dad

This past Tuesday my dad had surgery. The carodid artery in his neck was more than 80% blocked. So they made an incision from behind his ear down to his collar bone. Poor dad! They opened the artery and cleaned it out, then stitched it together again. The doctor said he was a stroke waiting to happen. He was suppose to go home yesterday but he was having trouble swallowing and then he felt like he was struggling to breathe. So they put him on steroids and kept him another day. He should be going home (they are summering in Richvale,Utah) this morning. Mom sent me a picture of his battle wound so I'll post it with this blog. Anyway, please keep him and my mom in your prayers. Get better, dad! I love you.

Our Las Vegas Trip

Our trip to Vegas was so great. We had a really good time. We have decided that flying is the only way to go. It's faster for us to fly to Vegas than drive to Theresa's or Val's! Anyway, it was nice to get there so fast. When we got our car, we got an upgrade because I'm a travel agent! We went from a compact to a mid-size car for the same price. When we got our hotel, we got an upgrade because I'm a travel agent! We went from a standard room to a room on the corner which is not only bigger but has windows on two sides, and a jacuzzi tub. It was great! We also used my concierge service for all sorts of stuff.........to see if our flight was on time, how do we get from here to there, where is a Walmart. Sounds dumb but we loved it!

Friday night we went to a show and saw "American Superstars". It was so fun, and we had front row seats! We saw Elvis, Tim McGraw, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, and a couple others that I can't come up with right now! My favorite was Michael Jackson. I love watching him perform. He was a great entertainer! We sat next to a family from South Africa and had a nice visit with them before the show. After the show we went to Eldon's hotel room and visited with his family for a bit.

Our hotel room was on Freemont St. so we also watched the lights that first night. We barely made the last show! It was great. They had the whole thing to the song, "Bye Bye Miss. American Pie". We loved it. The light show is the reason we stay on Freemont and we only saw two shows the whole time we were there. Sad.

On Saturday morning we decided to have breakfast on our own so we went downstairs thinking we'd eat somewhere on Freemont St. They had a breakfast for $5.99 or a breakfast buffet for $6.49. We had already decided no buffets but then thought maybe we should because they would have fresh fruit. So we went for the buffet only to find out that it was now $11.99 because it was Saturday! Long story short, we went to the main strip and ended up not eating until after 11am and sharing a sub at Subway! We now know where Val gets her indecisivness from! Sorry Val.....it's your dad!

After "brunch" we decided to walk the strip. It was HOT but fun. I thought I did ok but I think I ended up with a touch of heatstroke. When we met everyone for dinner I hadn't eaten since subway and I felt like I was going to throw up and or pass out. So dad and I went and sat down rather than stand in line with everyone else. Cheri got me a drink (she had to threaten a waitress) and that made me feel alot better. So I think I was dehydrated. By the time we got our table I was much better but not feeling like a buffet. I did get one plate of food and did eat it.

But by then I was working on this horrible headache. I managed to stick it out for a couple of hours then had dad take me back to the hotel. We did have a great time there though. It's always fun being at dinner with Eldon and Cheri! I wish we could have had more time there.

Sunday we slept in until after eleven and freaked out because we were suppose to be out of the hotel by noon! Met the gang at Eldon't convention center and had a pot-luck lunch. That was fun. We said good-bye to Cheri and Jim (those crazy people drove). Then Eldon went back to class and we took Carol and Chevy to the Fashion Mall............where we watched a fashion show! Then back to their hotel. When Eldon got back they all went swimming and dad and I took a nap. After that we said our good-byes and left. Had dinner, returned the car, and sat at the airport for two hours waiting for our plane. Got home after 2am. Thank goodness dad had the day off because we slept till 11am again! Anyway, we had a good time! Thanks Theresa for staying with Sam and driving him all over hell's half acre!

Arizona Monsoon Sunset!

Lately I have been so into clouds and sunsets! They are just so beautiful. They always have been but now that I have a decent camera, I just seem more aware of them.....or at least more aware of capturing them.

This picture was taken last night around 7pm, just before the sunset. It looked like we were going to get a much needed storm but we didn't. Other parts of the valley did, but we were passed by. Oh well, maybe next time.

The picture doesn't do it justice. Like snowflakes, I've discovered that no two clouds are alike. There was so much red in the sky last night, it was incredible! I love the beauty that surrounds us. We are so blessed.

Have an awsome day!

Nathan & Lolli

Lolli-gag

My Morning With Nathan & Lolli-pop!

Just a quick blurb (is that even a word?). I got a call from Nathan this morning and he was home babysitting Lolli. He called to see if I wanted to see her on the webcam.....DUH! Of course I did! Anyway, it was so fun watching her. She's growing so fast and it made me miss her and Cheska. Lolli is rolling over, and getting up on her hands and knees and trying to crawl! It's the cutest thing. She seems so strong to me. And CUTE......I've never seen a more cute baby (other than my own!). Her hair seems to be growing in nicely.....no more bald spots that I could see. I even got to talk to her on the phone. She smiled so big for me. Then when Nathan took the phone away, she started grabbing for it! My head is swelling!
I'm hoping that when we get some more ram put in this computer that I'll be able to post some more pictures of Lolli. I'll try with this post but it may or may not work.
And of course, it's always nice seeing how proud her daddy is of her! Nathan is a wonderful dad. I always knew he would be. This afternoon he was going to take Lolli to her aunt's and then take Cheska and three other kids to the science center. He loves that stuff!
That 20 minutes made my day! Thanks, Nathan.
Dad and I are getting excited for Vegas! Only three more sleeps! Dad is so in need of some time off and away from Honeysmell.......or Honeyhell and he calls it.
That's it for now. I love you guys!

Theresa To The Rescue

This was a fun week-end for me. Especially Saturday. I went to a World Ventures convention all day.......from 9am-3pm. I went with Heather and her parents. I learned alot and hope to get this business up and running SOON!
Sam had a date with Heather's daughter Amilyn that afternoon. So.....poor Theresa gave up her Saturday morning to sleep in so that I could drop Sam off at her house on my way to Heather's. I just couldn't see driving all the way to Mesa in the am, just to go home, pick Sam up and drive him back. Also, that way Amilyn didn't have to drive all the way to Tolleson.
Sam had a great day because Theresa and him spent most of the day together. They always have a good time messing around.
Then instead of driving home just to turn around again to pick Sam up, I stayed with Theresa most of the evening! I'm sure Theresa is familyed-out!
After Sam left I offered to take her to dinner. Well, both of us are dieting so she had other plans. Instead we went to the fruit market to get stuff for a stir-fry. The market was packed! I'm sure we spent half an hour in line! But it was well worth it. We went back to her place and she made me an incredible stir-fry. I told her it rivaled dad's......he makes an awsome stir-fry. The jury is out as far as who's is best! After dinner we talked, laughed, and watched u-tube videos.
Thanks Theresa, for a great evening.