Yesterday was a full day! I got up and went to exercise. Then David and I went to meet Christian, Leslie, Britt and Annika at the Lightrail to go over to the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix to see the Body World exhibit. Actually, David and I weren't going to go into the exhibit because it was too expensive and we had seen the exhibit several years earlier in NYC, but we were allowed to enter the Science Center on Leslie's membership and then we got a senior citizen discount and so it ended up costing us only $23. Since Lynn had given us $50 for lunch yesterday, we figured we had enough money to go in and spend more time with some people that we dearly love.

It was really lots of fun. The exhibit was amazing (though kind of crowded since it is Spring Break), and a bit "newer-looking" than the exhibit we saw in New York. (Small bits hadn't fallen to the bottom of the case enclosing the object being exhibited as we sometimes saw in NYC.) But it was all absolutely fascinating - even the second time around. And it was lots of fun sharing it with Christian and family. After we came out, Leslie shared the picnic lunch she had packed. It was perfect. Apples, cheese, carrot sticks, trail mix, grapes, blackberries, bananas, and peanut butter pretzels with nutella to dip them in! (Just enough for us all to have 2 or 3 pretzels each - but Britt cleaned the nutella container out with her finger and licking it off after we were all through. A girl after my own heart!)

Since David and I hadn't really planned to see Body World, we thought we would be home in plenty of time to get ready for the temple. We realized we would have to hurry to get there in time if we left right away. Christian and Leslie and Annika wanted to stay and do more Science Center. Britt decided to come home with us.

There is a billboard sign that we could see when riding the light rail that says, "Save the date." (picture of little box with check in it) "Christ is coming, May 21, 2011"
Who told them? Is President Monson keeping a secret from us, but telling other people? Yeah, right! Well, I expect to be around then. I wouldn't mind it at all if Jesus Christ came then and I'm sure there are a lot of people who would be very glad to see him.

David and I got home just barely in time to get ready. He really needed a haircut to look all neat and tidy for the temple, but there just wasn't time. (Don't worry, he looked all handsome and dignified in his "temple whites.") I sure like working in the baptistry. It just feels so good to be there and our coordinators - Bro. and Sis. Agle - are such great people. I just love it! We got home, got into our jammies and fell asleep in our recliners. We woke up and went to bed some time before midnight.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

This day is significant for a better reason, however. It is Anna Christine's birthday. She would be 30 years old today. Can you believe it?

It has been a good day. David and I went over to Glendale to pick up a commissions check and then we went to lunch (thanks to Lynn Cash). When we got home, we got a floral delivery. It was a gorgeous bouquet in pinks in honor of Anna Christine from her little sister, Anna Joy. I was touched and pleased and overwhelmed.

I had to take pictures of the bouquet and post them on my blog so everyone could see them (especially you, Anna!) I love them!

Notice the butterfly decoration?
These pink baby roses are just beautiful! And the pink lily and the little pink tiger lily with all the baby's breath compliment them so perfectly.
This shot is to show you what it looks like altogether (from one angle).
Here it is from another side. (The Gerber daisies are really a deep pink-red, not the scarlet color that they appear to be on this blog.)

Wow! Weeks fly by!! And I have nothing to say right now but I am really tired and am going to bed now. I love you all.
I'm grateful to have a bed. And I'm grateful for pain killers. Nothing beets 'em when you really need 'em.

Poor Me!

Don't get excited. I haven't actually come back from the dead (although that's pretty close to how I feel - with a few question marks after "come back"). I am sick of having messed up sinuses and a shoulder that doesn't really work and has to be babied. I've been on an emotional roller coaster with David's heart problems and have dug into some questions about my mother. I cry at the drop of a hat and that keeps my sinuses inflamed and sore.

I feel like I can complain here because nobody ever looks here because I never write anything.

Maybe tomorrow I will start a gratitude blog.

Repentance and Redemption

So we sent to church in Cecily's ward yesterday because Cecily and Jason were Mary and Joseph in the sharing time nativity scene and Cecily sang a Christmas lullaby. She, Arinda, and Saylem were also in the ward choir that performed in Sacrament Meeting.

Tressa was kind of wild until Jason took her out, but after that she was very good and even WHISPERED. She and Treyjen actually shared a little pocket comb/mirror and said "please" and "thank you" (AFTER they grabbed it away from the other person, made them angry, and were instructed to "give it back." They were then prompted to ask nicely and prompted to share.) They actually did it! Hooray for them for being so good!

The Destroying Angel

Today Tressa came over! Whew, I'm exhausted already. We went over to Muriel's so the Cecily's girls could help her arrange her Christmas Village.

"Oh, don't you look just like princess," Muriel said.

"Well, she may look like a princess," I said, "but she is a destroyer on two legs."

She runs around creating messes, disassembling , and scattering things. And she is especially quick at doing these things if it is something she knows she shouldn't touch or has been told, "no-no". Cecily told me that last night after she had been put to bed and Cecily had gone to bed too, she got up, took of all her clothes, climbed out of bed, took a blue marker and wrote all over the floor, doors, and walls in the hall and then jumped on Saylem and Treyjen who were in their beds and asleep and woke them up because she wanted to play with them.

Doesn't that picture of her at the top of the page look like she is extremely gratified because she got away with doing something she was told not to?
Most of the time she looks angelic. Looks can be deceiving.

Cecily has been asked to play Mary, the mother of Jesus for church this Sunday and sing "Mary's Lullaby." She needs to have a "Mary" costume. So we were trying to make that costume when she came over today. Cecily laid down on the floor so I could draw on the fabric where I needed to cut it to make the costume. Cecily and I thought it was extremely silly and we were laughing so hard I could barely take the picture. We took these pictures for you Anna. We knew you would appreciate it. (Can you tell Ces is laughing?)

Merry Christmas!!

I just want to recognize that this holiday season is about, for, and in reverence to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for His love and sacrifice for us and for God’s love for us. I spent the past week preparing a talk for sacrament meeting about God’s Love and crying tears of gratitude that I am getting quite dehydrated. I am glad that I am past the public delivery part, but I am so grateful and never want to get past the gratitude.

I know that very few people ever look at my blog (probably because I haven’t been good at keeping it updated and most people don’t know I even have one or much care to read my random ramblings) so I decided to write a Christmas Letter.

David and I are just glad to be alive. We both had surgery recently and have had a much harder time trying to recover than either one of us expected. It has changed our lives considerably and we both hope that the changes aren’t permanent. And yes, we still love each other very much, in spite of the fact that our “discussions” sometimes get very impassioned and loud. But I think that most of our family is used to that. We’ve been doing that for about forty years (last June we celebrated our 40^th Wedding Anniversary). David’s mother Eilene died last month. It is hard to see the passing of those we love, but she was ready to go and rejoin her husband Victor, whom she missed terribly. Funerals aren’t quite so sad when the person being honored had a life well lived. That was very true of Eilene.

Christian and Leslie are doing well. They sometimes bemoan the fact that when you’re capable and responsible, you don’t get a lot of sympathy or help. I’m sure that’s true, but I want them to know that they have a lot of appreciation and respect coming from us. Christian often feels that the “church work” is endlessly long. I told him once that I expected he would be dragged to the Celestial Kingdom kicking and screaming. Their girls are doing well. Britt is 15 now and a sophomore at Mesa High, excelling academically and an absolutely lovely person to be around. The same can be said about Annika (except for the sophomore and 15 part since she is in Junior High and 13). She loves performing and always has her nose in a book. Kaisa (age 10 and also lovely) is being homeschooled this year so she spends most of her time with Mom and Sofia. Sofia is 4 and a cutie. She constantly comes up with interesting observations and totally unique ways of expressing them. They are all wonderful and I could write volumes on each person – which time and space prohibit.

Greg and Jen are living in Florence, Arizona. And No, they aren’t in prison. There are things in Florence other than the state prison, and it has been growing so fast, they keep dividing the wards every other month (well, almost). Their ward was just divided and Jen now constitutes the whole remaining Primary Presidency. Greg has been working on his Master’s Degree and has had to give up sleeping in order to fit everything in. Danny and Hunter are getting bigger (and Hunter especially taller) and along with Jilly (2) keep their parents hopping. The girls (Kendall, Madison and Hana) live with their mom during the week and come to Florence on weekends. I often wish they lived closer, but I’m sure they are where they ought to be.

Cecily and Jason live in Gilbert (Only about 10 miles from Mesa) and just got back from a vacation to Disneyland. Cecily is pretty much “Superwoman” but cannot see how that could possibly be, because she has no actual “ super powers” and has to do things the old fashioned way of mere mortals. Arinda, Saylem, Treyjen, and Tressa are wonderful, unique and interesting people and lots of fun. Our whole family enjoys the extra effort Jason has made this past year to spend more time with us and we really enjoy his company.

Joel is still alive. His house caught fire on Easter morning, but no one was hurt. He now has a new house (the inside, at least) that he is enjoying much more than he did the old one. I hope that is not too much information for me to give out. I made a serious mistake several years ago in writing a Christmas letter (that I never sent) when I said some things I shouldn’t have about Joel . He never forgave me and still distrusts me to this day.

Anna and Nate are still living in Manhattan. Anna is living the dream, living and dancing in NEW YORK CITY (and wherever else they travel to). She is a member of the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company and enjoys it very much. Nate is an excellent trumpet player and works a lot, but Anna doesn’t seem to know much about what he is doing. My best source of information about Nate is his dad. Steve Botts usually knows the details about his son’s career and is very willing to talk about him. Hmmm. I guess I should have called him before I wrote this. Then I would have something to write.

I love my family, but often miss the old days when all my children were under one roof. I really enjoy all the additions to our family since then and wouldn’t want to give them up. Wouldn’t it be great to have EVERYBODY living in my house? (I’m afraid we’d all go crazy!)

Christmas letters make me very nervous anymore. I’m afraid I’ll say the wrong thing. I love you and hope you have had a good year and wish you the best in the coming year (Oh yeah, and David does too!).