Greetings 2012

Trailings...

Jordan came home and I stopped keeping a regular journal. That's not good! So, I hunker down in front of this white screen and..........nothing. E.B. White once said, “Even now, this late in the day, a blank sheet of paper holds the greatest excitement there is for me — more promising than a silver cloud, and prettier than a red wagon.” Of course those are the words of a gifted writer and I am more readily employed as a grateful reader, so those profound words become magic for me only after the writer has done his job and I open up the once blank sheets of paper and magically find eloquently printed words--those are papers silver linings to me. I suppose that is because the authors side of the art requires skill and hard work and the readers side only requires appreciation for those toils and gifts. 

Still, council from prophets is serious motivation for me. And, when I put my back into it, journaling is deeply therapeutic and emotionally clarifying. Memory assurance is also a vital bonus, so I will force myself to sit here until the cobwebs clear and either blue skies or sunlight breaks through......................................................................................................................... Maybe I should start writing short, daily entries. Small mind--small contribution. Maybe tomorrow.

Lists and Calendaring are always a good place to start.

Since Nov. 12th (last posting):

--Fred went to a business convention in New Orleans: He said it made Las Vegas look like a family affair. He was scared for his life a few times, had to keep his eyes down most of the time and was glad to finally get home. While he was their one of the vendors was holding a drawing to give away the 50" flat panel television they were using for their demonstrations, both so they didn't have to pack it around and to drum up interest at their booth. Fred "never wins anything" so he wasn't even going to put his name in the bowl, but of course the vendor kept encouraging him (if your name is on paper they can contact you at work and try to sell you their equipment . Lo, and behold, the man called his hotel later that evening and he won it! The irony, when he called all excited, was that we didn't have a working car, but now owned a big screen t.v. that we couldn't even fit in our house! Can anyone say white trash? Needless to say I wasn't as excited as he was. But, the more I thought about it I decided to be happy for him and let him figure out all of the logistics. It didn't cost us anything and it was cheaper for the vendor to give it away then to travel with it so who am I to be stomping on dreams. Fred got home and started measuring walls and realized this house was not made for such "luxuries" and the balloon started deflating on it own. It popped the day the t.v. package arrived, with the screen shattered. UPS had Fred document all of the packaging material to evaluate if the damage was their fault or the vendors shipping negligence and they took responsibility and will replace it with an equivalent. Fred is planning on replacing it with a smaller version (one that will actually fit in our house). So he's happy and I'm glad it all seems to be working out for him. It's no red barn, but we all have different dreams.=)

--Fixed our Suburban--AGAIN: after looking at the comparable market and pondering our financial situation, we realized it was still worth more to us alive than dead, so we bit the financial bullet and brought it back home. It feels good.

--Youth Cultural Temple Celebration: Such a boon for Eden and Abrahm--not so much for the rest of us, since we weren't able to be involved. I was asked to drive, but when the suburban died they had to find a replacement--we finally got it fixed and back the evening before the celebration, but I couldn't very well grab the driving honor back from someone else so I watched from afar (well, we tried to watch, but our broadcast transmission was pretty poor and it went completely on the blink right as our stake's youth entered until right after they left the floor--so disappointing!) Mikayla signed up to set up and clean with a friend, but there was some major miscommunication and she and her friend spent most of the morning and afternoon sitting in the Taco Bell Arena security office waiting for someone to let them in--never happened and they finally gave up and came back home.

--Boise, ID Temple dedication: Sweet and uplifting...and actually a little interesting as we watched the last session and the prophet went off script and showed his age a bit. It was a little uncomfortable, but I noticed that the Spirit never left, and in fact was stronger than ever during his divergence, letting us know that no matter how human and mortal, Thomas S. Monson is still a prophet of God, and such a blessing to the youth at this time. A sweet lesson.

--Eden's 17th Birthday: It fell on a "Terrific Tuesday", but she's deeply committed to choir so we celebrated in the breaks between it and school. Fred, Eden and I had fun shopping in Bath and Body Works (her Nirvana) for her birthday date and had a very late family party. Luckily the next day was the first day of Thanksgiving break so it all worked out.

--Thanksgiving at the Ranch: Lovely--relaxing--rejuvenating (and of course chaotic, but it's easy to get away from that with good boots, a warm coat and a 1-1/2 hour walk with your hubby. It's especially nice, when Rob drives by and delivers chocolate. It was like dinner and a show--only better!=)

--Our Geo's Heater went out: In this weather that means it's not driveable before the frost clears because you can't keep the windshield un-iced, which means Fred is taking the suburban to work, which means skyrocketing gas bills and a cold car for my errands. The only explanation is that Heavenly Father must have a wry sense of humor or else our guardian angels just can't keep up with our eclectic car collection. I am trying to remain grateful, but it is starting to annoy. I am thinking of putting out a banner in front of our local bank with our account number printed in bold digits--just in case anyone else needs a little extra cash this holiday season. =)

--I had 3 Wisdom Teeth Extracted: I'm not very brave and have been trying, ever so slowly to have my problem wisdom teeth removed only when it becomes absolutely necessary. The first was taken out a few years back because it refused to fully erupt and was causing me frequent irritation. The second finally needed to come out , but when I went into the specialist for the surgery, he explained that all four teeth would eventually need to come out because with the removal of my bottom teeth the two top teeth now had no opposing surface and would eventually keep growing (not a lovely visual image). I had gone in intending to have Fred in the room with me and only have a local and nitrous (which I hate, because it makes me feel out of control). Suddenly, there was need for all three teeth to come out and now it was strongly suggested that I have intravenous anesthesia and then I was informed that Fred wasn't allowed in the room during the operation. Spontaneity is extremely stressful for me (causes all kinds of nasty, physical symptoms and emotional overload)and I burst into tears right in the waiting room--very humiliating for me and quite concerning for the staff. Fred just took it all in stride. I never did pull it all the way together. They let Fred stay until they had me all prepped and then escorted him out of the room (which I still think was unnecessary -I have no idea what hospitals were thinking years ago when you had to deliver a baby without your husband. INSANITY!) The next things I knew, I was waking up in a chair in another room and my emotions didn't feel back to "normal" until Friday night, when all of the medication apparently worked it's way out of my system. And it was no fun either! Mikayla shot a short video during the hour after I got home (promising never to post it anywhere--and I trust her!!!) It's pretty scary. I feel for poor little "David at the Dentist".

--Dec. 1 is here: The first day of all of our Christmas advents. We're opening picture books, pulling things out of pockets, lighting candles, moving stars, singing carols and all sorts of fun stuff. LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!!!

--Rod's Racing Concert: Lori invited us to a benefit concert for a cause being promoted by a young Father in Renee's ward who runs Iron Man races to earn money for international adoptions of Down Syndrome children in foreign orphanages. GREAT CAUSE! Fun concert. Perfect way to start the holiday season.

--Put up Christmas Lights: Jordan is working for a man who let Jordan buy custom lights for our house at cost. Jordan put us all to work and guided the project with his expertise and free labor and we finally lit up the front of our house around midnight on Saturday. That's been a fun dream of my kids for years, so it was nice to be able to afford that because of the generosity of someone else. That seems to keep happening for us. People are kind.

--Mikayla's 1st Stake Pres. interview: Mission papers are in to the stake and Mikayla had her first of 2 stake president interview yesterday morning.  She's kind of gotten used to the standard interview questions and she said Pres. Evans through some big, open, ethereal kinds of questions out there that she wasn't expecting--made her really think. He's very good at that and never predictable. Keeps us on our toes and that's good for us. Her second interview is on the 23rd and than when he gives the go ahead he'll send her papers to Salt Lake. Wow! Incredible times.

--1st Pres. Christmas Devotional: For me the official opening of the Christmas Season--always helps to re-focus my goals and priorities and I need that every single year!

We are thinking about coming to the ranch to celebrate Christmas either that following weekend or on New Years Eve/day. We'd love to know what everyone else's plans are. We  have to take Mikayla and Jordan to school on the 4th so things are going to get crazy and then they are going to get much, much too quiet.=(

I just tried to attach photos at the end of this post and was informed that I am now out of photo storage space on all sites connected to my Gmail account. Just what I needed to hear. Of course I can pay more of the almighty dollar if I want more room--or I can have Mikayla figure out some alternate method (which will inevitable add more time and steps to the importing process). We'll put our heads together (mine next to hers to see if any of her excess knowledge will seep over) and put our shoulders to the will and get back to you on a solution. Until then, anyone who posts will have to send text only. Bummer!

Loves to all!

Quote of the week: "Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace." (Howard Thurman)