Visit to the Land of Snow!

On February 10, I flew to Utah to spend some time with Marlene and her cute little family. Elie and Keaton were happy to see me, but Anabelle wasn't too sure about me. By the time I left she would let me hold her and play with her. Now the next time I visit, I will probably have to start all over again. I really, really, really don't like being this far away from my children and grandchildren. Thank goodness we have telephones and computers! I love that Eliana calls me at least once a week to share things about her day.

We spent the week painting, and shopping and more shopping and decorating Marlene's new house. It is a beautiful BIG home with lots of places to decorate so we concentrated on the kitchen and family room. I made a silk flower arrangement for her and we decorated above the kitchen cabinets and found some cute things to put on her granite countertops. It was fun but went way too fast! We were going to make some curtains, but we couldn't find any decent fabric. I was so surprised that we actually have more fabric and better choices in Phoenix than they do in the Salt Lake area. What is wrong with this picture?!

One night, my brother Randy came by for dinner as well as James from BYU. We had a good meal of Navajo tacos and then visited and played a card game that Dane got for Christmas. It snowed all night and most of the next morning. By noon a lot of the snow cleared off so James could drive back to Provo. Elie and her dad went out and shoveled the driveway and built a snowman. Pretty cute!

It was a fun visit and just what I needed. Now we need to get them back to Phoenix for a visit. It isn't as easy as it used to be because 3 kids change the whole scenario!

Eliana and Keaton were playing with me at the table and making faces. They helped me make some Valentines to send to their cousins.

This is the snowman that Dane and Eliana made.

My sweet little (well, not really so little) Anabelle...she just kept looking at me and studying me!

Midnight

It is now past midnight. I have been working to see if I could make my own background and header to match on my blog. It has taken me forever and I still haven't got it right! Oh well. I guess I will go to bed and start again some other time. It is therapeutic for me and I guess I just get lost in all of the new things I am learning! I will definitely regret this tomorrow, especially since I have to work until 11pm tomorrow night! Sweet Dreams!

Strawberries and Apples

I had a fun day with Carolyn and the girls on Thursday. We went shopping at Real Deals in Glendale and then to Hobby Lobby. When we got home we spent the afternoon making flowers for the girls hair. It was so fun that I made more than we will ever probably use! Oh well! Another craft learned and conquered!

I played with Malia and then had Juliana read me a book. She is only five and reading quite well. It is so cute listening to her sound out the words. I brought the girls strawberries and an apple as ordered. Carolyn sent me a picture page of the kids enjoying their treats! I love my grandkids!

AHHH! Arizona!

We went to a movie this morning (Last Chance Harvey...which I really liked, by the way. It was a quiet, sweet, slow moving, study in character movie.) and then went to lunch at AJ's and ate out on the patio. The weather is absolutely gorgeous and just one of the perks of living in Arizona! A totally pleasurable morning until we found out that we have to fix my new (used) car to the tune of $650...something about a gasket leak in the manifold...whatever that means! And all we did is take it in for an oil change. Isn't there always something! So, while it is still a beautiful day, that put somewhat of a damper on it!

Last Sunday we had a family dinner because our twins (the two oldest) had their 31st birthday! Talk about making me feel old! But those sweet grandkids are trying very hard to keep me young. So smart, so cute and precocious. I love talking to them and hearing their take on things. They consider and think through things much more than we give them credit for. Hooray for Youth! Malia (3) loves strawberries and was even eating the slimy pieces off of Grant's high chair tray. She told me to be sure and bring strawberries the next time I come to visit. And Oh, better bring an apple for Juliana because she doesn't like strawberries! At least she wasn't selfish!

Happy New Year!

I worked all day today. It was busy, but not the crazy rush that we have been experiencing. I came home and my family had cleaned the house and taken down the Christmas things and put everything away. What a treat!

On New Year's Eve, we spent last night at Carolyn's just playing with the grandkids and eating and then we spent the next 3 hours just talking. It was a very pleasant evening. I realize how much I love my family and how blessed we really are. I have been talking to James and Susannah while they are home on Christmas break from college and telling them to appreciate the simple little pleasures and to enjoy this journey we are on, called life. One of my goals this year is to discover a new simple pleasure each and every day. Some of my simple pleasures are inhaling the smell of new books with their fresh ink. Another simple pleasure is climbing into my own bed with fresh clean sheets. Or, listening to an innocent comment from my sweet grandchildren. What joy they bring me! I know life is busy for all of us, but I challenge us all to take a moment and enjoys life's simple pleasures!

Retail Christmas...Not so Fun!

I have been working for about two months now at Walgreen's. Not a bad job, but not exactly a fun time to be working retail. There are some really nice understanding people and some really ornery, rude, self-centered people. We see them all. Our store is constantly busy, usually never having a break in the action! My legs and back ache from standing in one place for 8 hours, but I guess that is what I signed up for! One thing I have noticed though, is that for the most part, people make some really weird purchases even when they are spending their last dime! Those that don't have enough money to pay for their purchases are usually buying cheap little decorations or candy or something that is really not needed and doesn't make good use of what little they have. Maybe that is why they are out of money in the first place because they never learned to budget their money very well. I am just grateful for the friends and family that I have and especially for the gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches me what is really important. I am so excited to have James and Susannah come home so that we can all be together once again. I really want Marlene and her family to be here to, but I know how it is to live so far away from family. I love the music and feelings that I have during Christmastime and wish everyone a wonderful and happy Christmas!

No Camera! No Pictures!

I think if I have one legacy to leave my family, it will be the lack of pictures! We went to Carolyn's today and took the kids to the park and had a picnic! The weather was gorgeous and our grandkids were so cute and fun to be with. I wanted to take some pictues of them and realized that I had forgotten my camera. Yet again! My kids just laugh at me now when I say I want to take some pictures because even when I have the camera with me, I get so involved with what I am doing I forget to snap the picture! When James or Travis would be playing sports I would be yelling so loud that the camera would be forgotten and the picture never taken. Little red-headed Grant will be one in January and he was toddling all over the park grass...falling down and getting back up to run some more. I think he was really enjoying the freedom. Juliana and Malia were making us ice cream sundaes out of sand and Juliana was leading us in singing a song that she made up about rainbows and ice cream! I love them so much! They are growing up so fast!

Can I just say that this is the time of year that I really "give thanks" for living in Arizona! The temperature is perfect. The nights are like heaven and we have gorgeous sunsets. The Harvest Moon tonight was a sight to behold!

I got my first full paycheck last night from my new job! It would be nice if we could even make a dent in expenses, but nooooo! I had to have two crowns on my teeth that needed to replace old fillings, so guess what I am paying for! I guess I should be grateful that we can pay for them at all! The job is going OK, but standing in one place for 7-8 hours is a little hard on my legs. At least now I am working more in cosmetics and I can move around a bit more. There are so many people looking for jobs right now that I feel happy to even have a job, let alone one that is so close to home!