G-od
O-ffers His
O-utstanding
D-evotion to

M-ake us
O-bedient &
R-eady for a
N-ew day with Him.
I-nspire others please, and
N-ever forget
G-od loves you!


And so do I

P.S.

How could I forget to mention

the most important thing about Saturday?

It was the
37th anniversary
of our engagement!

I remember that day Oh So well.

Do you know that I still have the
12 red roses he sent me that day?

One Fine Week

MONDAY-- Craig and I joined Shannon, Derek and their 2 boys for family night. They had a family fire drill. We ran to the 'safe spot' to practice our skills. Corbin threw in a couple of earthquake drills too. He also loved the Stop, Drop and Roll drill.

TUESDAY-- The first few verses of the Epistle of James were the content of my scripture study class. It is in inspiring to consider that the very words written by the brother of Jesus took Joseph Smith to the grove to meet the Saviour and the Father.

WEDNESDAY--After a lovely morning in the temple I met an angel at the airport. 90 year old Beth sat by me on the plane to Utah. She also serves in the temple, is a widow of 27 years, has been on 5 missions and is a health enthusiast. She taught me wonderful ideas about health and zest for life. It felt like Heavenly Father placed an angel in my life for a brief moment. YOGA here I come. She stands on her head everyday for 14 minutes ! What do you think?

THURSDAY--How sweet to watch my son give a priesthood blessing to his wife before taking her to the hospital for a tonsilectomy.
For me it was a day with 2 adorable grandchildren. We decorated Momma's room, made cookies, read lots of books, and played games.

FRIDAY--Another day of play. In the evening I went out on my own to explore. How fun to buy a couple of books to help Shannon with ideas for Primary at COSTCO! Utah is amazing.

SATURDAY--Joel took over the family for the day and I went to visit Craig's mom. I took down the Christmas decorations that I had put out. We had a delightful visit.

SUNDAY---SNOW! At first it looked like the snow on Lura's website. After church the snow began to stick. Beautiful beautiful snow....so long as you are warm and cozy inside.

I will give a Prize to anyone who can tell me why
the post below has the font changing sizes!
I DID NOT DO THIS. HELP

LEMONADE AWARD

Thank you, Nancy, for this lovely award.

It is given when an Attitude of Gratitude is
displayed on a friend's blog.

Pres. Thomas S. Monson said in October General
conference: "May we be found among those who
give our thanks to our Heavenly Father. If gratitude
be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among
the noblest of virtues. Despite the changes which come into our lives and
with gratitude in our hearts, may we fill our days-as much as we can-with
those things which matter most. May we cherish those we hold dear and
express our love to them in word and in deed."

SO, I would like to give this award to

President Thomas S. Monson, the President
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
for his inspiring teachings and love.

Laurie-not long after her beloved husband died of a long bout with cancer I heard her
say that both he and she would not change the outcome of that experience if it meant
surrendering the things they had learned and the blessings they had received. With the
help of the Lord she has made lemons into delicious lemonade.

Jan-my friend/sister. Our friendship has blossomed into a sisterhood. She has many
reasons to express 'sour grapes'. Her life is not the one she has dreamed of in many ways
yet she continues to look for the silver lining. A few years ago while undergoing tests for
possible cancer she expressed thanks to Heavenly Father for her situation and felt His love
as she did. At a moment when most of us would ask, "why me?" she accepted her 'lot' by
expressing gratitude for what God had planned for her.

Shannon- My darling daughter is delightfully appreciative of the experience of
being a mother of 2 preschool boys. She definitely has her hands full and delights in
every aspect of her day. Often when we are together I marvel at her sweet voice and
patient ways. Corbin (age 4) has some difficulties and requires extra help but she is
always adorable with him.

Lori-My daughter-in-law. She also has 2 little ones. She is views motherhood in an adorable way. She sees humor easily in the crazy things the children say and do. Lori works from home. Both she and Joel have jobs that have been hurt by the lousy economy. She thinks carefully about how to ensure they are safe financially. I admire her wisdom.

CONGRATULATIONS
to all you Lemonade Makers

Have you ever wondered :

WHO made the cameras for the amazing space photos you have seen on TV or in National Geographic?




Or how 'in the world' those cameras could sustain the changes in atmosphere, temperature or impact?



Or who is the person solely responsible for those cameras to be in focus?


Lloyd Adams, my mom's first cousin is the MAN!

I attended his funeral yesterday. He worked at JPL for 40 years. He was the anchor man for every camera that left the ground---Mariner, Voyager, Surveryor, Galaleo...they were ALL in focus.

He opened our eyes to God's heavenly creations.
May he now see with his spiritual eyes.

Now you know.

Attention Edward Cullen Fans!

This article captures his qualities and applies them to marriage beautifully.


www.meridianmagazine.com/familyconnections/090114mastery.html

Honest Scrap

A Good Thing and A Bad

This Coveted Award was given to me by Lura, a dear friend. It is given to bloggers you feel are honest in their words and dealings with others. I consider it an honor and thank Lura for it. That's the Good Thing.

The Bad Thing is that it comes with responsibility. Now I must divulge 10 things that others may not know about me. It isn't that I am not willing to share it's that it takes time to think!
This 'assignment' came a few days ago... sorry to be so slow, Lura.

1. I wish that I was more meticulous. I am a 'that's pretty good' kind of person.

2. I have dreams of being a Dancer, Singer, Writer, Artist, and Jewelry Designer

3. I wish I were a better friend to all my children, sisters and friends. There are so many times when I think to call and chat and just don't want to. I love the silence and get so tired of having a phone attached to my head.

4. I don't really enjoy going out to lunch because I hate to spend the money on food that will just make me tired and fat. I'd rather have an Isagenix shake which leaves me with energy. But, I love to be with friends...so I go.

5. And, if I want to get fat I would rather eat a Hagan Daz vanilla ice cream bar coated in chocolate and almonds!!!!!!!!

6. I LOVE to go to the fair. A dream vacation is to go to the Iowa and Minnesota State Fairs.

7. The sound of shuffling feet is a pet peeve. Once while walking the boardwalk along the beach someone followed my for MANY minutes shuffling their feet loudly. It was all I could do to not turn around and SCREAM at her to "pick up your feet!!!!" But, I didn't.

9. Reading is delicious. There are so many books waiting for me in our home that I am anxious to get to BUT for some crazy reason (not my Mom or Craig's fault, in the least) I believe that reading is a reward for having all your chores done. Since they are NEVER done (the list in my head in endless) I feel guilty to stop and read. This is unreasonable and I force myself to NOT believe it. It's hard though.

9. Ditto above only change out reading for playing the piano. Isn't this sad? Hey, I'm gong to stop right now and go play.....




Proof that I am not meticulous....
1. I can't edit the size of the fonts on this post....it won't let me for some reason
AND
2. Did you notice there are 9 instead of the required 10 haHA!

The 12 Night Holiday Slumber Party

The 12 Night Slumber Party just ended.
It began December 23rd when Joel, Lori and their 2 children arrived for Christmas.
The party ended this morning as they drove back to Utah. They were followed by our Arizona family-the Jarman's.
How do Grandma and Grandpa feel? Sad. I cried.
Tomorrow we will clean the house.
Today we will enjoy the little evidences of their visit such as
used towels,
strewn toys,
scrapbooking scraps
and leftovers in the fridge.

Some things I want to remember:

Steele (12 years) babysat 5 children so the adults could go out to dinner and a movie. All the children thought he was fun... he led them in a talent show and then performed magic for them.


















Slater (8years) "I want to sit by Grandma."














Carter (age 8) laughs so enthusiastically and his toothless grin!



















Makayla (age 6) Has a sweet temperment even when tempted otherwise by her little brother. While he was making loud noices I asked her if she ever got tired of her little brother. "No," was her sweet answer.














Italia (age 5) kissing my arm, as we made dolls together, with little precious pecks and saying, "Grandma, I love you."

















Corbin (4 years) gives the best hugs and makes sure everyone gets one. Oh--and the way he drops a bowling ball on the lane with such power!


















Micah's (4 years ) little high pitched voice coming up the stairs saying, "Grandma, where are you? Grandma, I need you."


















Cooper (20 months)wanting me to hold him and then telling me he had a headache and an earache and sure enough he did!

AND

Bowling
















Scandia
















Sea World


















New Years Eve




















The Museum




















Going to Kelli's