Happy Birthday to Courtney!

Today is Courtney's birthday and to celebrate, I thought I'd share some more of the rad pictures they took this summer when they went to visit her parents who are serving a mission in South Africa. They got to visit there right before the soccer world cup and they had an amazing experience traveling around and spending time with her parents.
Enjoy the pictures! We all love you dear Courtney!

Some favorite hymns with a twist

Andy introduced me to this artist Sufjan Stevens. I really like his work. He also has a Christmas album. It may be my new Christmas album for this year.

The week in review

Rick, Andy and I sandwiched a week of fun in-between two BYU football games. We left a week ago Saturday after the UNM game and headed to St. George were we stayed in the Philipp's lovely new 2nd home. It was so kind of them to offer their home for a nights sleep and save us the cost of a motel.

Sunday – 21st

~attended church and heard an Elder report his mission to Peru which we enjoyed

~drove the route through Las Vegas and went over the new Hoover Dam bridge. This route is probably about the same length in driving time as Highway 89 and it doesn’t go through any mountains for scary driving in the winter months

~arrived at Jordan and Jake’s home to find the girls waiting for us by playing on the green, green winter grass in front of their home. Enjoyed dinner with Jord’s family plus Dave and Courtney.

~loved an after dinner fire in the fireplace, hot chocolate and stories of when we were young

~put the girls to bed and watched the Karate Kid movie

Monday – 22nd

~went on a hike with the girls to Camelback mountain.

~Jake headed out of town on business for two days

~Jordan and Andy went to the church cannery to fulfill an assignment making spaghetti sauce

~Rick and I took the girls and went over to Mom and David’s to do our own service project. We helped them prepare the ground around their trailer to stop the weeds from growing by putting down black cover material, red rocks and pavers in the back. Rick did a bunch of heavy lifting and we got the job done. Andy and Jord arrived to help finish up and we all enjoyed a pizza lunch provided by Mom and David. DeNae came over to help and visit. The girls enjoyed riding their bikes on the miles and miles of pavement around the trailer lot.

~went to Dave and Courtney’s apartment to visit & play tennis and then we all went to dinner at Pei Wei.

Tuesday – 23rd

~Rick went to the Mesa temple with Dave.

~Jordan, the girls and I went to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies. I got craft supplies for the girls and I to make Christmas candy cane decorations and little button wreaths. They also picked out fabric so that I could sew them Christmas pillow cases. Jord got stuff for Ellie’s 3rd birthday party that is coming up soon.

~When Rick got back we all went to Costco & Fry’s to do some Christmas shopping and food shopping for Thanksgiving. We loaded up some carts and picked up some delicious decorator candied apples from Costco that were absolutely delicious. Oh, and some pumpkin cheesecake.

~We played around with the little girls until Brody and Kylee came over for dinner. We enjoyed visiting with them as always.

~Watched a movie – the new Robin Hood

Wednesday –24

~Rick, Andy and I made a quick run to Last Chance. We found some good buys for Andy’s Christmas gifts. Rick got new running shoes.

~Mom came over for lunch and shopping. We all went to the mall and I found some things for her and David for Christmas gifts. Rick took the girls to the carousel and tended them while the rest of us went to see the movie about the run away train.

~Dave came back over for lunch, shopping and the movie. Courtney’s sister and her family came in from Idaho to stay with her other sister who lives in town, so she spent time with them after she got off work.

~Jake got home from his out of town work assignment.

~Everyone left for the Suns/Bulls basketball game and I tended the girls and put them to bed. I watched the movie The Devil Wears Prada after they went to sleep.

Thursday – 25 THANKSGIVING DAY 2010

~everyone but me (including Lauren and Ellie) participated in the annual polar bear plunge by jumping into the unheated swimming pool when it was about 50 degrees outside. It was a very short swim for all involved, but they all got points for participating! It's such a fun/not fun tradition.

~got going on making the food we were asked to bring to the joint Thanksgiving dinner. We had dinner with Courtney’s sisters and their families at her sister Kim’s home. That made it nice for Dave and Courtney to have all their family in one place. We love Courtney's sisters and their families and it's always a pleasure to spend time with them. I think the sweet potatoes with crunchy pecan and brown sugar topping were a hit. We took over a big crock pot of sauerkraut which some enjoyed more than others.

~took a short nap while the guys were watching football

~played Cricket in the park after dinner. Unfortunately Jord got injured and may have temporarily dislocated her shoulder. She was in a lot of pain. We got her drugged up.

~headed to Mom and David’s for round two of Thanksgiving dinner. She cooked a turkey roast and made bread and pies and we brought everything else we had left over from dinner earlier in the day. Paul and DeNae came over and we all had a nice visit. It’s always so good to see them and share some time together. I think that Mom, P&D all enjoyed the sauerkraut since it wasn't served at the dinners they attended earlier in the day.

~we did the traditional “Thankful Corns” after dinner. Since Mom didn’t have any popcorn kernels, we used small individually wrapped chocolate candies (appropriate, don’t you think?) Everyone named 5 blessings that they were thankful for. It is almost my favorite part of the day. Special sentiments were shared and expressed. Lauren said she was thankful for Ellie, Ada, Mommy, Daddy and the Holy Ghost for her 5 candies. Ellie followed suit. Mom and David shared special sentiments as did everyone else. I think it is a good exercise to vocalize our blessings and give thanks for all our many blessings in a group setting like that. Said goodbye to D&C, M&D, P&D.

~We headed home to pack and put Jordan to bed with some major pain killers.

Friday – 26

~We pulled out of the driveway at 9:10 am headed for home. We had Lauren and Ellie with us and Andy went with Jord and Jake in their car. We drove to Las Vegas over the new bridge again. J&J had never driven over it since it was just recently completed. The girls watched two movies on their little DVD players and they were so good in the car to color, play games and eat a few snacks. Those little girls are very good long distance car travelers, as is Ada who was in the other car. Ellie said to Rick "I love you Grandpa" just out of the blue and it about melted his heart. We had lunch in Las Vegas.

~We arrived in St. George at Jake’s grandmothers condo. Jake’s parents were there along with his sister and brother and wife. We visited a bit and then left Jord and her family there to enjoy a few days with Jake’s family. Jordan had her arm in a sling and will probably need to see a doctor when she gets home. We said goodbye to the 3 little girls with kisses and hugs all around. It was so fun to be with everyone for Thanksgiving.

~We headed home and arrived in our driveway about 12 hours after we started. Luckily we avoided all the bad weather that was going on in Utah while we were gone.

~We fell into bed with grateful hearts for a wonderful week in Arizona and prepared ourselves (as much as you can) for the BYU-Utah game the next day.

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Turkey day is coming!

I don't like to rush Thanksgiving. I like to let the month of November take its course. I like to enjoy the changing of the season from fall to winter and to enjoy hot soup, warm bread, pumpkin desserts, raking leaves, shorter daylight during the days, and more time to contemplate and be grateful for ALL I have. I do have an especially grateful heart in November and I'm in no hurry to move on. We're headed to parts southward for the week. We look forward to spending time with loved ones and in counting our bounteous blessings.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving season with lots of fun and togetherness.

A moral victory

Wreck #1 - when I was in college, I was driving a fairly new Plymouth Duster that my dad got for my brother and me to drive after we got back from our missions. One a snowy night while making a left hand turn, another driver tried to pass and crashed into the side of the car and ruined the driver's door. Their insurance company didn't want to pay (my distrust of car insurance companies starts here) and with my dad's encouragement, I took them to small claims court and won damages to repair the car.
Wreck #2 - right after I got my new (used) Lexus (which I love like a baby BTW) some bozo made a right hand turn without looking and ran into the car while I was sitting in the right hand lane getting ready to turn. He failed to even look and proceeded to rip the front bumper almost completely off the car with his big red truck. We were literally driving down the road headed to St. George for a conference, and the accident delayed us for hours. Plus we then had no car to drive and had to take a less trust worthy car on the trip. We then had to drive a rental car on vacation to CA a few weeks later. Our insurance paid for the repairs and rental car since we had full coverage. After months of negotiations with the claim adjuster, they decided to deny the claim. I developed an even stronger loathing of insurance companies. Luckily we found a witness who told the insurance adjuster that she had witnessed the whole thing and that the driver who hit us didn't look before turning. With that testimony, they finally agreed to pay our insurance company back. We won damages after a long and drawn out hassle.
Wreck #3 - Claire was driving our Safari on a local country road. I large semi truck took her out on a turn. Luckily neither of them was going very fast or injuries could have been severe. She escaped with a bad whip lash. It totaled the car. I LOVED that car. I paid for it myself. Since it was an older car, we only had liability insurance on it. There was some question about her negligence in the accident, so we decided to just let it drop. We recovered no damages and we lost the use of the van right before our daughters got married that summer. We limped along with one less car for several months since wedding expenses were all consuming. Their insurance denied liability although each driver was at least 50-50 at fault. We got nothing and lost the use of the car completely. I outright hated insurance companies.
Wreck #4 - this summer Andy was driving the newly painted, newly renovated 16 year old kid car - the Nissan Sentra. It's been the college kid car for years and would have seen him through a few more years. A nonobservant college-aged girl driver failed to look and side swiped him while trying to make a right hand turn. Since the car is old, we only had liability insurance. Once again, the insurance company (GEICO) denied liability when ALL the facts pointed to the negligence of the girl driver. She was even issued a citation for making an improper lane change by the responding officer. We've been hassling since JULY trying to get some sort of compensation from our good friends at GEICO. Nothing. Finally, off we went to small claims court again to file a law suit. Today was the trial. GEICO came with two attorneys in tow and presented their case. Andy presented his case. He won! The Judge decided that the girl driver was 100% at fault, not 20% at fault like they wanted to say. They now have to pay us the value of the car, which isn't a ton, but it's the moral of the thing. She was at fault and her insurance is forced to pay.
Can I just say how much I hate car insurance companies? I'm convinced that they will lie, cheat, twist the facts and try everything in their power to get out of paying after an accident. They won't even consider paying compensation to a damaged person until a law suit is brought. Make no mistake, we love our insurance company. When we have had a few fender benders that were our fault, they paid out within days. I'm talking about those times when other people hit our cars and their companies refuse to accept responsibility. Why do we have so many law suits in this country? It usually gets blamed on the lawyers, but now I know why. It's the unyielding, nonsensical people who are in the insurance business. They won't even listen to the facts. They don't care about the facts. They don't want to pay, even when the facts clearly support fault on the part of their clients. People who are unsure of the legal system, who don't have the $100 to file the claim and pay for the associated fees, or are too intimidated by the big insurance companies to file a law suit against them, just go away and don't get what they deserve. I think there are 1000s of cases that could be brought to trial but aren't because people just give up.
What do these four stories illustrate? That the cars driven by members of our family have been hit by other people four times and that we had to fight each time to get justice. I'm so glad Andy won today. Eat THAT GEICO!!!

In the strength of the Lord

Alma 31:30-31... O Lord God, how long wilt thou suffer that such wickedness and infidelity shall be among this people? O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may ^abear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain my soul.

31 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul ^ain Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these ^bafflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.

• • •

Alma 7: 12 And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities.
...
Alma 20: 4 Now Lamoni said unto Ammon: I know, in the ^astrength of the Lord thou canst do all things.

I've been reading in Alma lately and I remember reading these applicable verses. I've been closely following the story of Elizabeth since she has kidnapped eight years ago. I've read just about everything I could get my hands on. Last week I read her daily court testimony as she testified with conviction, strength and composure about the terrible ordeal she went through for 9 months. I'm in awe of Elizabeth. I'm so proud of her inner strength and determination to not let this terrible episode in her life define who she is. She is a beloved daughter of God who has let the Atonement of Jesus Christ wash over her like a healing blanket and work it's wondrous healing powers. That marvelous gift can take the pain, the hurt, the humiliation, the injustice, the sorrow, and the grief and remove it from an individual and put it on our Savior. He can truly succor us according to our infirmities, whatever they are! Elizabeth's story is a shining example of this power. Individual self-worth, knowing who she really is, determination, undoubtedly good counseling, a supportive family and our Savior. What a winning combination. What else would explain her resilience? I would suppose that if other people went through a similar horror, they would be curled up in the fetal position and wouldn't be able to function. They would surrender to the captivity. Not Elizabeth. She is a marvel.
I observed her over a year ago while she was in the MTC learning French, getting ready to serve in the Paris, France mission. She was smiling, happy and anxiously involved in a good cause as she was preparing to serve others.
Here are some things I've learned from her example:
~No matter what happens to a person, we still have agency to decide how we will react to any situation. No one can take that from us.
~No amount of complaining, whining or feeling sorry for yourself is going to change horrible circumstances. Move on and let it go, even in the face of extremely difficult circumstances.
~Don't let anyone take your sense of worth from you. Ever.
~Don't let a horrible time in your life define your life.
~Have faith. Pray. Hope. Never, never give up.
It's a miracle to watch what happened to this wonderful women and her family and to see the miraculous, all encompassing healing that has taken place through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Count your many blessings

One of the missionaries at the MTC gave us a little gift bag with this fall mix in it. We enjoyed it so much that I went to the store, bought all the ingredients and made my own to pass out to family and friends. It's a great combination of flavors, fall colors and symbolism. Enjoy!

Many thanks to all veterans

Many, many thanks to all those who have defended, who are currently defending and to those who will defend ALL our freedoms!

Josh

As in...Josh Groban. I'm a huge fan. Huge. Have been since he burst on to the scene over five years ago. I plan to be a fan for years to come. Of course I own and listen to all his albums and especially love his Christmas album.
Rick took me to see him in concert in Las Vegas for my 50th birthday. I burst into tears when he gave me the tickets because it was such a surprise and such a great gift. We loved the concert and have loved watching him grow in popularity and increase his talent over the years.
He is about to release a new album...can't wait! Illuminations ~ November 15. Four more days!
Check out his web site and listen to a few of the songs on his new album. Happiness!!!!

10 down, 10 to go

Here I am riding my childhood bike that I got when I was in third grade. It is still going strong, almost 50 years later. My mom uses it during the winter months in her warm location, but I hope to get it back when she is finished using it.
Going through the gradual estrogen loss to menopause, I put on 20 pounds. Luckily I wasn't already overweight, so the added 20 didn't look terrible. It just made my clothes fit too tight or not at all. I had to get size 14 pants. I hated that the most of all. I wanted to keep eating the way I've always eaten. I didn't want to have to exercise (which I despise) and I didn't want to have to think about the pounds that were slowly accumulating. Too bad for me. Weight gain is inevitable for most of us. At least I got to age 50 before this reality hit me. Now my new reality is this:
~I have to exercise every day. I don't want to, but I have to. I've probably been exercising every day for about 5 years now. I started out walking. One summer I did a challenge at work and walked 1,000,000 steps. I wore a pedometer and walked more than 10,000 steps a day. That helped curb the weight gain, but didn't help to reverse it. I joined Curves (again) and went for a solid year. I assume it did some internal good and probably some muscle toning, but I didn't lose weight or very many inches. I quit and joined the Rec Center for $77 a year when I turned 55. Now I do a pilates class for an hour three times a week and lift weights and work out hard on the elliptical or treadmill the other two days. I go with a friend (my secret to success) and I actually sweat. Pilates is kicking my butt (no pun intended.) I can tell a big difference. I had to step up my exertion to lose some weight. And guess what, I lost 10 pounds in the last six months. It was very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very...hard.
~I can't eat as much as I use to. I should only eat about 1,200 calories a day. I sit a lot during the day at work, so I'm not burning calories. I have to eat smaller proportions and think about what I'm eating. If I don't like it a lot, I stop consuming the calories. I eat more fiber, more fresh fruits and veggies and drink more water. During the week I don't eat sweets but I allow myself to have some dessert on weekends. I can't eat late at night or drink calories either, although I do love juice on occasion (it's loaded with carbs...) I eat a high fiber cooked cereal for breakfast. I absolutely refuse to drink protein shakes. Tried it, hated it.
~ I don't have anything to prove to anybody. I just want to wear my regular clothes and not get new ones. I just want to do this for me. I do think I have a little more energy, but otherwise I don't see huge benefits. I just know I need to do it for better health down the road.
~My size 12 pants are feeling good now. I really just want to stay a size 12, but I need to lose 10 more pounds to get to a better BMI. I'm still packing that horrible mid-waist mid-life weight.
So, wish me luck. I've signed up for a challenge at work not to gain more than 2 pounds from now until January 3. I'm determined to succeed and then keep working on the remaining 10 pounds after the new year!

An event not to be missed

BYU Museum of Art has had some amazing art exhibits over the years, but this one might be one of the best ever. Rick, Andy and I ate lunch last week in the MOA cafe and saw all the preparations and renovations they are making for this exhibition. See this article to read more. It will be an event not to be missed to see original quality religious art work. I can't wait!

What: Carl Bloch: The Master's Hand

Where: BYU Museum of Art

When: Nov. 12-Mar 7, 2011; extended hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Admission: Free, however visitors must register for tickets online before their visit atCarlBloch.byu.edu.

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