The baptism of two cousins

It is pure JOY to watch our grandchildren join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  Since both girls turned eight years old, the age of accountability, they chose to take this important step. Honestly, I love the simplicity of the ordinance of baptism,  and the importance of the sacred covenants that are made at the time of baptism.  Lizzie and Ada were born about 22 hours apart in age.  One in Phoenix and the other in Albuquerque.  Unseen forces have brought them together to now live in the same city.  They are the best of friends.  Their families coordinated to have them baptized on the same day, October 28.  So many family members were in attendance to celebrate this special day with them.

Lizzie was baptized by her dad R and Ada was baptized by her Grandpa John.  Grandpa Ricky gave Ada a blessing and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  We missed Ada's daddy Jake.  We talked of him, we cried, we remembered, and we know that he is so proud of Ada and so happy that she could join Christ's church.  We felt him near and know that he is aware of this special day. Grandma Barbara gave a wonderful talk on baptism and shared a touching story of when Jake was a little boy.  He made a wrong choice, repented and made it right.  It was such a great example of how to repent and change.  Grandma Vonnie gave the talk on the Holy Ghost.  I gave each of the girls a warm, comfy blanket with their names monogrammed on them with their baptism date to always remind them of this day and the comfort that comes from the Holy Ghost in times of sadness, trials, and pain (one of the many gifts they receive through the power of the Holy Ghost being conferred upon them.)  I didn't get a picture of me with Ada and her pink blanket, but hope to get one soon.   

Jake's brothers Matt (and Jessica), Christian, sister Jen (husband Taylor) came from out-of-state, along with James (and Jenny) and their family who live in town.  R's brother Westin (wife Rachel), his sister Elise (and family) and Grandpa Richard came to support Lizzie, along with great uncle Harmon and cousins. We know and love all these extended family members and love to spend time with them whenever possible. Great-grandma Pat was also in attendance and we all love and appreciate her.

It was a beautiful, fall day and the spirit was present in great abundance.  The girls were beautiful in their white dresses. Two beautiful daughters, two adorable grand daughters, a large loving and supportive family. It was just a wonderful day, not soon to be forgotten!  I love these two darling grand daughters so very much.

Dinner with cousins

On man, October was a blur.  So fun and lots of traveling. More on that later.  I'll start with the most recent and go backwards.

Last Sunday we had such an enjoyable evening.  We invited three of my cousins and their spouses over for dinner.  Steven and Elena, Rebecca and John, and Susan and Chris.  It was so fun and interesting to just visit and catch up with all that is going on their lives.  Wow.  What impressive people who are out in the world accomplishing much good.  I'm so proud of them and all the things they are involved in and all that they are accomplishing.  We all commented on the fact that we come from good stock.  Our grandparents, Ray and Mayme instilled in their children and consequently in us their grandchildren,  a love of God, love of this country, love of family and love of hard work.  I'm so grateful for these two good people, their six children and now many grand children, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.  I wish they could see (and probably they can!) how their family is flourishing in spreading the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of honoring their parents, working towards their dreams and making a difference in the world and in their homes and communities.

I made an unusual meal.
Two appetizers - garlic and honey meatballs and coconut shrimp
Main dish - my sister Lee's butternut squash soup recipe with bread sticks
A wonderful salad was brought by the cousins and a apple crisp dessert.
It was a lovely evening and I hope we can do it again.

A year of travel

Dear handful of people who still follow my blog:
Hello again!  I've missed you.  I'm making a concerted effort to get back to blogging and catching up some with ALL that has been going on around here this last year.  Our hearts still ache every day since we lost Jake in April.  It's been six months now and we just miss him and we always will.  We think of him so often, speak of him every day and remember him with such great fondness.  I visited the cemetery where he is buried this week and just contemplated his example and how our lives have all changed since he has been gone.   Tears just well up often and at unexpected times thinking of him and knowing how much he is missed by Jordan and their children and all of us who love and miss him. It's just hard, hard, hard.
And yet, life does go on.  It has to. We get up, do our routine and live life as best we can.  The dynamics have changed so dramatically in all our lives since his passing and we are still adjusting to the new normal (if there is such a thing.)  We turn to our sources of strength and renewal and we support and love one another.
Jordan and her family moved near us at the end of June and so did Claire and her family.  Most of you already know the details of these moves.  Having our daughters and their families live near us has been a complete game changer.  Rick and I love it.  It's hard to temper our enthusiasm sometimes because we also recognize that these moves have been very hard for both families as they have left their comfortable lives, homes they loved and people they knew and loved and started into new circumstances. Starting over again is not an easy process and we have tried to be helpful, be patient and just love them as they struggle through the transition.
Having six of our eight (almost nine!) grandchildren live in town is heaven on earth.  We love our frequent interaction and our ability to participate with them in their sports, birthdays, primary programs, Sunday dinners and just family gatherings and activities.  We feel Jake's absence but we also feel of his presence.

I have kept a paper daily planner for 100 years and this year is no exception.  I'm lost without my little planner because it keeps me on track and I can look and see what I need to do and where I need to go.  I knew that this year had been a year of unprecedented travel, so I thumbed through the pages and wrote down all the times I didn't sleep in my own bed this year.

So far, it looks like this:

January 15-19 – Los Angeles, Temecula, CA

January 26 - February 5 – Phoenix

February 11-15 – Albuquerque
February 27-27 - Logan

March 14-22 – St. George, Phoenix

April 1 – 8 – Albuquerque

April 15 – 22, 23-May 1 – Phoenix

May 19-21 – Homestead, Midway

May 28-30 – Logan

June 25-30 – Midway, UT then to Phoenix

July 8-10 – Logan, Bear Lake

July 15-17 – Rupert, ID

July 22-29 – Park City

August 3-5 – Cedar City

August 9-11 - Los Angeles

August 20-27 – Alaska cruise

September 1-5 – Las Vegas & Phoenix

September 6-8 – Logan

September 18-26 – Charlotte NC, Washington DC

October 1 – 3 – Los Angeles

October 5-7 – Park City

October 16-18 - Logan

October 20-22 – Boise & Rupert, ID

November 2-11 – Charlotte, NC

It adds up to 120 nights away from home, give or take a few.  Rick was with me for about half of those visits since he is still employed and I am retired.  That's about 4 months of travel time this year. Yikes!  Some days I really feel it, but I have been blessed to keep up the pace and to be able to go and do what needed to be done and I have had a lot of enjoyable experiences along the way.  Some of those visits were work visits, tending grandchildren and such, but others were just for fun. Now that our girls and their families live near us, my long distance travel to them is gone.  I will truly miss visiting the cities in which they lived, but I will enjoy sleeping in my own bed and not having to travel so much next year.

Plus, I also got a new Acura car that holds seven!  It's my new grandma car and I love it (thanks Rick!).  Mostly I love having car seats attached so that I am at the ready when needed.  I love my little grandkids so much and love being a part of their lives.

AND...
I get to see these guys next week as they welcome a new baby brother into their family!  Good times ahead! (This picture if from our visit last year at Halloween time.)

Adele in LA

It was a perfect day!  August 10th finally came and Jordan, Claire, Chelsea and I finally got to head out on our long awaited adventure and redeem the tickets we received in December for a Christmas gift from our husbands.  The day of the ADELE concert in Los Angeles had finally arrived!!!
We flew in on the 9th on good ole Allegiant airline and arrived in LA that evening. Andy and Chelsea picked us up and we headed to LACMA to see the lamp posts and go to dinner at a Korean BBQ.
After getting some rest at our hotel, we headed out the next day and stopped at Randy's doughnuts on our way to Hermosa beach.  I was in heaven spending the day with three of my four children (just missing Dave) and just laughing, chatting and visiting at the beach.  Claire even bought her house while sitting at the beach that day. After some boogie boarding, lunch eating and kite flying, we headed back to get ready for the concert.
ADELE was AMAZING!  Seriously, she exceeded our expectations and we had the best time.  Claire was especially excited to see her in person and we have her to thank for getting us all the tickets last Christmas.  My memories of that day together with my three girls will be long remembered.  We only wish that Courtney could have been with us.  We're all fans for life, and we love the things she does.