He is the Gift

The first gift of Christmas was a simple gift given by a father to all his children, to us. He gave us His son, the Christ. He is the gift. This Christmas season, how will you share the gift? http://christmas.mormon.org

Thanksgiving in Arizona

Arizona in the winter

Visit to the new Phoenix, AZ LDS temple

We had a great time last week traveling to Arizona to be with our kids.  Andy and Chelsea went with us as far as Las Vegas.  We dropped them off with Chelsea's mother, but not before we had a wonderful evening with her mom Laura, her sister Audrey,  her grandfather Ralph and his wife Sandie and her aunt Andrea and uncle Scott.  They were such wonderful hosts and treated us to dinner and a night's stay in the fabulous M resort.  It was been fun to get to know them and to enjoy spending time with them in their home town.

The Polar Bear plunge is an annual event
 that everyone hates, but feels compelled to do.
Rick takes the first plunge.

The water is very cold by AZ standards.
 Lauren thinking it over.

Lauren and Jordan head in.

Jake

Rich

Run for the towels!

Two brave girls went in a second time.

Sauerkraut, our favorite side dish!

Delicious meal Jordan served us!

Christmas PJs for the month of December

Mesa AZ temple lights.  Amazing!

Visiting Chelsea's grandmother Betty
 and husband Ron and her family

Getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner!

Afternoon hike among the cactus.

Giving Thanks for ALL our many blessings.

Jordan and Jake were such wonderful hosts and we enjoyed staying with them.  I was sick with a terrible cold two of the days and couldn't do much, but everyone else had a great time.  There was lots of football watched, food made, crafts, hike, movies, temples attended and a great time was had by all.  Each of us wrote five blessings on a paper and they came together to make the Thankful chain shown in the picture.  I'm so thankful for my family.  They are my everything!

Visiting Chelsea's grandparents Ralph and Sandie,
uncle Scott and aunt Andrea.

Thanks for Ralph and Sandie for putting us up one night in this beautiful resort!

My wonderful DIL Courtney turns 29

Courtney is such a wonderful addition to our family.  She meshes so well with all of us and adds a lot to our family dynamics. How could we be so lucky to have our son Dave marry such a dear lady?  She is happy to go with the flow and is so patient and kind to us all.  She is an excellent mother and takes great care to teach and train their little ones.  She sends us little videos and pictures of their children and their latest tricks and stunts.  Charlie can now count to 10 in Chinese and Spanish!  I can see so much of her little Charlie and Margaret in this pictures.  They favor their mother with their sweet dimpled faces. 

She celebrated her birthday on November 29.  Even though she lives on the east coast, we enjoy our Facetime visits and keeping up to date on her comings and goings.  She is always involved in some project, service to others or managing their family affairs.  She is an excellent home maker.  We couldn't ask for any better person than a dear DIL who loves our son and who is raising our grandchildren in a Christ centered home.  Her education gives her a solid foundation for building a strong family.  She is so loving and considerate of me and Rick and we consider her our daughter in every way.  Happy birthday dear girl!

Tommy boy turns one year old

Is there anything cuter than a one year old?  We got to celebrate Tommy's first birthday with him on 11/12/14.  He is the most adorable little guy and we had such a fun evening with his family, an aunt and an uncle, both sets of grandparents and even a great-grandmother.  It was such a fun evening celebrating this little guy.  He wasn't shy about diving in and destroying his first birthday cake.  He practically ate his whole cake by himself.  Good thing we had another cake for everyone else.  I love his perfectly shaped bald head with just a wisp of blond hair coming in.  He is a friendly little guy and will come to us and let us play with him.  I love you little Tommy!

My mother dear turns 88

My Mom celebrated her 88th birthday last Sunday.  She is amazing in so many ways.  She is doing well (considering her age) and is getting along pretty well.  Her memory is giving her some challenges as well as her hearing, but she is trying to make the most of being alone and finding things to do.  Many, many thanks to my sisters and nieces who live close by and keep an eye on her.  I appreciate them including her in their family activities. We had a fun party and everyone shared a memory they had of her and one of her qualities.  That made her feel so good.  She said it gave her enough fuel to keep going!  I love my Mom and appreciate ALL that she has done for me over my life.