Christmas Decorations

There is something about decorating my house for Christmas that brings the holiday cheer. I love the lights and the garlands and the ornaments (as you have seen in a previous post). I remember staring at the lights on our tree when i was a little girl. They were colored and I use to sit in the dark and watch them on the tree and their reflection in the glass windows we had in the room. You could say I was fascinated. I still am. There is something special about the lights. I also love the smells at Christmas time. The pine smell from a newly cut tree or wreath, and the cinnamons and the berries. And the music singing reminders of home and family. And it doesn't hurt to hear those yummy voices we all love to hear singing those favorite songs either.



I love the little reminders around the house that bring to me the spirit of Christmas. I have over 15 little standing Nativities that I put up in different locations through the house and I have a complete tree dedicated to anything important to the Christ Child's birth. Baby, Mother, Father, Wise men, Shepards, and the star. I even have special lights that I place on the Nativity tree. They are called "Rice Lights" Very small and they do all sorts of different lighting variations. They stay on, or twinkle, or fade in and out, and several other lighting tricks. I love to sit and watch them fade gently in an out. I can sit for a very long time just looking and thinking, especially if the house is quiet.



It is a little crazy to get it all out and put it up, but I love the way it looks when I am all done. Christmas is my favorite time of year!

My Dad

(Not great quality on this photo but it shows the complete joy he had. It was taken just a little over a week before he died.)

I lost my Father on Thursday November 17, 2011. It has only been ten years and a couple of weeks since I lost my Mother. Both we knew were dying although Dad's passing was a little more of a surprise to us than Mom's. I wish I could be a fly on the wall as they embraced on the other side. Oh what reunions there must have been. My Uncle (Dad's just younger brother) died just over two months ago which left my father as the only brother left. I am thinking that my Dad got lonely for his brothers. Either that or they had a project to do that my Dad's abilities were need for.

I have seen such tender mercies to me because of the loss of my father. My family had planned to make the trip to Utah for Thanksgiving to spend time with him. As it is, he died a couple of days before that, but we will still be in Utah for Thanksgiving. So in a way, Dad is still getting us all together. I decided to come to Utah the day I found out about his death. I bought me a one way ticket and because my computer doesn't connect to the printer, I asked Alan to print it off for me. Before he did so, he typed in his frequent flier number and it bumped me up to first class. I was able to get through security faster and off the plane quickly.

Another tender mercy is that I left in such a hurry from my home, and the shock of his death, that I hadn't thought that I would need photos for my Dad's viewing. I left them all behind. However, they were not all on my computer at home, I would have to go searching through negatives to find some of them because they were taken before I had my digital camera. I was devastated. I had to put it out of my mind because I just knew that I would fuss over it and make myself sick so I dropped it and concentrated on what I could find here in Utah. I mentioned to Ken, my brother, that I wanted a few of Dad's things for the display and so we decided to go down to my Dad's farm and look around. In a box of my Father's things were a stack of photos. The ones that I had agonized over were there in the pile, plus a few that I hadn't thought of. What a blessing!

I look forward to seeing many people that I knew as a child growing up at the viewing and the funeral. And being with my siblings has been a joy. I have the best siblings anyone could ask for. We are all supportive and kind to each other and that is such a blessing. I can't imagine going through all of this by myself. I am grateful to have them around me at times like these. I love them all so much.

Christmas Ornaments

There is something about the weather finally turning a little cooler that makes me ansy to get shopping for Christmas Ornaments. I love looking for unique and fun Christmas Ornaments more than I love shopping for gifts. I know, I know.... I am crazy! I have a few favorite places I love to go looking for that one or several ornaments that will grace my tree or the tree of someone I love. Sometimes I find the perfect ornament for someone without really looking for one for that person. Those are the ornaments I love finding the most. Now I am not going to share those favorite places I love to shop at during this holiday season, but let me put it this way... don't be surprised where you might find some of those little treasures. Tomorrow is one of those days I have set aside to go ornament hunting in North Phoenix. And I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas! Hurry and come! :)

Old Provo Tabernacle to New Provo Temple

Oh Happy day for me!




It was announced today that the old Provo Tabernacle that was destroyed by fire about 9 months ago will now be the new Provo Temple. If you follow my blog I wrote a rather lengthy blog about it in December. This news just makes my heart sing. I am so happy to hear this news. I have many fond memories in the old building and I hope to make some in the new Provo Temple.

LOTOJA 2011

Saturday September 10, 2011
The LOTOJA or in other words LOgan, Utah TO JAckson Hole, Wyoming. 206 miles. 3 States. 1 day. A grueling, long day! This is the second time Alan has done the LOTOJA. If 206 miles is not enough, this year the wind constantly blew, making the ride even more difficult. This is Alan at the start with a smile on his face, knowing what was a head.


During the race, there are a few determined stops where a support person can refill food stores and refresh drinks for the riders. This is Alan after 80 miles. He was feeling sick and was "hurting" as they put it. There comes a time during these races that they don't feel they can eat. And if you don't eat, you can't keep up with the exertion on your body. Drinking is vital to be hydrated as well. I was concerned for him at this stage of the race. By the second "feed zone" he was feeling a little better. And by the third zone was even better. I really don't know how he does it.


This photo was taken just after the third feed zone that I gave him the food and water. He was feeling good and so I decided to get on ahead of him and pull over and take some photos. He was feeling well enough to give me a wave and a smile.


This is at the finish line. 10 hours and 16 minutes later. He placed 17th out of 58 in his grouping. It has to feel pretty good knowing you will soon be off the bike and that you accomplished something hard.


I am amazed at him doing so well. He really can do HARD things. I am proud of him! Way To Go Alan!


The other wonderful thing about this years race is that my brother and his family were there. My nephew in law raced for the first time. We cheered our racers on and helped take photos during the race. It was fun to have them around. Here is a photo of them after Lance came over the finish line! Way To Go Lance!

20 Years!

It is amazing to me how a single day can bring on so many different emotions. Today marks the anniversary of Alan and I being married. Twenty years! Twenty years seems like such a short time looking back and a long time looking forward. Why is that? I think that it is because so much of us is in that twenty years, or five or whatever the amount of time that is behind us. I think it is because we have moments we don't remember or we choose to forget but those moments that are ahead of us, we anticipate what could be; what we dream would be. Anticipation. Anxious. Life Changing.

I have had moments where I think "If I can just get through this or when Monday comes I won't have so much to do or whatever it is that we want to finish". But the thing that I have noticed is that when I "get through" something or when Tuesday has come or that thing that I have finished is done, there is always something else that needs to be done, or get through. Life is all about the moments.



I look back today on my wedding day all those years ago, and I remember the day. Waking up and getting ready to go to the Temple. Thinking my Mom wouldn't get back to escort me to the Temple because she was at the ER with my younger sister Maureen. She had broken out all over her body from an allergic reaction to some medication. I remember getting to the Temple and seeing Alan already there, in the waiting room, writing in his journal. I remember seeing family and friends from both Utah and Arizona there at the St. George Temple and being grateful that we had so many there to support us, because they loved us. I remember the comment after kissing Alan the first time as husband and wife. "It looks as though you have had practice!" How when we went outside to take pictures, our faces turned red with the heat of the day (109 degrees that day.) I remember my photographer telling everyone to smile and for Maureen not to scratch, at which we would all be laughing in the photos from his remarks. I remember the luncheon and the things I would do differently if I could at the luncheon. I remember the hugs and the laughter as we said goodbye to those that had come to support us that day. Days run into each other, but for that day, things seemed to stand still even though the day seemed to pass so quickly.



If you were to ask me what I did on our first anniversary I could not tell you. And maybe it doesn't really matter what you do or how you celebrate an anniversary. Maybe it is more important that you celebrate it by remembering why you fell in love and why you were married and what things you remember about the day you promised your love to each other. I have felt a force pull at my heart strings each time I tell the story of how we met and fell in love. Perhaps it is in the remembering that helps us secure those feelings we had on the day of our wedding.



Thank you Alan for being my Eternal Companion. Thank you for choosing me all those many years ago. Thank you for being such a good husband and father. Thank you for loving me. I am grateful that the Lord led you to me in life. I can't imagine my life here without you. I didn't know that I would love you more now than I did twenty years ago. Twenty years is just a drop in the bucket in the span of the eternities. Isn't this ride going to be fun? I can't wait. I love you to the moon and back...

Loved

Sometimes in our lives we are blessed to have a friend that changes our lives in a positive way. I feel overly blessed to have such a friend in my life. How grateful I am that she is my friend. I will never forget the Spirit of the Lord prompting me to get to know her. She had just moved into our ward to live with her mother-in-law after the death of her father-in-law. I felt that she needed a friend. Of the many times I have felt the Spirit that strong, I am so grateful that I listened. In those eleven and a half years we have been more like sisters that are friends. We have been asked if we were sisters and I always answer "Yes" quickly because I feel that strongly about our bond. Ann has come to my aid multiple times when I needed someone to listen. She let me cry about the death of my mother. She has cared for me when times were difficult. She has helped me paint countless hours when I moved into my home, helped me decorate it, given me advice, and loved me. Somehow, she has felt that I have helped her in similar ways. We have walked miles together, cried together, laughed together and been there for each other. We have watched our boys play football together, and our kids play in a concert together. There is nothing she could ask that I would not go out of my way to accomplish for her or with her.

Over the years, I have been able to capture the faces and love of her wonderful family. I do not have all the photos I have taken, only those that were digital. I thought it might be fun to portray some of those family photos here so time could be seen.





Ward Halloween Party!



This picture was taken this week as she prepared to send her oldest son out on a mission. It was easy to take these pictures but so hard to edit them as I thought about the change that will come as she moves from the area I live in. She and her family are moving this month, two plus hours away from me. Our friendship will now be tested in a different way. We will have to fight to keep it strong as distance will separate us from spending a great deal of time together. But I have heard that those relationships that you fight for will stay strong. We will still be able to cry and laugh over the phone and through email which makes the distance not too great. The knowledge of the life after this one reminds me that we will continue to have these relationships after.



Thank you Ann for being one of the very best blessings that has come into my life. There are no words to describe how you have affected my existence. I love you! :)