I am so excited!  My Son-in-Law Clay, Danielle's husband wrote a book!  I loved it!  As I read it I was so amazed at how good it was.  I found myself stopping several times and saying to myself, "that was in his mind?"  It was a page turner and very hard to put down  It is only 2.99 on amazon Kindle.  I have the link below.  Check it out!!  If you love it as much as me, and I know you will! make sure and write a review on Amazon!

Visit From Danielle and Clay and Conference

One night Steve and I were looking outside and there was this incredible moon.  Steve thought I should try to take a pic of it.  This was with my telescopic lens.  it isn't the best shot of  what we saw, but still kind of cool.

Danielle  and Clay are here!  We are having a great time. It was fun to talk to Clay about his book. I thought of some questions I want to ask him tomorrow.  Conference was wonderful as usual. I LOVE conference. I can't imagine living in this world without a prophet and apostles. It brings me so much hope and peace. That is what the Savior said "in Me ye shall have peace". I truly find that during conference. I notice the older I get the more tender my heart is. Tears come more readily.  I love The Lord, He is so kind. No matter what your situation there is always something for everyone to learn. I told Steve I can't wait for it to come out in print. I can stop and ponder it. Love you all!

6 days late!!

Well my goal at RS was to blog once a week!!  Shame on me, I am 6 days late.  I don't really have time today, but I have wasted two days already this week, so why not do something useful!  I have been watching Lost for the last week or so!  I love it but I can't stop watching it once I start, I feel like an addict!

The last two weeks besides too much TV have also been very productive for at least 3-4 of those days.  That makes me feel better!  I cleaned and organized the garage and Steve's tool closet! Plus I cleaned and organized the attic!

I know kind of boring, but a huge deal for me.  My next move is the sewing room.  Today I am getting a slow start.  I don't feel too good.  I am soooo tired of this sinus thing.  It is not bad, just annoying and I want it to go away.  I know it makes me tired.  

I had a bunch of other uplifting things I wanted to share, but I'm hungry and need to get on with my day

Relief Society and Pics of Megans Visit

 

I love Relief Society, I always have.  Last night was our night time activity.  It was all about journals. She talked about all the different ways we could Journal.  Also they talked about the importance of talking about the things of the world, what we eat, our lives, family, Spiritual expediences, just about anything you can think of. One of the ideas of course was blogs.  I thought about how I love blogging and I love reading them.  I have gotten out of the habit and I realized again it is important.  Of course you could just keep a private journal, but blogging it seems to me brings a broader view like the suggestions of what should be included in a journal.  I will always have a personal journal, but again was reminded for me the importance of the blog, because it includes pics, recipes, more everyday things.  I don't include those kind of things generally in my personal journal.  I was reminded of what I have been thinking about lately, having had way too much time to think in the last month and a half, how our society has tried to find easier and shorter ways to communicate.  That can be a good thing, but if we are not careful we won't be communicating.  Before Cell phones and especially texting and facebooking, people talked on the phone more, or got together more.  Today we seem to try to find ways to get around a phone call or visit.  We tend to think we are too busy, but yet we seem to find time to watch movies or TV.  I am grateful for all the technology, but I think it is important to not get in such a hurry to get done with people that we don't communicate at all.  So the long and the short of it, the speaker asked us to make a small goal to journal in some way.  My small goal it to blog at least once a week.  I am so far behind that it inhibits me from blogging.  But no more!  So you might see random older pics and that is okay too.  Plus I feel like it keeps us all in touch and we feel more a part of each others lives.  I am glad Megan discovered face time, I have wanted us to do that more as a family, her world is forcing us into it.  I'm glad.   I'm going to include some pics of when Megan and Jakes family were here. Love you All!

 doesn't she look like she is on the runway!

Not the best pic, but it shows my mom and dad

 And the usual tea party, it was Scarlets first.  She was amazing for her age in the decorating department!

 

 Wow, Ruby old enough to pour the tea!  Have to admit, its hard to see people growing up!

 Will post the beach another day! 

Sick

I have been sick now for about 11 days now.  The longest and most painful cold I can remember.  I went through the can't get out of bed except for going to the bathroom stage.  Then get up and take a very short walk phase, change my mind about that and do a load of dishes for my movement for the day, but mostly Steve waiting on me hand and foot.  I got so sick of TV but yet reading was too hard to do for very long periods of time.  Talking to people on the phone was exhausting also.  So in other words lots of time to think.  But even that was hard until the last few days.  I did go to the chiropractor and the massage therapist, those helped also, but here I am still too sick to do normal things.  I am getting better slowly.  

So I have been pondering and have come to several conclusions.  First in the Lorenzo Snow manual for this weeks lesson, (thankfully the Lord has given me the ability to read scriptures most days)"

"Chapter 11: “I Seek Not Mine Own Will, but the Will of the Father 

When we seek God’s will, we follow a course in which there will be no failure.

There is a course that men and women may pursue wherein there will be no failure. Whatever disappointments may arise or seeming failures may result, there will be in reality no failure, as a general thing."

To truly appreciate that statement you need to read the whole chapter, but you get the gist.  If we are striving to live the commandments,  there will be no mistakes. Things that appear to be mistakes will actually turn out for our good.  I loved that. 

 So it made me think about my sickness.  I have been running at a pace that has been far too great for my age and capabilities. I started to get headaches and memory lost that became quite scarey to Steve and I.  So I went in for an MRI and everything was fine.  While waiting for the MRI and the results I did a lot of thinking about my life.  I had already chosen to quit being a WW leader, but there were other things this year that screamed things are not right.  I don't think hardly a soul got a Birthday present on time. I don't blog on a regular basis and get behind on reading others blogs My life has slowly but surely become one of run here run there, collapse watch TV, then run some more.  Then add to that feeling guilty about all the things I wasn't getting done, the moving of  two houses, non-stop visits away as well as at our house.  The Lord finally said OK ENOUGH!!! I am sick really sick.  I realized I need to slow down and enjoy life.

I was sitting here thinking today(missing church for the second week in a row) that I needed a break from life, and this is the only way Heavenly Father could do that.  I was reading the word of wisdom lesson coming up in a few weeks in Sunday school and it said we are not supposed to work to exhaustion.  I thought that was interesting. The scriptures teach we should not run faster than we have strength.  Be diligent, but not to the point of exhaustion. I thought about how many times I do that.  When we are exhausted, Satan has more power to tempt us. 

Today as I was pondering on all of this (you can tell I am sick because this is so unorganized!  Hope you get the message!) and I realized something simple and yet profound.  I need to quit worrying about doing the right thing, just pray and ask the Holy Ghost to help me know what is most important that day and it will all work out.  I know that sounds simple and not that easy, but it  brought me comfort.  The scriptures teach "ask and it shall be given to you"  If we truly believe that, Heavenly Father will come through for us.  We just have to believe He cares.  Well, I am starting to reach my limit with my lovely sickness.  I am going to try to learn from this experience.  love you all!!

time to blog!

I've been trying to catch up on everyone's blogs.  I'm not completely caught up, but I felt like I needed to start blogging again.  I have been watching way too much TV and eating too many things I don't normally eat.  I have decided watching TV and eating inappropriately goes hand in hand in my life.  I eat more healthfully when I don't watch very much TV. 

I have decided I have amazing children.  I read their blogs, instagram and talk to them on the phone and I stand in awe. 

I am very tired tonight but have promised myself to get back into blogging.  We didn't get to watch conference this last time, so I have been catching up. I LOVE Conference.  I don't know how anyone could watch conference and not gain a testimony.  I have been watching it at night if I can't sleep and sometimes for my scripture study.  May I say one of the saddest things that has happened in this last year is Steve Jobbs dieing.  Apple is already suffering comparatively.  I love my Iphone and Ipad.  I don't know how I lived without them.  My quality of life has changed dramatically.  I love how it brings the gospel more alive and instantly there whenever I need it.  I get instant videos of my sweet grandkids adn family on my phone.  Life is better for Steve Jobbs.

I have a lot to catch up on, but for tonight here are a few pics.  I woke up one day and said," it is time"  time to cut my hair off!!  I am so glad I did. I get so many compliments, and fun "you look younger" comments again!  Can't get enough of those! Got accused of being a sister again!  Got a love that!  Love you all!!!

Jakes Fam and other things

A couple of weeks ago I went to Jake and Lyndseys, to do some shopping and to visit.  I spent the night.  I got to play the card game Amy made for the first time.  The kids loved it!

  

This is the box and Amy put Maddie on top! :-)

 

Ruby did great, but it has been a while since Miles had played and we should have done a "learning" game first.  Miles got his feelings hurt because he had to give up Grandpa and Himself. It wasn't hard for him to give up everyone else, but when that happened all in one turn he quit. I feel so badly about it.  I am hoping we can get him to play again but help him the first time.

We went to Bobs and had lunch, that is always so wonderful. I babysat  for a while.Ruby is getting so old and beautiful!                 Handsome Miles!

 

Then we made cupcakes of course!

 Miles usually can't make it to the second, he has to dig in!

 Went to Ikea, grabbed some things too fast, am going to take back one, but we will set up the TV stand soon I hope.  Then I went home, stopped at TJ's and Costco on the way home.  

Been busy unpacking and cleaning.  We started moving in at the beginning of January and I hadn't vacuumed or cleaned a toilet.  So I spent some time yesterday doing those things. It felt good. I have the kitchen, Laundry room done.  It feels good.  I have my bedroom and bath, as done as it can until the new dresser arrives.  Steve started the sewing room, whahoo!!  He has to put the table top in through the window so that takes help and ladders which he didn't have.  It is coming together!  We had our first 2 renters this in our Newport home this last week.  It is good to get that over with.  We have several signs for the elevator. Steve had people try to figure out the elevator with instructions on the door. By the time he got done with his experiments with different people we had changed the signs about 4-5 times.  Fun huh?!

Life is good.  We had Stake Conference this weekend.  They are doing it over the internet at the branch building for us.  It is wonderful!  There are still some bugs to work out, we lost the sound and picture several times but got to hear most of it.  We had two general authorities and got a new stake pres.  It was very uplifting and made me think of the atonement a whole new way.  I love my Savior.

I love all of you!!!

Still not done! visit to California

If someone had told me it would take this long to unpack my house I would have said, "you don't know me!"  Well, I don't know me either!  I think moving two houses, and having to get one ready to be a rental and all that entails, advertising and buying stuff that you thought you had but doesn't work in this house...etc.  Anyway,  I am hoping to finish the downstairs this next week or two and then work my way upstairs.  The upstairs shouldn't take quite as long I hope! 

I want to start on Gracie's baptism dress the first part of March, so I hope I can get Steve to put up my sewing table next week or the latest the following.

We went to California to go to Tanner's baptism.  It was so much fun. We celebrated Kats b-day first. 

  

These glasses were a crackup

It was fast, but fun.  We went one day early so I could go with Kate and Lizze to Disneyland.  It was so great, I loved every minute of it.  First we went to "Princess breakfast"   
Lizzie told her to ask them questions and most of the princess were really sweet about it.  Kate was very concerned about their moms.  
 

 Next we went to the Bibpty, boppity, boo shop and Kate became a Princess.

 Picking out the hair style

 She picked out her crown, its in her hands

 Oh Meg, I bet you wish you could have done this!

 All done!

 She didn't want a princess dress because they were itchy.  I love the pic below, Lizzie was so sweet to make everything about Kate.  She wanted to see herself close up without everyone looking at her.

 

We then went to the animals and spent some time there.

 


 

She wanted to do Build a Bear.  It was cute to watch her and Lizzie.

 

The next day we gave Elle her b-day presents early. I made her a Minni mouse blanket out of fleece. and we bought her some figurines from Disneyland.

 

The last day we were there Tanner got baptized.  Rebecca's fam and Amys came it was fun to see everyone!  Marion made this Golden Plates cake, cool huh?

 All in All a great fast trip!