Thoughts for today!

Women's Daybook FOR TODAY, November 2, 2011...

Outside My Window...  After a perfect Fall day yesterday with a balmy 66 degrees for the Trick or Treaters, we woke up to a soft rain which soon turned to SNOW!  I am so happy it wasn't the stick to the ground snow though:)

The Fall colors are still so rich and beautiful. I love Fall!

I am thinking... I will sure be glad  when our home is finally cleaned and our yard (life) is back to normal! This disaster Company  have literally been cleaning our home for over a week!  FINALLY!

  If you click on the window you will see what we have been dealing with.

 We had a nasty accident in February when a construction companies'  backhoe's (while taking down a 50+ foot Elm tree) hose broke loose and sprayed hydraulic oil covering the back of our home. This is looking out of our back windows.

We had  60 mile an hour winds which whipped the oil even around to the front of our home covering everything in its path with sticky oil.

 It literally looked like white Karo syrup was dripping down our windows, trees and shrubs etc..I will do a post about this hopefully soon.:)

I am thankful  for... A new beautiful granddaughter. Each new little one is such a cherished miracle.

Ginny Kay was born Oct 8, 2011

She weighed  7lbs 6.5oz and 20 inches long

Her mommy is one of the most amazing women who can stay cool and collected under pressure, I know.  Not only did she give birth naturally, and at home, but she was able to deliver her own daughter, practically by herself!  AMAZING!

  (Don't try this at home! She has her masters in midwifery from George Town University after graduating from BYU with her RN.) 

 She was so contended with life. I hope for her mommy's sake she continues to be.

 She is an adorable blondie

I enjoyed my time staying and getting as many baby loves as I could from both of our Colorado babies for a week and also from their newly transplanted Virginia cousins.

 Ali, our oldest grandchild is holding her new little cousin while big brother checks out his tiny sister on her Birthday.. 

From the kitchen...  We have been enjoying a healthier take on a delicious vegetable loaded Calzone. This week,  I filled it full of diced tomatoes, hot pepper flakes,  spinach, pineapple, sauteed onions and sweet peppers, turkey pepperoni and low fat mozzarella cheese.

It is so yummy!

I am creating...  a mess! Doing lots of paper organizing and e-mails!  I was called to a new position in our ward (church congregation)  this past weekend. I am now serving back with my sisters in the Relief Society, which I love and is the women's organization of our church.  We have a presidency meeting tonight and I have been getting prepared.  I have been serving on a stake level (8 wards in our stake) for almost 6 years with the Young Single Adults. I will miss them, yet I am so excited to be back with our friends in our own ward.

I am going... to be with our family at little Ginny's blessing this weekend.  Most of her cousins will be there, so it shall be another memory making weekend.

I am reading...  "The Children of the Promise" ... again.

I am hoping... My mom will get her scooter tonight, which will alleviate stress and pressure on her heart.  We spent another lovely day together yesterday. I cherish these days!

I am hearing... Soft music playing.

Around the house... I have men looking in my windows!  :?

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... is Christmas shopping and finish planning a surprise 85th B-day party for my mom later this month. 80 have already sent their RSVP.

Here  are some picture's from last night I  thought I would share of three of our grandchildren before they left to go Trick or Treating...

And just as a closing thought for today ...

"We cannot call back time that is past, we cannot stop time that now is, and we cannot experience the future in our present state. Time is a gift, a treasure not to be put aside for the future but to be used wisely in the present." ~ President Thomas S. Monson

Use it wisely!
~♥~ Beth

M.I.A. but doing well

Our life has been so full  and time has been in short supply!  Choices had to be made of that which is good and that which is even better.

Life is full of seasons which are wonderful and good, yet at times life brings about many opportunities for us to stretch and grow.  We have been so very blessed this past year even, beyond measure. Yet we have also been  in a season of stretching and growing those other muscles too:) I guess you could say we live a full life.  Yet, I wouldn't have given up any part of it! Well almost any part of it.;}

 A medical degree would have been nice or at least a degree as a paralegal would have certainly been helpful.  Yet, I think a degree as an activity director would have been the most fun as we have spent lots of time associating, worshiping and playing with the Young Single Adults (ages 18-30) of our church in our area...

Many of my blogging friends know we spent a lot of time taking care of my father in law for several years prior to his death a year ago  in June.  The week after his passing we realized we needed to move my precious mom to live closer to us which meant for the first time in her 84 years she was going to have to live a different state than her beloved Idaho. 

 Mom moved to Utah shortly afterwards.

It has been a JOY for me to spend most of my time with her...and lots of doctors...hospitals etc.

 We have been averaging 3 appointments a week for the last year! We had 15 just in September. She has fallen 5 times now  and between her and I, we have had 3 surgeries. I keep asking for a frequent visitor card with benefits, but no one is offering any rewards:)

 This wonderful spunky lady has so much empathy and love to give to everyone she meets or sees.  This morning she is baking her yummy cinnamon rolls for her neighbors.

Earlier this year we found out mom has a  pretty fast growing Thoracic Aorta ascending Aneurism which is being measured often and has been deemed inoperable.  It measured 3.2 cm in January and is at 4.7cm.   So I have found my priorities changed and I have not spent time blogging, but recording family histories with her, and gathering her memories and family stories.  What a blessing she is to our family!

I have really missed out by not living close to my mom for most of my marriage, so I am taking advantage of every precious moment I can:)  She makes me laugh. 

  Friday after receiving spinal injections the Anesthesiologist came out and told me mom's blood pressure was 212/ 108 and I needed to contact her primary care physician to adjust her BP meds..  We tried, but the doctor was busy and receptionist told us to go the ER.

Mom refused and said she was out of toilet paper and wanted to go shopping to Walmart instead!  So we went shopping at Walmart She had me place two huge packages of Charmin in her cart and then she placed  a large bunch of bananas in her basket and remarked,

  "See, I have faith, the Lord still has things for me to do. We don't have to go the the ER!"

Her cardiologist  called and doubled her B/P meds and she is doing much better.  Whew.. She was able to go with her some of her daughters and granddaughters to the General Relief Society meeting and dinner a few weeks ago.

It was fun to have  3 generations as we were being taught and uplifted. I loved the talk by President Dieter F Uchtdorf  One of my favorite quotes was:

"Just think of it-you are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful and glorious being in the universe. He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name…You are not forgotten. Your Heavenly Father knows, loves, and cherishes you."

Mom has three daughters who live here in Utah in the SLC area and I am the only one who doesn't work full time.  So I have taken advantage of the opportunity  to go shopping, out to lunch and or just hang out with my awesome mom.
  She has always been known as a 'resource type of'  neighbor, friend, sister, mom and grandma. Anyone who needed anything or wanted to learn 'how to do" almost everything ( teach a church lesson, give a talk, gardening, canning, decorating, cooking, baking, or wanted to know what is going on in the news or politics ect.)  would call on my mom.  Mom lives in an independent senior housing apartment and I swear most of the groceries she buys, is to make and take food to her neighbors or for a potluck dinner they are having.  It didn't take long for her wonderful reputation to follow her in her new home.  She has also the greenest thumb ever!  She si still harvesting tomatoes and even strawberries from her deck.

-----Mom has also had the opportunity to reconnect and see many relatives since moving to Utah. This is a picture of her and two of her cousins Norma and Marie spending an afternoon visiting, catching up and doing a lot of laughing.  

 They were so cute I could almost picture them as young girls, with their other cousins playing out in  Grandpa Ricks's apple orchard.  This picture  was taken 2 days before her cousin Norma died.  I am so glad they got to enjoy this afternoon together.

My sister Marae has been an enormous help and buddy in crime as we care for my mom.

 Marae's time has been limited though caring for her wonderful husband who passed away in July.

My sister Marae is behind mom on the left.

 with one of my little grandsons

My brother in law Russell fought a valiant fight with cancer for 5 years and my sweet sister, Marae fought right along beside her sweetheart, while she and her children cared for him at home. They live only 5 miles away.  So it was a very tender summer for all of us. 

 What an example of strength, courage and dedication Marae is to me, her seven children and 'almost' 11 grandchildren. Not only is she my sister, but one of my dearest friends.  So many little and big miracles have happened during their trial and I am so glad she can see the hand of the Lord in their lives, although her days are still very tender and will be for quite awhile. 

We have also been spending as much time as we can with our own little ones!

In August we were in Colorado 

and also with our others while staying in a condo in beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho

Oh, and we are also are expecting our 13th grandchild in this week!!! 

 Little Michael will soon be a big brother at 19 months.

Our daughter in law's parents are currently on a work assignment and living in Brazil for a year and so I am going to head to Colorado as soon as that exciting phone call comes.

You can see our life has been busy and the blessings continue to pour in.  

 May your own lives' be as blessed as mine.

~♥  Beth

Oops we just received the call to go.....I have to go pack! I can't post the rest of the pictures I had planned.  I can't wait to hold a new precious gift from Heavenly Father.   See, it is a wonderful and busy full life!

Ring a Ding Ding

I read a post over at one of my favorite bloggers, Cherie's.  It brought back so many warm fuzzy memories. I found I was writing a book again in her comments and decided to write my own

memories.

She asked if we would ever just go to a cell phone only household? 

I loved the party line at my grandma's home, and my sisters,

cousins and I were not always on the best behavior though. Hee Hee We were so bad.

Grandma would laugh at our antics and just say, "Oh my!" and daintily cover her mouth! (Poor people. I would hate to have rude kids interrupting my phone calls now!!! :)

I remember our 4 digit phone number on our own rotary phone when I was in elementary school. The operator would ask, "Number please?"  I also remember how high up on the wall the phone was and how hard it was to reach it.

 I loved calling information. One operator even helped me with a math problem I had. (Those were sweet innocent days:)

I also remember trying to call my mom when I was in the 7th grade and the phone line was busy.

 I kept calling her and finally I called the operator for help. She asked me if it was an emergency... I said, " YES, please help me!"

I had to tell her what the emergency was.  She started to laugh and then interrupted the conversation my mom was having.

In tears I told my mom I had forgotten to wear my bra to school.
  I was so embarrassed, the operator knew!:)

Mr B and I had a long conversation last night and decided we will always keep our land line and cell phones.

We get so many house calls which we would not want to receive when we are out somewhere.

I also lost my cell phone this week and it was  on vibrate! UGH... It was so frustrating! I almost felt naked when I had to leave for an appointment without it.  At least we could still receive our calls at home.

We have friends and our own kids who only have cell phones.  It is so hard to find a phone number for friends if they are not already in our cell phone directory. Financially it has been advantageous for our children though.

 What are your opinions, would you ever consider going to a cell phone only household?   Please share your memories and thoughts. 

Enjoy a wonderful weekend and cherish those around you.
Love, Beth

Stitchin' Picasso

My daughter has done it again!  She simply amazes me with all of her talents including being one of  the best 'piecemakers' I know.

She created this Valentine masterpiece last week by using the fabrics she had on hand, lovingly known as her stash.

Since she was a small girl she would ask us for graph paper and it has been a joy to see everything she has created, first on her paper and then translated into beautiful masterpieces.  She has created gorgeous outdoor landscaping  and fabulous quilts.

   Isn't this just plain cute?

One of her other masterpieces she made for her family room. It  has become one of my favorites.  I have let her know OFTEN how much I LOVE it.

I love all the colors and her quilting and the way she put them together. She earned  a degree in Geography and was an Urban Planner before becoming a mommy, so the old world maps throughout this quilt suits her.

Well it worked because...

Look at the beautiful new quilt she is making for our family room. She said it will be our Valentines.  I am so excited:)

I will show you the finished quilt soon...

"Blankets wrap you in warmth, quilts wrap you in love."

             I hope you all are staying warm until spring arrives!

Love, Beth