Happy Thanksgiving! And Merry Christmas!

We have had a sweet, relaxing, beautiful Thanksgiving weekend.  We spent the evening of Thanksgiving Day at Jenny's home, surrounded by much of Spencer's family.  It was a lovely dinner, and we had some fun conversation as well.

Friday morning our boys and our nephew got up early to go Black Friday shopping.  Why?  I don't know.  They didn't know, either, except they wanted to say they'd been shopping on the morning of Black Friday.

Black Friday is also know (this year) as Briana's birthday.  Our baby is now 20.  It's funny how some things can just feel like a sock in the stomach.  Our daughter is 20.  Twenty.  How can that be?  Believe me, it's been a fantastic 20 years.

Last night Spencer and I wanted to go out together, but we couldn't find it in us to leave our bedroom.  So he watched a movie and I read a book and we went to bed early.  Then we got up this morning and went on our date.  We had breakfast at Village Inn.  I have to say that these morning dates are some of my favorites because we are both awake and looking cute and happy.  :) 

Our conversation ran the gamut, but one of the things we discussed was another sock in the stomach:  In just over a year, our Taylor will be 19.  It makes my heart clutch just a little bit.  He will be a fabulous missionary.  I can think of nothing more that I would want for a 19-year-old boy; but my mommy heart cracks a teeny-tiny bit when I think about it.  I don't think that makes me any more weird than nearly every missionary mother on the planet.

It's been another quiet day today, and I'm so thankful!  My heart runneth over (even if I can't find words for it)...

And P.S.  Thank you for all of your kind comments.  The girl's anger has gone.  It hasn't been replaced by anything yet, except a little sock in the stomach whenever she thinks about her mom being sick and far away.  Please continue to pray for the girl and her mother!

The Story of a Boob

Once upon a time there was an 18-year-old girl who lived at home, but who attended a YSA ward.  One day a member of the high council told the girl that she should make a more concerted effort to keep her parents informed as to what was happening in her life.  The girl was frustrated that her father had been talking about her to the HC member.  But she was trying to be teachable, so she thought, "You know, I should try harder to keep my parents in the loop."  Later that same day, the HC's wife asked the girl if things at their house had calmed down and then asked her--with great feeling--how her mother was doing.  The girl had had no idea that her mother wasn't perfect and wonderful as always.  But she thought, "If I don't tell them things, I can't expect them to tell me things."

Later that same week, the girl received a letter from a friend which was quite disturbing.  She thought, "This is exactly the kind of thing I ought to tell my parents about.  And as a bonus, they will have some wonderful advice for me."  So she went home and poured out her heart to her parents.  To her surprise and consternation, the girl's father went completely berserk.  He told her she was being stupid and should expect this kind of drama; and he stomped out of the room.

THE GIRL WAS VERY, VERY ANGRY.  She began to cry in frustration and told her mom that it wasn't right for her father to talk about her to the HC member and then keep things from her.  She expressed her opinion that if they wanted to know about her life, it should work both ways.  The girl's mother defended her father (which was the right thing to do) but said that she would discuss this mistake with him.

The girl was not that angry with her parents for another 24 years.  But then one day the girl received a phone call from her parents.  She knew instantly that something was wrong, but it must be something that had just happened because she had just spoken with her mom less than 24 hours ago.  The girl's mother told her that three days previously she had had a biopsy on her breast, and she had learned that day that the results were positive:  she had breast cancer.  The girl's mother explained that they hadn't wanted anyone to worry, so they had not said anything about the biopsy.

THE GIRL WAS VERY, VERY ANGRY.  She understood her parents' point of view, but she disagreed with it.  Maybe there was nothing she could do, but maybe she would be able to pray for her mom.  She felt that there was a double standard, because if something like that had happened to her, she would have been in trouble if she hadn't kept her parents informed.  She knew that her sister--who lives with her parents--was completely in the loop; so why weren't the others informed?  She wondered if her mom remembered how hard it is to not be close to family when things are happening, and how hard it is to feel connected to them, and how much it hurts when she can't be there with them.

The girl is afraid of what emotions will come next.  Fear?  Sadness?  Worry?  But right now, anger rules the universe.

Merry Christmas

This page has my entire Christmas wish list on it!

One from Spencer, one from Dean, one from Gary...

More Illness, More Memories, More Fun

Our Ashtyn is sick again.  We thought she might have strep.  That test came back negative.  The doctor thought she might have mono. That test came back negative.  Poor baby!  She's been poked and prodded and checked so many times she is a walking pin cushion.

I was watching my friend, Dorothy, who was having lunch with her daughter and Rachel's boyfriend.  As the two young people bantered back and forth, Dorothy started laughing.  She shook her head as she bounced quietly up and down--and she looked just like my grandma.

Jax called me yesterday to see if they could host a family gathering at our house on Sunday.   We're very excited!

What Don't You Love?

Kleenex that doesn't pop up properly.

Head colds.

Party planning.

Noisy water bottles.

I Must Have Lost My Mind

It has been a month since I ran.  I didn't really miss it.  But Bri and I decided we'd better get busy, so last night we went to the Oval as soon as I got home from work.  We were only scheduled to run a mile, and it was fabulous!  It felt so good!  My legs didn't ache.  My breathing never got out of control.  We didn't have to stop.

Awesome.

This morning we got up and went before work.  We did 2 miles.  I felt good.  Briana struggled a bit.  But we were there, and we did it.

I can't believe I'm saying this...

The Big Money Movie

If you are old (like me) and grew up in Utah, you might remember The Big Money Movie with Bernie Calderwell.  He was this weird-looking guy in huge glasses who each afternoon "hosted" an old movie on KSL.  I think he might have spun a wheel for prizes or something.  I don't remember the details; because what kid wanted to watch an old movie in the middle of the day?

One day I was at my grandparents' house (in the family room that used to be the garage, which was down a couple of stairs and had RED carpet and lava stone on the fireplace) and started watching this old movie.  This is the exact day I fell in love with Doris Day.  The movie was "Tea For Two," and it is a mu.si.cal. from beginning to end.  I loved it!

After that, I checked in on The Big Money Movie every chance I got.  Nothing was ever as great again.

ANYWAY, I have looked for "Tea For Two" at every video store and on every shelf at Walmart for 30 years.  Others have found it, but I never did.

Welcome, my friends, to the 21st century and NETFLIX (!), who had "Tea for Two."  There are 6 of us using this service, and our children would not let me cut in line for which movie came to the house next, so it has taken several weeks; but "Tea For Two" showed up at our house last night.  Briana sat and watched it with me, and we giggled at how silly it was, and we loved the singing and the dancing.

OK, it didn't move me the way it did when I was a kid, but it was a delicious moment.

And now I have to send it back so "Singin' in the Rain" can come!

Favorite Things

One thing I love about our children is that they are not afraid to laugh out loud.  It tickles me when I'm in another room and they are watching a movie and they all belly laugh.

Yesterday Landon laughed out loud while reading a book at school, and someone told him that is weird--if you can read in your head, why can't you just laugh in your head?

Sad!

Laughter is good.  Children's laughter--even when they are big children--is good. 

Our children are good.

This Was in the Gray (Interoffice) Mail This Morning

My many friends make me very happy!  I smile.

Master's Degree, Here I Come

I have applied to and been accepted for an MBA program through Western Governor's University.  It is all online work. 

I will begin school on December 1st.  Wish me luck!

Woot, Woot!

Spencer passed his certification exam!  Wahoo!

Don't Worry

Taylor made it home.  At 1:40.  He's still among the living.

Neither of us (Spencer was up worrying, too) went back to sleep very quickly.  It was a very late night.

But at 8:00-ish we got up and gathered the family to head to Orem.  The plan was to help my grandparents do some home and yard work, mostly including doing some tree pruning.  Derek was there, along with Brant and their three oldest boys.

The girls and I got there a bit later, but we started dusting and vacuuming.  There was a large, empty box in the living room, so I was taking it out to the truck (where tree branches were also being loaded), when Spencer fell from the ladder.  He hit his head on the tree trunk, and it knocked the wind out of him.  We opted to call 9-1-1.  The emergency operator was wonderful, and the Orem paramedics were fabulous.  Spencer was coherent and thought he was fine, but we both understood that it would be better to have everything checked out.

Coming into the E.R. in an ambulance gets you first-class, fast treatment.  We were back at Grandpa and Grandma's in about an hour. 

Spencer has many scrapes, including a pretty good chunk of skin and hair missing from the back of his head.  He is sore everywhere.  But there are no broken bones, he required no stitches, and he retained his sense of humor.  The ER doc asked him where he felt the most hurt, and he said, "My patella and my rhomboids."  The doctor said, "Where do you work?"  And Spencer responded drily, "Boeing."  The ER doc and nurses and paramedics all got a kick out the fact that someone who worked building airplanes could tell them that his rhomboids and patella hurt.  They looked at me with eyebrows raised and I said, "That's nothin'.  You should hear him at home."

And that, my friends, is just how quickly life can change.  I am grateful that my sweetheart is not more seriously hurt and that our lives did not change drastically in that instant.

I Don't Usually Wait Up, but...

Taylor had to work this evening.  He told Briana that he was going somewhere after work, but she doesn't remember where.  And he will be back late.

So...where did he go?  Who is he with?  What are they doing?  What time is "late"?

And at what point do I consider killing him?  After I've received no response from the 6th text?  After I've called him more than 3 times?  After it's tomorrow?

Just wondering.

P.S. I Also Wanna Do This

Check this out!

Daring to Dream

When I first started a blog, I wanted to make people laugh.  Never mind that I'm not funny.  :)

This blog has kind of evolved into a journal of sorts. 

My english teacher in 7th and 8th grade, Mr. McCormick, used to say, "Low thinkers talk about people.  Medium thinkers talk about events.  High thinkers talk about ideas."  I don't think I'm a very high thinker, but when something crosses my mind for any length of time, I find myself wanting to write about it.

So I'm combining this blog (which includes all of you, my kind friends, who join me even though I'm not funny), my journal (which often talks about people and events), and my ideas in this post.

The book I'm proofing is called "Dare to Dream" by Whitney Johnson.  Seriously, it's awesome.  Many of you like reading things you can chew on, and this is one of those books.  Make plans now to purchase this book.  It's empowering, it's thought-provoking, it's well-written, it's inspiring.

And I am doing a homework assignment right here.  I'm going to be "inking" what I've been "thinking."  These are some of my dreams.  They will take some time to realize, and they will not happen all at once.  I will probably "go on dates" with each of these dreams in order to decide how far I want to follow them.  Life will definitely take its own twists and turns, making it necessary to re-think and re-evaluate my dreams.  I may forego some dreams for others that are more important to me as time goes by.  But writing dreams and goals down is important, so here goes:

I want a master's degree.  I don't know exactly what I want to do when I grow up, but I do know that I want to be educated.  I also want to have pursued opening the doors that need to be opened in order to get there (wherever "there" is).

I want to act.  I don't care about being famous, but I want to be onstage.

I want to write and publish a book.  I don't know what my book will be, but someday I want to be published--preferably by a major, reputable publishing company.  I don't care about making money.  I just want to do it and do it well.

"If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."  --G. K. Chesterton

I think I can do just about anything badly.  I can only hope that the practicing will help me to eventually do these things well.

Therefore, I'm giving it a shot!

I'm a Sicko

This morning I took an allergy pill and took Landon to the orthodontist.  By the time his ortho appointment was finished, I was decidedly sleepy. The drive home was eternal.  I was taking Lando to his school when he remembered that he had forgotten his backpack.  The detour home took forever.  I finally got home, undressed, and climbed into bed.  For four hours.

I've fought exhaustion all day. I've also blown my nose enough to use an entire roll of tp and a half of a box of Kleenex.  I stayed awake, though, so I would be able to sleep tonight.

Easy, right?  I should be able to take another allergy pill and say good-bye to the world for 5 -- 6 hours of slumber.

Apparently it doesn't work that way.

In other news, I am proofing a book for DB, and I love it.  When it is published, you might just receive a copy from me.  It's that good.  It's non-fiction, and I think all women of all ages should read it.

The end.

Hooray for Brannah!

Yesterday Briana took her national massage therapist certification exam.  She was very, very nervous.  She had a crying meltdown on Sunday.  She asked her dad for a priesthood blessing, which he gladly did for her.

She awoke Monday morning with her hands shaking.  She fixed herself a good breakfast and had a shower.  She did some last-minute studying.

She called me in the afternoon to tell me she'd passed!  Now the school will work on procuring the license, and she will begin looking for work.

Woot!  It's so exciting!