A needed mental recharging day

I went to the dentist this morning at 8:00 a.m. and then headed right out to Lynda Ann's.  Just needed to spend some time with Annie, who loves me for who I am, doesn't judge me, doesn't accuse me, and never, never dumps on me or yells at me about what a horrible parent I've been.

Got to Stansbury about 10:00.  We went and got my Driver's License renewed (the lady was surprised that I was 71 - that was nice), from there to get our toes done and then to have a bite to eat.

I loved being with her and visiting about anything that was on our minds.  Thanks Annie, for a fabulous recharging day that I desperately needed!

Finally but sadly released from my calling as the Stake RS President

Last Tuesday evening Neal and I were called over to the Stake President's office.  I knew exactly what it was for.  We met with my first counselor, Vicky Parry and her husband Pres. Parry along with Lisa and the whole stake presidency who are Pres. Little, Pres. Amos and Pres. Dent.  Pres. Little proceeded with the meeting by telling us how grateful he was for our service and how much he loved us and that as a new stake president it was so nice to know that he didn't need to make any changes at that time and could concentrate of other changes that needed to be made.  He then asked me if I would like to say anything and I think I blubbered out something like it had been and incredible journey and I'd loved it.  Pres. Little then asked each person if they had anything they would like to say.  He came to Pres. Parry who said that there was absolutely no question that I was supposed to be the Stake Relief Society President at that time.  The meeting ended and I left with tears running down my face and a hug from Pres. Little and one from Pres. Parry.

As we were driving home, Neal asked me how I was feeling and I told him I felt like I'd just lost another son.  Like a piece of my heart had just been cut out.  With stake conference coming up the following Sunday I knew I would be called on to share my testimony.  It was an emotional high combined with an emotional low.

Sunday morning rolled around and the inevitable was going to happen.  I was officially released and a new presidency called.  I was called on to share my testimony.

The are some of my thoughts share with the stake that morning:
"When I said my prayers this morning, I told Heavenly Father that I would be called on to share some thoughts.  I explained to him that some women cry pretty and some cry ugly.  I fit into the later category.  Not a pretty crier.  Could he possible bless me that I could get through my talk without crying.  The answer was 'Nope, not possible, even for Him.'  

The audience laughed hard here.

I then told them that Missionaries almost always say that it was the best two years of their lives.  I told them this was the best 6 years of my life.  I am grateful to Pres. Parry for extending this calling to me - even though I may have doubted his ability to receive inspiration.  Audience laughed again.

It has been wonderful to serve under both Pres. Parry and Pres. Little.  I am grateful for their confidence in me for their guidance and their love.  I have a great respect and love for both of these men.

It is a blessing to be married to Neal and to have his continued support as I have served in this calling.  He has been by my side every step of the way.

I have had the privilege of serving with incredibly spiritual women who have served with love, taught me much and strengthened my testimony.  As a presidency we have visited the relief society in our stake and our hearts have been touched.  We have noticed the time and loving care that is extended to the elderly in the care centers.  We have felt the love between the sisters as we've attended your relief society meetings.  We have been touched by the many stories of service that have been related to us and watched ward presidencies who lovingly serve the sisters under their care.

As we have met with President Little each month, we have felt the love and concern for all the sisters of this stake.

I layed in bed this morning and tried to sum up how I felt a out he past years and I came to the conclusion that I've felt like I've been in a grand group hug.  The feeling and memories I shall relish for the rest of my life.

Brothers and Sisters, I have a testimony of this great and inspired program.  I have a testimony that it will enrich our lives.  I have a testimony and a love of this great gospel.  As it says in one of the primary songs, 'I know my Father lives and loves me too.'  I am thankful that my Father in Heaven inspired Pres. Parry who gave me this opportunity to serve you during the past six year."

That was as close as I can remember what I said.

Now I have to share an interesting thing that happened.  Before I knew I was being released, I had given Pres. Little two names of sisters to replace my secretary.  Interestingly enough, The new Stake RS President, Barbara Crockett called both those women to serve with her.  Interesting, don't you think.  Coincidence and inspiration.  Absolutely inspiration.  Those two sisters are supposed to serve in the presidency.  I was amazed when they were the two called.  Sister Crockett did not know that they were the two names I had given Pres. Little.

I have loved this calling, served with all my heart and felt so much help from my Heavenly Father.  So grateful for this experience.

I might add here that stake conference ended at noon and at 4:00 P.M. that afternoon, I got a call from the ward clerk that Bishop Janzen wanted to meet with me Tuesday evening at 7:00.  No time to breathe when building up the kingdom!!  I'll let you know what my new assignment is.

Abby loves her Gam

Jeff, Annie and Abby came by the house the other night.  They were going to a reception for one of the friends and then dropped by to play a quick game of Shanghai.  Abby wanted to get a picture of the two of us.  I think she is working on some kind of project for young women.  I'll be anxious to see what it is.  What a beautiful young woman you are, Abby.  I'm proud to be your Gam and I love you.

Annie's girl's camp.

Annie sent me some pictures of the girls at camp.  She had Emmi with her as a leader, Mallory was with the stake people and Abby and Hayley as the group of girls at the camp.  Annie said they had a wonderful time but is glad that it is finally over for this year.  Her bishop indicated that he would love to have plan on it for the next 4 years!  Annie made the poodle skirts for the girls.  Amazing Annie!

Cute girls Annie!  You should be proud.  I know you are.

Tucker and Jamie making big changes

Tucker and Jamie have sold their home and are buying her parents home.  They are doing all kind of remodeling before moving into their new abode.  Tearing out walls, putting in new doors, tearing out the fireplace and pulling up carpet and tile.  They are putting in new wood floors, granite tops in their kitchen, new appliances and new tile in some areas of the home.  I will be so excited to get down there and see what they have done.  Can't wait until they are all settled in and ready for visitors.  Here are some pictures Tucker sent me.

 This is the granite counter tops.

Pictures of the wood flooring

 Picture of the kitchen they are tearing apart.

 This is the picture of the front room carpet that Tucker is tearing out.

Still doing Counted Cross Stitch.

I kind of quit for a few months.  Just seem to need a break from stitching.  But I couldn't leave it alone for long.  I just finished this one and I'm going to get framed and give to a particular granddaughter for her birthday.  It fits her to a tea!  Obviously it needs to be stretched and pressed.  it didn't take me too long to do this one.

This is my next project that will take some time to do so I will probably be posting my month by month progress.

Just thought I would post where I am right now.  You can see I just started this today.  I've got a long, long way to go.

Neal planted Jeff and Annie's flower pot

Saturday morning Neal and Jeff went golfing and Lynda Ann, Emmi, Abby, Hayley and Andrew and I drove to Provo to meet Lila Mae and Susan for lunch.  We had such a fun time with them.  We ended up at the Brick Oven and had a delicious lunch and a great visit.  On the way home we made a few stops to get stuff for Lynda Ann for her girls camp.  When we got home, Neal was out planting Annie's huge flower pot for her front porch.  It turned out beautiful.

Crazy picture of Tucker

Tucker said that he and Lyndsy were talking and Lyndsy sent him a picture of her new hair color.  He sent this picture back to her of his hair.  It's just lovely Tucker!  I have to say Tucker, you look a bit creepy!

Neal and I were at Costco and we saw these Coleman Utah Coolers so we bought one for Neal and one for Tucker.  Now we just have to figure out how to get it to him.

Doing some remodeling

I mentioned earlier that I'm redoing the guest bedroom and changing it from a guest room/sewing room to a guest room/ reading room.  I rarely use the sewing machine anymore except to hem pants or mend something so I'm putting it away under the stairs and will pull it out when I need to do a quick fix.  I don't need the sewing table anymore so I called Susan and asked her if she new anyone who might want a sewing table.  She said she did.  Neal and I put in in the Jeep and we delivered it to Susan to pass it along.  I also had two pictures on the wall that will no longer work and Susan said she wanted them for her house so we also took those down to her.  Just wanted to take some pictures for remembrance.  Annie put this sewing table together for me for Mother's Day one year.  She is amazing!  Sorry I can't use it anymore Annie, but it did get a lot of years of use.  By the way.  The pin cushion sitting on the sewing table was made for me by Abby.  I shall keep it forever :-)

Tucker's sense of humor

I got this picture from Tucker and he said that he thought this would be a great punishment for this years bet . . . hummm - maybe I could get creative and find one that said, "Like mother like son!"  Now that would be fabulous :-)

Saturday activities

Saturday morning Neal and I met Lynda Ann, Jeff and Emmi out at Glendale Golf Course.  Neal and Jeff were going golfing while Lynda, Emmi and I went shopping.  The girls had a great time going from place to place and checking things off our list while Neal and Jeff play nine holes and then had to quit because of the lightning and rain.  We all met at Costa Vida for lunch at noon.  That wasn't what was planned but because of the rain we changed our agenda.  After lunch the Gertsons headed home with a couple errands on the way and Neal and I decided to head up to Park City to the outlets. Tommy Bahama was having a sale and Neal doesn't miss out on those sales.  Neal ended up buying a couple shirts for himself and a couple things for me.  I also went to the Talbots outlet just four doors up and bought a skirt and some jewelry.  We came home and cleaned the house, set up the tables and got things reading for Sunday.  We decided to have Father's Day dinner this sunday because we thought we would be gone next Sunday.  We had planned on going to California Father's Day weekend but it just didn't work out for Tucker and Jamie who are right in the middle of selling their home and buying her parents home.  Along with that is the girls dance recital.  Just a few too many things on their plates to add the visit of grandparents.

We had a delicious dinner of marinated chicken, which Maren brought, funeral potatoes, salad, fruit and corn on the cob.  Maren and the kids came (Greg was in Seattle working), Lynda Ann and the kids came (Jeff was working and Mallory was working), and Mindy and her kids came.  It was nice to have the kids there.  It still seems strange not to have Jeff walk in the door, give me a hug and say, "Hello Mother."  I miss him.  After dinner visiting.

While we were playing What Were You Thinking, we heard a bang at the window and realized that a bird had flown right into the window.  Neal looked out on the patio and there stood the bird completely dazed.  He wasn't moving.  We got some good pictures of the bird before he got his senses back and flew away.

I suspect he is sitting here thinking, What the heck just happened!"  We have birds hit that big window periodically but have never had one fall down on the patio and just sit there stunned.

That time of year. Changing out the hutch.

Neal was the one who decided on Saturday that it was time to change out the china hutch.  He got all the dishes out and cleaned all the glass while I packed up Annette's china and got out the Americana china to put in the hutch for display.  It is interesting to watch Neal go through this process because with Neal, it isn't just a matter of changing them out, it becomes a work of art to display the dishes each year.

 The finished project and Neal standing there studying it to make sure it is exactly as he wants it.  I tell you, he just doesn't randomly put the china in the hutch.  It goes in with a pattern in mind.  I love that he enjoys doing that three times a year.  I'm afraid I would just put one set on display and it might just stay in there all the time.  I was busy making funeral potatoes for tomorrows dinner. You can see the mixture at the bottom of the picture.

Emmi at her job in Dugway

Emmi is sending me all kinds of pictures of the 'critters' she is seeing and catching on her job at Dugway.  This first one is of a rattle snake they caught.  It is brought to the lab where they implant a tracker on it and then set it loose to see if it will go back to its nest or den.

this picture is Emmi with a horny toad lizard that she caught.

 This next picture is of a porcupine that she chased off with a shovel.

 And last was a picture of some wild horses that came galloping by.

Emmi is obviously have a great learning experience while earning money for school next year.

Mallory and Abby on the Pioneer Trek

Annie sent me these cute pictures of the two Gertson girls, Abby and Mallory the morning of their Pioneer Trek.  The costumes were made by Annie who was dealing with getting ready for girls camp and strep throat.

Guest room daybed

I've had this daybed in the guest room forever!  I've hated how it looks with the bedspread and pillows.  The bed is the focal point of any bedroom when you walk in and this bed is certainly not a focal point and I'm tired of it.  So I went with Judy today to K&R and ordered a custom made daybed spread and pillows.  I'm really excited about it.  It will take about 3 weeks for them to make it so I will be posting how it looks when it is done.  Here is the fabric that I've chosen and also how the bed looks now before it gets redressed.

Material swatches for new cover and pillows

I won't say how much this is costing me but let's just say it is a small fortune!!  Anything custom made won't be cheap.

Another cute post of my grandchildren

Tucker sent me this one.  It is Jordyn and Lexi in the same poses.  Darling!!

A repair on my Jeep

The seat on the drivers side is starting to split and I don't want it to get any worse than it is so I found a guy here in Salt Lake who can fix leather that is wearing out.  He had me send him a picture of the seat so he could see if he could fix it or not and he thought he could.  I'm supposed to call him Monday and get an appointment.  It will be nice to have it fixed.  He said he may not be able to match the color exactly but he would get it as close as he could.  I'm okay with that.  Just want the seat looking nice again.

I'll update with a photo when it is fixed.

Love pictures of my grandchildren

Tucker sent this picture to me last Sunday.  Apparently this was taken on their way home from church.  His comment was:  "Here was Goofy, Ornery, and Pretty."  You decide who is who :-)

I told Tucker they are all gorgeous no matter their moods.  I have to say that my favorite is Peyton's look.

Saturday Evening

Once a quarter we get together with Howard and Tibby Milne, Sherry and Merrill Thompson and Midge and Jim Fry.  Who ever is hosting choices the place to eat and then after dinner we go to the hostess home for and evening of bridge.

Saturday activities

Neal made a golf time with Jeff out in Stansbury.  We left about 7:00 and headed out.  As we neared the entrance to the freeway I happened to look way to the South and spotted this patriotic air balloon.  It was awesome.  If you look closely you can see the red white and blue representing the flag.  I loved it!

Neal, Jeff, Abby and I golfed 9 holes and then Abby and I went back to the house while Neal and Jeff did another 9.  Here is a picture of Abby and I after golfing.  She is a great golfer.  Very strong and can hit the ball forever!  Notice the difference in height!

When we got to the house Emmi and Mallory were just leaving for Mallory's first day on her new job at the theater.  Emmi is now an assistant manager and was excited to be working with Mallory on her fist day of work and to be able to train her.  Mallory was happy that she now has a part time job and can earn her own money.  Mallory is growing her bangs out and looks even more like her older sister!

They are close friends and it is fun to watch them together, taking care of each other and bantering back and forth.  

As Neal and I were leaving Stansbury and had to take a look at Jeff and Annie's new Suburban.  Their red van finally died and they had to buy another car.  

As we rounded one of the corners leaving Annie's house we saw this darling lemonade stand.  I was driving and told Neal that we just had to buy some lemonade from the two little kids.  So I flipped a U and we stopped.  Neal bought two cups from them.

I didn't drink any because you all know about my issues with germs but Neal had some of both kids and said the drinks were delicious.  Perfect way to end a perfect day!