Remodeling continues . . .

 Our house desperately needed to be painted.  We hired Kent Swan to come and help us pick out a color.  Something that Neal and I couldn't possibly do on our own.  Just too many colors and we didn't know which direction to go in.  Kent came and asked us if he could just sit in the kitchen for a little bit and get a feeling of the home.  About 45 minutes later he called us down and said he had narrowed it down to three colors.  Neal and I immediately settled on Canvas Brown.  We then hired a painter and had the whole house painted.  Everything taken off the walls, furniture moved to the middle of the rooms and garage.  Neal and I were off to St. George for a week while the painting took place.  After everything was done, Kent came back over and we sat with him deciding on furniture style, colors, rugs, placement of piano and new furniture, pictures, etc.   Monday we got a call from Kent that our furniture had come in.  So here is the update of our redecorating.  The piano was the first piece of furniture to be moved.

Kent had us move the china cabinet to the South wall and to swing the kitchen table along the front of the china cabinet.  You will also notice that the plants on top of the cupboards has been limited to four.  I'm loving "less".  Also no plants on top of the China cabinet.

We had to order a new sliding curtain for our back door.  

Our next project was to pick out a tree to go on either side of the piano.  We ended up at Modern Display and found the exact tree that we wanted.  We needed two of them but Modern Display only had one so we had to order the second one.

Then we hung up the picture and the clock.

Next came the new carpet.  Gorgeous!

Brand new couch.  Kent Swan putting it in place.

The new chairs and possible picture to go on the North wall.

Looking down from the balcony.

We still have lots more to do.  So far all this remodeling including the painting, has cost us over $20,000.00.   A lot of money but so worth the changes.  I'll post more as things move along. 

Granddaughters

 I am so blessed to have grandchildren.  I've often heard that your grandchildren can be such blessings in your life and that is so true for me.  Tucker sent me this picture of Peyton after one of her most recent competitions.  He flew down to Fresno to be there for her competition and also to close down his apartment, pack everything in a U-Haul truck and then drove back on Sunday.  Glad the whole weekend went well for him and that he was able to support Peyton.

That same week, I got a text from Emmi telling me that she had just been coined by DIRNSA.  The person who coined her is a 4 start general in charge of the NSA and pretty much runs the intel community.  Very impressive acknowledgement from a 4 start general.  Apparently they don't give out these coins freely so if you get one it is a HUGE deal.  Congratulations Emmi Girl.  

I'm so proud of all my grandchildren and what they are accomplishing.  Peyton and Brock will be graduating from High School this year.  Jordyn Lyn and Mallory will be graduating from college this year.  Mallory in Linguistics and Jordyn Lyn in Design and Graphics.  Taylor has completed two years at UVU and is applying for a program at the Univ. of Utah this Fall.  They are all high achievers and I'm proud of each one of them and their many accomplishments.  So proud to be your grandmother!

My Little Farm

It has been such fun taking care of the critters around here.  We have squirrels, birds, and two ducks that depend on us to feed them each day.  We have been putting whole nuts in the bird feeder for the squirrels.  Here are some fun pictures of Chip and Dale along with Quick and Quack.  

This is Quack eating some of the duck food that Emmi Girl sent to me.  He will also eat the pellets out of my hand - which I love!

I had to add this picture!  I heard all kind of noise as I was feeding the ducks and looked up on the roof of the building across from our backyard and there was a huge Goose sitting there watching us.  

This is Chip having a Walnut and a Hazel Nut.  So funny watching them put one in their mouth and trying to carry another one as they scurry across the fence.  Sometimes they drop them and have to rescue them.  Neal found an Almond buried in his Tulip pot out by the pool.  It hadn't been opened.  Still had the nut in it.  I'm sure one of the squirrels was saving it for another time.

This is Dale working on a Walnut.

 

Fun Times

 We have a small group that meets about every quarter to go out to dinner and then back to one of our homes to play games.  We haven't been able to get together for the past couple years because Patton's went on a mission to Australia.  The just got back and were anxious to get together again.  We met for dinner and then back to our house to play games.  We taught them Fruit Salad.  It was fun to hear all about their mission.  The hard times as well as the fun times.  

Good people, good friends and good times.

Amazon Surprise!

 I got a text from Emmi Girl the other day and the text said, "Gam, you have a package on your front porch."  I immediately went to the front porch and sure enough there was a big box on my porch from Amazon and addressed to me.  I brought it in and opened it and this is what was inside this heavy package.

I had to laugh and I thought, who in the world would be sending me duck food?  I saw a little note on top the duck feed and this is what it said:  

"

Well, I was one very happy and surprised pocket sized Gam.  Thanks to my Emmi Girl for thinking about me and the ducks.  You know, Quick and Quack and I have become very good friends.  Quack comes up and eats right out of my hand.  No hesitation.  In fact, Saturday morning as I walked out the front door, Quack came scooting under the pool gate and right up to me quacking all the way.  So I had to run in the house and get some bread.  

Now I will have some good nutritious food to feed them, thanks to Emmi.  

Chip, Dale, and Nancy

Some cute pictures of the squirrels.  It is so fun to watch them running through the trees and chasing each other.  They are so fast that you really have to keep your eyes on them every minute or you can completely lose them.  Neal and I have been putting out some unshelled nuts in the bird feeders for the the squirrels.  I happen to be outside in the back yard and saw one of the squirrels jump in the bird feeder.  I was practically standing underneath the feeder and caught these cute pictures of one of them in the tree and the other two getting the nuts.  Pretty sure this is Nancy.  Whether she has some young in there with her, we don't know, but she has taken up the tree as her private residence.

Pretty sure these two pictures are of Chip and/or Dale.
 

Unexpected

 Every Tuesday morning I get up at 3:15 a.m. and get myself out the door by 3:50 heading to the Jordan River Temple.  I need to be, dressed and in (what we call the Prep Meeting) the meeting at 4:20.  Thus starts my service at the temple until 10:00 a.m.  I have come to look forward to being there each week serving the patrons who come to do the ordinance work for their ancestors.  I have a tendency to think that Spiritual moments usually come while you are in the temple but as I look back at many different tender moments in my life, many of them have not been while I was in the temple.  Yesterday was a perfect example.  I've come to realize that it is up to me to be open to seeing, feeling, recognizing and acknowledging these tender moments when they happen.  

Yesterday morning was one of those mornings when, after many days of gray skies and cold weather, the skies were a bright blue, the sun was shining and the temple grounds were bursting with the colors of Spring.  Daffodiles, Tulips and Crocuses were dancing in the warm breeze.  As I was leaving the temple and heading to my car and thinking about how much I loved the world around me a little older sister past by and as we past each other she said, "Good morning" and smiled.  I was deep in thought but looked up and responded to her.  For a brief moment she totally reminded me of Lila Mae.  The tears came flooding in my eyes.  Did that just happen?  Or didn't it.  I cried all the way to my car.  And as I sat in my car and thought about it, I couldn't deny what I had just experienced.  I wanted to go find that sweet sister and hug her.  What a beautiful gift she gave me that morning.  I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and that I know that the veil is thin and our loved ones are always there watching over us.  How I miss Lila Mae and how I love her.  

Jesus Comes to Visit

 Little surprises are always welcome.  I certainly got one the other morning.  It was a typical morning.  Annie had been to the house the day before.  She and I were going to meet Mindy for her birthday.  Lynda had brought some flowers for Mindy and some for herself.  She left her flowers at the house while we went to lunch.  It was a nice lunch with Mindy, Ryan and Izzy.  Izzy is Ryan's girl friend and they announced that Izzy was due to have a baby in the Fall.  It was fun to meet her and get acquainted.  We didn't take a picture, which was dumb.  I wish we had.  But, we did have a nice lunch and a nice visit and wished Mindy a very happy birthday.   Love you Mindy and hope you had a very happy birthday!

After lunch, Annie and I ran to JoAnn's to get some material for some quilts and then Annie headed home.  When I came in the house, there were her flowers!  Lucky me because I got to enjoy them for the rest of the week.

The next morning I was working in the kitchen.  As I was putting dishes away I happened to glance up at the cupboard above the sink and there was Jesus smiling down on me.  It totally surprised me.  I had not expected that.  But there he was standing atop Annette's sugar bowl!  The sign on his sash says, Jesus loves you.  I couldn't help but smile and think how appropriate it was to have him there.  It made my heart smile.  What a great way to start a morning thinking about Lynda Ann sneaking it there, Mallory who had put her up to it, Annette, who I love and miss and my Savior!  It made my whole day happy.  If you notice, the sugar bowl lid has a crack in it that has been mended.   Kind of a symbolic of life.  We all have cracks but we can, with the Savior's help, mend and put them back together.  The Atonement.  What a wonderful gift from our Savior.  To be able to repent and mend the cracks in our lives.  

Sunday and Thurl!

 Maren invited Tucker and Neal and I out to her home for dinner on Sunday afternoon.  She had a delicious dinner of steak and chicken.  They were grilled by Greg and done to perfection!  She also had broccoli, carrots, cheese sauce and funeral potatoes.  Delicious dinner.  After dinner, we play a three rounds of Fruit Salad.  A very fun card game.  And I will add here that I won twice!  

Maren told Tucker that he could bring dessert so Saturday night he was busy in the kitchen making 3 different kinds of cookies.  OMGOSH!  They were delicious.  

 

These were butterscotch and white chocolate.

These were the traditional chocolate chip.

And he also made chocolate chip mint.  Hard to know which one to taste so ended up eating one of each.  

Tucker is a good cook.  Every Sunday night he makes his meals for the week ahead.  He has been watching his diet and working out.  It's been such fun to have him living with us.  He just adds a spark of energy and fun to our rather quiet retired lives.  Plus he is an expert on technology and soooo very helpful to Neal and I (especially Neal) when it comes to fixing computer and phone issues.  Thanks Tucker for being so patient and kind with your parents.  

I have to add here that he was given tickets to the Jazz game last night.  Tickets on the 3rd row!!!  And who should he run into but Thurl Bailey.  He asked if he could have a picture taken with him and Thurl was happy to pose with him.  

Quick and Quack

Quick and Quack have returned which means that Spring is definitely here.  They come around every morning about 9:00 and every evening about 6:00 expecting to be fed.  I know I probably shouldn't encourage them but I love most of God's creatures and ducks are kind of cute.  I love watching them waddle.  They very noisy when they come up to the fence, making sure that I hear them and they are ready to be fed.  Quack eats right out of my hand.  But Quick is very unsure about humans and is always a ducks length behind Quack.  I have to throw her bites.  She just won't quite come up to my hand.  

You can see that she always stays comfortably behind Quack.  

My Mother

I was thinking a lot about my mother in the temple.  About her influence on me and my influence on Lynda Ann.   

The influence of my mother is really beyond words.  So hard to describe the way one person has impacted me in such a way that it has shaped my whole life.  I wonder if I will have the same impact on my girls and granddaughters as my mother has had on me.  I loved our chats around the kitchen table.  Her thoughts about life hereafter, forgiveness and such.  she was faithful, strong and valiant.  Her example and teachings are always with me.  I love her and miss her.

Temple Day with Mallory

I love that the Gertson girls refer to me as their Pocket Sized Gam.  Not sure who started that.  I'm thinking it was Mallory but I could be wrong.  Doesn't really matter.  I just love that special name they've come up for me.  Being their Pocket Sized Gam is one of life's greatest blessings.  Being a grandmother, know matter the name, means the world to me.  Each granddaughter has their own way of greeting me, expressing love and filling a piece of my heart.  I am grateful for every moment with them.  One of my more special and tender moments is when I am in the temple with one of them.  Mallory and I try and go to the temple once a month.  We try and choose a different temple each time we go.  This month we did a session at the Taylorsville Temple.  We each took a name from my mother's ancestry.  It was a spiritual and tender time.  I love being in the temple with any of my children or grandchildren. 

I am grateful for every moment with Mallory and feel the love, so strongly, that she has for me, her Pocket Sized Gam, that she so fondly calls me.  Thanks Mallory, for helping me stay true to my covenants and experiencing the blessing of the temple.

The temple is a map for our lives and learning.  

After the session Mallory and I met Tucker and Neal for lunch.  So much fun.  We came back to the house and play games for a few hours until Mallory had to head home and Tucker had some work he had to get done.  What a great day!!