A trip to Seattle–Day 1

Last Thursday, Lynda Ann, Lila Mae and I began a wonderful four day trip to Seattle, Washington.  Lila Mae and I wanted to go and get some genealogy from our cousin Sandy.  Sandy is the daughter of my mother’s sister, Edith.  So began our journey Thursday morning.

We boarded the plane at 8:30 a.m.headed to Seattle.  When we arrived we got our rental car and decided that we wanted to visit Pike’s Market.  We were completely in the right place at exactly the right moment!  We found a parking spot right in front of the market!  We wandered through the market and found the famous doughnut hole place and bought a dozen plain and a dozen powdered.  The market was full of freshly picked tulips and they were beautiful.

We stayed at the market, looking at all the items to purchase and then headed to the Green Lake area where Lila Mae and I lived.  It is only about 30 minutes out of downtown Seattle.  The address is 8617 Wallingford Avenue North.  It was fun to drive by the home and see that it is still lived in and has changed a bit through the years.  They have added a room onto to both sides of the house and painted it yellow, of all colors!

It was fun to see it and think about the years I spent in the home.  The memories flooded back as we sat out in front of it. 

Our next stop was to find my grade school.  Surprisingly, it is still in use.  I even went inside to see all the students roaming about the halls.  You can see by the second picture that the school was built in 1930.  I only attended two years there, Kindergarten and first grade but there are some good memories.

We were, by this time getting hungry and decided to get something to eat before heading to our condo in Anacortes. which was about an hour and 15 minutes north of Seattle.  We stopped at a quaint looking place called Patty’s Eggnest to have breakfast/lunch.  Notice my shadow in the window!  I also snapped this picture of Annie trying to find something of importance in her purse!

\We had lunch and then headed North.  We found the condo without too much trouble and settled in for the evening.  Between Lynda Ann’s sense of direction and GPS we found everything very easily.

A Great Day Today! I LOVE my job.

It was Secretary’s Day today.  Well, that isn’t what they call it anymore.  I think it is Administrative Assistance Day or something like that, but it means Secretary’s Day.  So as the day was coming to a close my boss, Ron Lund, called me into his office and gave me a wonderful compliment on the great work I was doing and he handed me a gift card to Talbots with this note inside:

“Jeannine:

Thank you sooo much for all you do.  I am so appreciative to have you as a friend and colleague.  I don’t tell you enough, but you truly are an amazing woman.  The work you do is appreciated.

You have been doing your job and parts of Kay’s in a time of need.  You get much done without it coming to my attention.  The management of Task Force and assistance in getting information out wouldn’t happen without you.

I am grateful to have you as a friend that I can bounce ideas, challenges, or struggles with work or home with.  I wouldn’t change the way things are.

Thanks for all you do.  Keep up the good work.

Ron”

I was extremely touched by the gift but more by the words written in the note.  I love my job and I love my boss, Ron (in a good way).  He is like a son to me.

Oh yes, it was Earth Day today and this was a picture that one of our colleagues took of myself, Karla and Doug.  Great people that I work with!  We are getting lemonade ready for the children coming for Earth Day.

Tucker sent a fun picture. Did he miss Halloween?

I had to ask just what he was up to and he said that he had decided to change professions and was goin to be a magician.  That made me laugh!  Then the said that it was a Tri-stake dance and he was the Sultan Greeter.  The theme of the dance was Arabian Nights.  LOOKING GREAT MY SON, the Sultan.  Now I can say that I’m the mother of a professional diver in a circus in China and the mother of a Sultan!  Gosh, what more could a mother ask for, huh?  By the way, is the beard for real?  Grown for the anticipated costume? 

A busy Sunday

We had our last ward conference of our regular wards today.  We still have 4 care centers left.  I had to speak today in one ward and Neal was assigned to speak in another ward.  Both talks at the same time so we couldn’t support each other only in thought and prayer.  As soon as my speaking assignment was complete and the meeting ended I headed out to Stansbury to hear Annie teach her RS lesson.  She gave an excellent and very inspired lesson.  The subject was from a talk by President Benson on the scriptures.  This is a picture of how she had the RS room set up:

She talked about how every book, magazine, article anything produced by the church has a message from the first presidency and scriptures.  Even the camp manual has a message from the First Presidency and is complete with scriptures.  She shared how camp was the one hold for her and her testimony during a hard time in her life.  She mentioned that if we got a letter from our mom we would open and read it immediately.  The scriptures are like letters from our Father In Heaven.  She ended with the story about the cracked pot.  If you haven’t heard it, you should look it up.  Amazing story.  Nice to know that we are all a little cracked but can still do good.  Thanks, Annie, for a beautiful and well given lesson.

She handed out Pretzels dipped in chocolate that were representative of the iron rod and that we should Hold To The Rod.

Love this Peanuts Cartoon

Emmi’s retreat just before finals

I got a text from Emmi that she was trying to study for finals and was having trouble because her roommates were noisy and inconsiderate.  She needed to get away to a place where she had some piece and quiet.  She asked if she could come up on the Front Runner and spend a couple days at our home so she could study.  She also had a miserable cold and wasn’t feeling well.  I picked her up at 9:30 at the train station.  We watched the news together and then I gave saw her off to bed.  The next day she and her grandpa spent the day doing their school work.  Neal correcting papers and entering grades and Emmi studying for her finals.  After work Emmi and I went to Panda Express and then to the mall to get an application for Eddie Bauer.  The next morning she had me run her to the Front Runner at 11:38 where she caught the train back to BYU for her final 5 days and the ending of her first year of college.  She plans on returning to BYU in the fall and has already registered for her Fall classes. 

April Fool’s Day?

No, it isn’t April Fool’s Day, but that’s what we thought when we got up this morning and looked out the window.  It seems that every single year we get a huge snow storm and this year was no exception.  The snow started sometime during the night and it has been snowing all day long.  the first picture taken from the front porch last night.  The second picture taken from our bedroom window looking down into the backyard early this morning.  The third and fourth picture taken this afternoon of the tree off our front porch.

Crazy April weather–but predictable

Annie sent me these pictures of her van after driving to the school and back.  The rain that started before the snow was full of mud and dust!

Annie said that she had to pull over, get out, grab some water from the back of the Van and pour it on the front windows so she could see where she was going.  I have never experienced or seen a rain storm that dirty.

Being a Mother

As we near mother’s day and combining that with an incident that happen last week, I’ve been thinking a lot about my role as a mother.  Questions like, “Have I done any good?”  “Could I have done better?”  What would I change if I could go back?”  Would I change anything if I had to do it over again?”  There always seem to be an incident or two that comes up in our lives that cause us to stop and take accountability of our efforts as a mother.  My perspective of what my life would be like marrying Neal has certainly changed over the years.  I remember taking a required art class in junior high.  Believe me, I’m no artist!  I remember the teacher holding up a drawing of a path lined with tall trees.  As you look at the picture you could imagine yourself walking down that path and wondering where it would end up as it narrow and came to the end of the canvas.  I was sure that I could draw that picture and mine would look just like his.  But I soon learned that my perspective of what my picture would end up looking like was not how it turned out.  I also remember that I had to erase and redraw and erase redraw countless times.  I think about my drawing and the teachers and my perspective and compare that to my role as a mother and step-mother.  My perspective of what I thought life would be like with Neal and raising 5 more children is not what it turned out to be.  Over the past 25 years I’ve been drawing and erasing over and over again and realized that there is no perfect path lined with beautiful trees.  There is a path, alright and there are some beautiful trees but there are also boulders on the road to climb over, fallen trees and other debris that makes my journey hard.  Perspective is an interesting thing. My drawing certainly isn’t complete but I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to keep moving along that path I’ve drawn.  Erasing and trying to make the picture look better doesn’t seem to help.  Some of my children will look at the picture and think it is good and love it and others will look at it and find every flaw they can and point it out to you.  I’m so thankful for the ones who look and overlook the flaws and mistakes and focus on what is right about my drawing.  I don’t need to write the names of my children who smile and love my picture.  You know who you are.  Just know that you are my reason for journeying on.  You make my life worthwhile and complete!  I love you for that and I love the good people you are.  I can look at each of you and think, “Yes, I did something right.” 

Annie sent me this saying and some day I might have to have Jamie make it into a sign for me:

WOMEN ARE ANGELS, AND WHEN SOMEONE BREAKS OUR WINGS, WE CONTINUE TO FLY, ON A BROOMSTICK BECAUSE WE ARE FLEXIBLE LIKE THAT!

So, thinking about that saying, a child of mine did break my wings, but my broken wings are slowly healing and I WILL fly again in spite of her and I won’t allow her to break them again.  And in the meantime I will ride my broom!!

A note from Emmi

Emmi could possibly not have known what a small note from her would do for my raw feelings.  When I walked into work this morning and sat down at my computer, this is what was waiting for me.  It was taped to my computer.  I’m going to leave it there for as long as I feel I need it.

Thank you Emmi for showing your love to me.  I love you too and am glad that you appreciate the good that I do. Thank you from the very center of my heart!

St George Weekend

What a very timely and needed get-away this past weekend.  Neal and I headed out of town with Ron and Judy Thursday evening heading to St. George.  I needed desperately to get away and not think about the events of the past week.  We had a perfectly delightful time. 

Friday morning found us golfing at the St. George golf course.  We golfed 18 holes and had so much fun.  I didn’t think about past events one time.  Just enjoyed the golf game and celebrating every good hit!

There was one time when we were golfing that I happened to look over my shoulder and there in my view was the St. George Temple in all it’s white elegant beauty.  The interesting thing is that no one else noticed it.  I did point it out to Judy as we were on the golf cart together but Ron and Neal were too far ahead of us so I couldn’t draw their attention to it.  Showed them the picture when we got back and they were so surprised.  There is something surprisingly calming and spiritual that comes over me every time I see a temple. 

Friday evening we had a delicious dinner, played bridge and visited until late. 

Saturday morning Judy and I decided to head to the mall and do some much needed (not) shopping.  Actually I didn’t end up buying much of anything.  Just wasn’t in the mood, which is very, very unusual for me.  I did get some mascara, but that was it.  Spent a whole $16.00. 

Saturday afternoon Neal and Ron went golfing and Judy and I changed and went out by the pool to soak in some sun and talk and talk and talk and talk.  I found myself completely resolved to what had happened and that I can move on and be happy with who I am and what I’ve accomplished in the past 25 years of taking on a “whole new world”.  Lovely legs for 70, huh?

Neal and Ron stopped at a pie place and bought this delicious cream pie.  We all indulged in devouring it that evening.  Yummmm

We got up Sunday morning and went to Sacrament Meeting at 9:00 and then back to the condo where we had a very nice relaxing day just being together.  We headed home about 530, stopped in Fillmore for a burger and shake and got home about 10:30.  It was a wonderful weekend and something I needed at that time. 

Saturday Easter Celebration

This year didn’t turn out quite like I had thought it would.  We found out that the Sealy family was having a 93rd birthday party for Shirl.  We were going to start our Easter party at noon but because of the Sealy party I decided to postpone it until 2:30 given everyone a chance to be at both.  But, as it worked out, Maren and Lyndsy didn’t feel they had enough time to visit with their cousins.  Neal and I couldn’t do it on Sunday so I was going to just not have a dinner this year.  However, Lynda Ann called and said her family was planning on coming and looking forward to the annual dinner.  Jeff and Mindy’s family had gone camping and with the Cutlers and the Goss’s at the Sealy celebration that just left one family.  Annie came in about 12:30 and we prepared a nice ham and baked potato dinner along with all the trimmings.  Mallory asked if she could provide the center piece for the table.  She had vases with colored water filled with real daisy's.  It was festive and beautiful.

After dinner we visited for a little while and then we started the egg contest.  Annie’s kids have certainly inherited her creative genes.  The eggs were decorated to perfection.  Abby even decorated eggs for Neal and I. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out which eggs were mine and which ones were Neals!

 

Notice that Eyore has a tail.  Very cute Abby.  The contest came down to me and Mallory and Mallory won for the first time for her.  Congrats Mallory.

We then relaxed for a little bit before going outside to see Abby and Lynda Ann science project they made for school.  It was a sling that was very cleverly made.  We flung the crack non contest winning eggs.  Andrew caught most of the as they were propelled over the driveway. 

Two more random pictures. I think Mallory and Emmi went to the concert on their Easter Eggs.

It was a delightful day even though we only had one family present.  The Gertsons left about 4:45 so that they could get home for Emmi to work and Jeff for Priesthood Meeting.  After they left Neal watch a little bit of the basketball game and then he went off to Priesthood meeting.  I went downstairs and watch the movie Imitation Game (which I might add is an excellent movie).  Happy Easter to all.

P.S.  I hope all my children are listening to conference.  The Saturday morning conference was amazing!  I love this gospel and am grateful every single day that I had a mother who knew the truth when she heard it, joined the church and moved her little family to Utah to be raised closed to church head quarters.  I’m grateful for this time of year to be able to remember the resurrection and the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

The ducks are back!

Yes the ducks are back and they are laying eggs and swimming in the pool and the mallards out number the hens 3 to 1 from the looks of things.  Andrew found a lone egg and wasn’t sure if it was a duck egg or part of some ones Easter egg hunt.  He was so concerned about the egg that he and Hayley went around and asked people if they were having an egg hunt.  When he found out they weren’t, then he was pretty sure it was a duck egg that had been abandoned.  He felt very sad and at the end of the day he went back got the egg, made a nest in the bottom of a sack and took it home to give it a proper burial.  He has such a tender heart.  Notice how green the pool water is.  It is going to take some serious cleaning to get that pool ready for opening.

Making progress–slowly but surely

I now have all the girls stitched in and starting on the boys.  Susan asked me who I was doing this for.  I told her that it was probably just for me.  I don’t think the Maxfield kids will want it because it doesn’t have their mother’s side of the family on it and I don’t think the Hintze kids will want it because their dad’s side of the family isn’t on it.  I’ll just enjoy it for myself.  It has been a challenge to do and will, for sure, be entered in the fair this fall (if I can get it done by then)  I’m thinking this one might be the one who takes the sweepstakes.  Wouldn’t that be fun.

Five lucky pennies!

Went walking today after work and I found not 1, not 2 but 5 pennies!  I always look for pennies while I’m walking and I always feel lucky if I find even 1 but today I found 5.  I figure that means that I have 5 happy years of good luck!  Superstitious?  Yes, a little.  My mother used to tell me, “He who lets a penny lie will never a millionaire die.”  And when I was young, finding a penny was a sign of good luck and one year of good luck for every penny found.  I’m totally pumped!