New China!

Neal and I have been looking for a long time for some Fall / Thanksgiving dishes that we both liked and finally found some.  It was random that we found them.  I was just walking in Fashion Place Mall after some items and happened to glance in a kitchen store as I was walking out of the mall and spotted these dishes.  I called Neal and told him about them.  We went back to the mall that evening and ended up purchasing a whole new set of china.  It is gorgeous and we love them.  I had to smile because now I have to find another place to store another set, but for now we have them displayed in our kitchen cupboard.

Our gravy boats

Large Platter

Set of 20 but will increase it eventually to 24.

Tucker came in to town for the weekend.  Neal bought him football tickets for the game tonight.  He came into town yesterday, Friday, so I had all the adults over for dinner and games and, of course, had to set the table with the new Fall dishes.  They were gorgeous!  

I just LOVE them!!

Another Granddaughter turns a year older

 Mallory celebrated another birthday and Neal and I were invited to celebrate it with her.  Her family, along with Neal and I met Mallory at the Brick Oven in Provo where we enjoyed a delicious dinner of pizza, salads, soup and a birthday dessert.  

It is always a bit nostalgic to go to the Brick Oven because this was a hang out for me, friends and dates on the weekends.  Their menu has changed very little over the years and still seems to be just as popular now as it was back in the 50's.  

Mallory has such a great love for Brinkley that when I saw this little wooden figure of girl and dog, I just had to get it for her.  

Mallory is working at a law firm and is registered to begin school at BYU in January.  She will continue to work part time and go to school full time.  Sounds ominous to me but then I'm 77 and she is still young with a whole life ahead of her.  I have to add here that Mallory told us that her work gave her a matching sweater set for her and Brinkley and a professional photo shoot for her and Brinkley.  What an amazing birthday gift.  Perfect for her.  This law firm that she works for has been incredibly generous and good to her.  They paid her first 3 months rent on her new apartment and have twice given her $500.00 gift certificate to buy business attire clothes.  They do this for all their employees.  Pretty fancy place she works at.  

Happy birthday my little missionary!  Hugs forever!

Sunday Thoughts

 I was reading an article about a game of answering a question and you could move forward if you answered right and you had to move back a step if you answered wrong.  It reminded me of the childhood game that we used to play called Simon Says.  It was basically the same idea.  

I thought about it and realized that often our lives are a bit unsettled and with the pandemic and the chaos in the world right now it feels like I go a step forward only to take three or four steps back.  I am grateful that I know I have the Lord in my life.  With the Lord all our efforts are a step forward and NEVER a step back.  I am grateful for this knowledge.  

President Nelson gave direction on facing the challenges we have today by seeking pure truth, strengthening our spiritual foundation, and making time for the Lord.  He said, "There has never been a time in the history of the world when knowledge of our Savior is more personally vital and relevant to every human soul."

Some other thoughts from General Conference:

President Henry B. Eyring:

"I know from experience that answers will come to fit your needs and your spiritual preparation.  If you need an answer that is important to your eternal welfare or that of others, the answer is more likely to come.  Yet, even then, you may receive - as did Joseph Smith - the answer to be patient."

President Dallin H. Oaks:

"Members who forgo Church attendance and rely only on individual spirituality separate themselves from these gospel essentials:  the power and blessings of the priesthood, the fullness of restored doctrine, and the motivations and opportunities to apply that doctrine."

And the Final Word from President Russell M. Nelson:

"It is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures - perhaps measures we have never taken before - to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations.  Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures . . . . So, I ask each of you:  'How firm is your foundation?  And what reinforcement to your testimony and understanding of the gospel are needed?'"

Fun Saturday

 Lila Mae's 90th birthday is this week and even though her daughters are hosting a 90th birthday celebration for her Annie and I wanted to take her to lunch like we ordinarily would for her birthday.  Saturday was the usual day that we all get together so Annie, Mallory and I drove up to Midway and took Lila Mae and Susan to lunch.  The drive up the canyon was still gorgeously breath taking with the changing of the season.  Interestingly we had rain, sunshine, and even some snow at the top of Parleys. 

Lila Mae is obsessed with the drawings of the red pickup truck with the Christmas tree in the back.  I found some material and Annie and I made her a quilt.  While I was shopping at Costco, I happened to notice some flannel sheets with the same pattern so got those for her.  She loved her quilt and the sheets to match.  Her birthday is actually the 14th of October which is this coming Thursday and her party is Sunday the 17th so there will more pictures to post.  Happy 90th dear sister.  I LOVE you!!

Susan surprised Annie with an early Christmas present.  She wanted her to enjoy the Santa Clause Gnome through the holidays.  

It was such a fun day.  After lunch we went back to Lila Mae's and looked through some pictures that she had stored in a box.  Some of those pictures go way back in time and some I had never seen before.  I will post some of those in the future.  But not today.  We got home about 5:30, just in time for Mallory to freshen up and go to her missionary reunion in downtown Salt Lake.  

It was a great day except for the fact the BYU lost their game to Boise State.  Boo Hoo!

USS Harry S. Truman

 The ship Emmi is on right now in the Atlantic Ocean was on the front page of the Navy's website this week.  I couldn't be prouder of my Military granddaughter who has not only followed in the footsteps of her biological grandfather but also my father and both my brothers.  All served in the Navy!!

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Oct. 1, 2021)  An F/A-184F Super Hornet attached to the "Fighting Checkmates" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 211 lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).  Harry S. Truman is operating in the Atlantic Ocean in support of naval operations to maintain maritime stability and security in order to ensure access, deter aggression and defend U.S., allied and partner interests.

And this is what she used to look like.

Gnomes

 A couple posts ago I mentioned that Annie, Mallory and I spent a Saturday making gnomes.  All in all there were 30 gnomes made.  It took Annie three days to get them all finished.  Some were mailed to Abby, some taken by Mallory, I think some mailed to Emmi and Annie gave me some.  I'm going to take mine to my ministering sisters.  Annie didn't just give me the gnomes she, as ALWAYS, went the extra mile and had them packaged with ribbons.  

This is a picture of the gnomes all packaged, tied with ribbons and ready to be delivered.  Notice the different colors of beards and hats.  So dang cute.

These are all the gnome families at Annie's house before she divided them up and packages them.

Every one has their own little personality.  

Thanks, Annie, for your labor of LOVE.  

Taylor Celebrates 21 Years

 It is amazing that my grandchildren keep getting older and I see the change in them as they go from adolescence to adulthood.  The interesting thing is that I don't see myself or even feel that I'm getting older.  I'm sure my grandchildren see the added wrinkles and gray hairs but they are kind enough to not say anything.  Interesting that when we are young we want to add years and there comes a time when our thinking reverses and we sometimes dread adding another year.  Then come the time when you are kind of proud of the years you have, what you've accomplished and that you are feeling good about life and having good health.  That is where I am.  So to you Taylor, enjoy being 21!  I wish you years ahead of you that are fulfilling, accomplished and happy.  We love you!!  

I found this picture on Instagram.  When we talked to Taylor on her birthday she said that her mom and Cutler cousins were coming to Orem to have breakfast with her and then her mom was fixing her a birthday dinner the next day.  A very happy birthday.

Sunday Thoughts

 When Annie was driving me home from the airport last week, Abby called.  It was so fun to be able to hear her voice, talk to her and get a feel of how she is doing.  It sounds like she is thriving beautifully.  I don't doubt that she has her ups and downs and does feel homesick, especially this time of year as she knows her mom is preparing for this time of years family traditions.  But, Abby has seen miracles, made friendships, had baptisms and most importantly she is serving the Lord, sharing the good news of the gospel with her brother and sisters from Mexico and speaking fluently in their language.  She is also developing her relationship with Him.  She is my hero.  I'm so impressed, as she talks about her experiences and as Annie tells me about them, with her wisdom and grace and her obvious love for the Savior.

She used to look like this!

Fun Saturday

 Saturday was a fun day.  I got up fairly early and got all my laundry done and folded, cleaned the bathrooms and listened to the morning session of general conference.  I also wanted to get the china hutch changed out and the table centerpiece redone for Fall.  

Our home is now ready to enjoy the Fall and a little bit of Christmas Season.  

Annie called about noon and said that she was making some gnomes that afternoon (which I wanted some of) and going up Settlement Canyon to see the Fall leaves.  I had just finished with the china hutch and my cleaning, Neal was busy doing school stuff that day so I drove out to Stansbury.  Lynda, Mallory, Hayley and I drove through Tooele headed toward the canyon.  We all wanted a drink so we stopped at Guzzle on the way (which is the same as Fizz or Swig - with the lines just as long).  We drove up the canyon and the leaves were absolutely a painting of reds, greens, yellows and pink.  Absolutely gorgeous.  The sun was out, the sky was a bright blue which only enhanced the Fall colors.  It's times like this that I'm so thankful that I live in Utah where we can enjoy the colors of the changing seasons.

We even ran into a herd of cows.  Two of which had decided to lumber across the road at their own slow and 'I don't care' pace.  I had to smile when I saw them taking their time because I thought back when I was younger, I would spend my summers at Lila Mae's and one of my jobs was to herd the cows into the barn for milking.  Believe me, you can't hurry a cow!

After the canyon ride we took Andrew to work and then stopped at the grocery store, JoAnn's and the Coasta Vida and back to Annie's.  We had lunch and then started on the gnome project.  Annie was measuring and cutting hats, I was hemming and sewing the hats together and Mallory was turning the hats inside out.  We also had to cut beards and trim.  We worked on them until 7:30 and I could tell that Annie was exhausted.  She had worked the night before and was running on 3 hours of sleep.  We got a lot accomplished but there is still a lot of gluing and wiring to be done.  I love that Annie has her grandmother Ross's spiritual genes for arts and crafts.  She is amazing.

Mallory and Annie had Hayley making Fall leaves bookmarks.  Everyone was involved in doing something creative.  Even Jeffrey was putting together a puzzle!

When I rolled into bed last night I felt like I had run a marathon and I know Annie did as well.  A long day but tons accomplished.  I closed my eyes feeling very happy and satisfied and fulfilled.  I'm happy and life is good!

My Two Marathoners!

 A couple weeks ago I recorded that Maren had run a half marathon.  This week I received pictures of Tucker doing a 60 mile bike marathon.  My marathon is making it through all the things I have to do and accomplish each day, week and month.  I certainly don't run or bike a marathon but sometimes I feel like my life is a marathon.  But I'm proud of Maren and Tucker for determination to achieve some goals that they have longed to do.  Here are some pictures that Tucker sent.  He did tell us that when he got to the race he had forgot to bring his stickers and proof of registration so he had to call Jamie to run them to him.  He started the race 10 minutes behind everyone so he was on the road for a while all by himself.  But he caught up and was able to finish the race.  He said he had a sore back.  I would think his whole body would be trashed!

Sunday, Day 5

 Today was an interesting, busy, fun and a little sad day all combined into a few hours this morning.  Because we were up until 2:30 watching the BYU game we all slept in until a little after 7:30.  Emmi needed to be at Fort Gordon to meet her Chief and two other people car pooling to Norfolk, Virginia where they would be boarding the aircraft carrier.  We drove to the airport first thing to rent a car for Annie and I so that we could get to the airport at 4:30 tomorrow morning.  Emmi said not to trust Uber or the taxi services, thus the rental car.  We did check on changing our tickets to leave today but they would not let us.  We are not in love with American Airlines.  From there back to the apartment to help Emmi finish packing and then we followed her to the base to meet her group.  It was fun to meet some of the team that she will be on the ship with and to meet her chief.  Then it was time to say our goodbyes.  Always teary and hard - no matter the circumstances.  

After we got back from dropping Emmi off and running a couple errands we got back and began the process of packing.  Always a project because we always have more to take home than we came out with.

God speed Emmi.  We love you!!

Saturday, Day 4

 Today was more of a stick around the apartment and run a few errands.  It was a very relaxing and fun day to just hang out and visit, play games and watch a movie or two.  Abby had also contacted us and let us know that we could tune in on a baptism at 2:00 p.m.  The actual baptismal service didn't get started until about an hour late because the mother and son who were being baptized had a tire blow on their way to the chapel.  But, they finally arrive and the service was underway.

Abby is on the left in blue.  She and three missionary sisters sang a song.  

This is the actual baptism taking place.

This is Abby and her companion giving a talk while waiting for the mother and son to get dressed.  It was so fun to hear Abby give a talk in Spanish and without notes.  She talked, then her campion talked and then she shared her testimony of Jesus Christ and the gospel.  We, of course, didn't fully understand what she was saying but the spirit whispered to us the truth of her words.  It was a beautiful experience for Emmi, Annie and I.  Modern technology is wonderful when used for a good purpose.  

This is one of those incredible moments of peace for Abby knowing she is about her "Father's business" of teaching those who long to know the plan of salvation.  

After the baptism we decided to run some errands, then came back, watched the movie RED, which was excellent, then ordered pizza and played a game of Shanghi and then settled in to watch the BYU - Florida game.  It started at 10:30 pm Georgia time.  Annie and Emmi fell asleep through the last half but I was wide awake and totally into the game.  BYU won but it was not an easy win.  Our defense struggled a bit, but we pulled it off.  GO COUGARS.  So nice to have a winning year.  

We all went to bed at 2:30 a.m.  Very short night!!  By the way.  The final score was 35 - 27.  You can see we started out with a bang but we let them catch up way too close!  I was doing a little bit of nail biting!!