We got a call from Nanette and Vern telling us that they had two extra tickets to the concert and wanted to know if we wanted to go with them. Of course we jumped at that invitation. Getting to one of the choirs concerts is nearly impossible. They picked us up and off we went for a very spiritual and beautiful evening.
I was so excited to be able to pick Emmi up at the airport as she arrived from Hawaii. Lynda Ann and Neal were both at David's getting their hair done and Mallory was coming up from Provo. I picked Emmi up at 8:30 and we drove to David's where we waited for Neal and Lynda to finish up. We then drove to The Original Pancake House and there we met Mallory. We had a delicious breakfast and had such a great time visiting with Emmi. After breakfast, Emmi, Mallory and Pa drove over to Uintah Golf so that Emmi could buy some new golf clubs. While they were there, Neal got word that the Maxfield Candy building was on fire. They think it was started by homeless camping out in the abandoned building. Don't have any pictures of the fire but I do have a fun picture of the five of us at the pancake house.
It isn't often that I get to do something for Lynda Ann to pay back all of the hours she puts in to my often "I need your help" projects. This year she wanted to make Abby an advent calendar for Christmas. She got the kit around the 13 of December and our goal was to try and get the tree done and maybe a couple of the ornaments. She gave me the tree to do the embroidery work on while she kept the star and the base. Annie also had a couple other projects she was trying to get done before Christmas. I finished the embroidery work on the tree and she finished the start and the base. At that point, I told her to give me the kit and let me see what I could get done and she could work on her other projects. I didn't keep total track of the hours but I pretty much worked from dawn to dusk for two days determined to get this project completed. A week before Christmas I had everything ornament finished. All that was left was for Annie to attach the ribbon to each ornament for hanging. Lynda Ann was able to take the ornaments to work and was able to finish them. How exciting to have accomplished that project and in record time. The two of us are determined and often amazing!
This is a picture of me and Sprout meeting Annie at Walmart to hand off the project for her to take to work.
Abby and Antonio drove to the LA temple to see the Christmas lights. Abby said that she knew that Neal's brother, Norm, was assigned there at the visitors center. She said as they walked in to the center Norm was just being introduced so finding him was an easy task. She had never met him before so would have had to ask around and look for name tags. This made the process a piece of cake. Nice that they were able to see each other.
Beautiful temple and all lit up for the holiday season.
It has been 34 years since Annie and I left our beloved home on Cumberland Road and ventured off to a new life. I'm now working as a temple ordinance worker in the Jordan River Temple. One morning I notice a lady with red hair sitting up a couple rows ahead of me and realized it was Susan Kormylo from our old 8th ward! I couldn't believe it. Of course I went up and talked to her quickly before heading to our assignments. When I got home I told Annie and she was very excited and wanted to get together so Susan arranged a luncheon at her home last Saturday and what fun we had. We all decided that we needed to get together every six months and renew memories and all the amazing experiences we had so many years ago.
Neal had his 81st birthday last week. I invited the kids over for sandwiches, cake and ice cream. Neal was happy to have his kids drop by.
Some times you come across a saying that just hits you right in the center of your heart. Adoption is very near and dear to my heart as is prayer. It was many days and nights of prayers to a loving Heavenly Father pleading for a little baby girl to come to my arms and fill my heart. I knew the only way was through adoption and the ability to adopt was getting more and more scarce. But prayers are answered! When I saw these two sayings I had to post them because they are both such a part of my existence and belief.
Annie called me Thursday evening of Thanksgiving and asked if I would be willing to drive with her to Mesquite to take some Christmas presents to Abby and Antonio who were spending a couple days at a home in Mesquite. I told her to give me time to pack a bag and come pick me up! We left Friday afternoon about 1 and arrive in St. George about 5:00 where we met up with Abby, Antonio and Antonios's sister, husband and two darling little girls. We had dinner and then drove on to Mesquite where we spent the night. Annie had brought home made sugar cookies, frosting and sprinkles for the little girls to decorate. They had a fun time and mostly ate the sprinkles.
This year for Thanksgiving we had a smaller group than usual. Maren and her family minus Jaden, Maddie and Mindy, the Gertsons minus Abby, Antonio and Emmi. Everyone came about 6:00 p.m. and stayed and play games. The only things we didn't do this year was go bowling. It just didn't work out for anyone to do that this year. Hopefully next year we will be back at Fat Cats for a Thanksgiving Bowling time.
Sure didn't take any pictures this year. Glad Mindy got this one of the three of them.
These two are such good buddies and when they get together the run and play and play some more. They literally ware themselves out and have to lay down and take a rest.
Neal and I caught up with some old bridge buddies from long ago. We met at the Village Inn and had breakfast topped with a piece of pie. We sat around and talked for a couple hours and decided we should leave before they kicked us out. From there we all went to Modern Display just to wander around and see what they had, or maybe what they didn't have!!!
Left to right: Jim Fry, Midge Fry, me, Sherry Thompson, Merrill Thompson and Neal. We are hoping to get together again soon.
I was so touched by this Christmas project that Lynda Ann is working on. She created a Christmas card with her personal message and sending one out to the Navy moms through out the United States. What a huge service project to undertake but so meaningful. Annie said there is at least one or two moms in every state. These are moms who are on a special face book post that is for just mothers who have a kid in the Navy. Lynda said there is a lot of communication from all the moms. Sometimes it is for help, other times it is for support and advice, etc. Wonderful way to get acquainted without actually meeting face to face.
It has been a long time since Mindy and I went to lunch. We finally came up with a day to meet. We met at the Art Garden on 9th East and Vine. We had a delicious lunch and visited for nearly 2 hours. After lunch we went into their Curio Shop next store and browsed around in there for a good long time. Didn't buy anything just enjoyed looking and wandering. We finally had to head to our home. It was so fun to be with her and catch up on the kids and our own lives. We even talked about Jeffrey and how much he is missed. Shed a few tears off and on as we chatted about life.
I've been so blessed to have amazing daughter-in-laws and son-in-laws. Not a lot of mom's can say that. I freely admit that my children picked the best and I reap the blessings from their excellent choices! Love them all. This is a picture of a wombat that we found in the curio shop. Mindy loves them. He almost looks real. Darling picture of Mindy!
