Thanksgiving and More!

Another Thanksgiving day has come and gone.  We only had 7 of us this year, but we still had fun!  More family came and visited later in the day, and that was wonderful!  We also got the announcement that we have a new addition due in May... Jim and Shauntae are expecting their third!  We are so excited and happy for them!  Maybe we will get another boy and get the totals closer... we are three short on the boys side!  I told Kari and Jordan that they could have triplets, but they didn't think that was too good of an idea!  Anyway, we are always excited for a new baby in our family!
Curt and the boys have been working hard to gat our "Party House" done.  It is going to be wonderful to have room to have everyone eat together!  I am getting quite excited to go out and cook up a big meal for all of them!  If it is done before Christmas, we will have our family party there on the 26th!  It will be good to sit down together and enjoy each others company without having to crawl under the table or over other people...and be in the same room!  What better Christmas gift could we give each other?

I am hoping that the New Year will be as good as the last year has been for us.  The holidays are always so packed with things to do, that this may be the last post for the year...  If so.. Happy Holidays to all of you!

Falling under the spell...

It's almost Halloween. I went to Molly's party last night to "help" and eat dinner with them. I laughed so hard at what those girls said and did. It was so fun to watch and see how they got along so well and laughed so hard at what they were playing at the time. It is refreshing to see the "younger" generation having fun and being good friends. I enjoyed every minute that I spent with them. I didn't take pictures, but Cresta did, so when she posts them, I am going to borrow them and put some on here. (It is always more interesting to see photos, don't you think?)
Monday is the "trunk or treat" at the park. I always dress in my t-shirt that has a pumpkin face on it and hand out treats to the kids. They are so cute in their costumes and so excited to be there. It sure is a lot easier than opening the door a million times and handing it out at the door. (Call me lazy, that's ok!)
My lawn has a new carpet and it is getting plusher every minute. The colors range from gold, brown, orange and green and look absolutely beautiful. It even crunches as you walk on it. I am putting off raking the carpet...I love the colors and feel it gives our yard. I want to leave it until the last possible second before we get the big snows. I don't know when that will be, but I hope I get them done before that. The kids walking home from school seems to gravitate to them, maybe I will pile them up on the edge of our yard, just so they can walk through them! Fall has to be the favorite of all times to me. I like Spring, summer and winter, too. Fall just seems special some how.
Our family is all growing and getting older. My oldest grandkids came to visit today in their costumes that they are wearing to help at the town festivities. They are such beautiful kids and so willing to help. All my grandkids make me happy and glad that I am their grandma. They are truly blessings!
The spell may not last too long, and winter will be upon us, but, for now....I'm completely happy and content to be where I am right now. Life is beautiful and so are our surroundings. Happy Fall Everyone!

Ramble on...

So much has happened in the past little while. Kari and Jordan have been married for two months already and I haven't added pictures...mainly because I don't have any yet, but also because I seem to forget that I have a blog! I love to keep a record of what is going on, I just don't take the time to do it.

It has been canning time around our house. That should tell anyone who has preserved food at home what it's been like. Very busy, very fulfilling, and so fun! I love to see the jars all lined up on the shelves with the bright colors and prospects of what they will be like when we open them during the winter. I have tried a few new recipes and I am excited to try them out. Vegetable soup... a little on the spicy side, and spaghetti sauce... a little mild, but just what is needed for certain Italian dishes. Add those to green beans, whole tomatoes, pickled beets, peaches and I will be doing apple pie filling and carrots...I guess we will eat better when it's cold outside!

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My grandkids are growing up. My oldest..Jessie is now 16. I swear it wasn't that long ago when her dad was that age! Now he is 38 and I swear it wasn't that long ago that I was that age! My youngest granddaughters are no longer babies...They are the cutest little things you ever saw. I am so blessed to have the grandchildren that I do. I am also grateful to their mothers for going through the process of having them and raising them...just for me!!! ( I know...I have learned to share them...but it is hard!) I really don't think there is anything better on earth than being a grandma! Not that I didn't think it was great being a mom...Just that grandchildren are different. I do believe they accept you for whoever you are , whereas our kids weren't so sure on the acceptance part! So...if any of my kids are reading this...you know what to do to keep those little ones coming!!!

The ranch is beautiful this time of year. I had planned on having a painting retreat for artists to come up and have a chance of painting outdoors and seeing the beautiful fall colors. I don't think it is going to happen this weekend. It is supposed to snow!!! I am really not ready for that. I am disappointed too. I think I will drive up there anyway and see how it is. I can paint in the cabin and be perfectly content! Maybe some of the artists like to paint in the snow...

We got to go help Gina paint the outside of her house and put some of the rock on the front side of it. It was so much fun being there and working and hugging my two handsome grandsons that I don't get to see very often. It was a fast weekend, but a good one. It was her birthday present from us. It made a difference to the house. I love the color and look of it. When it is finished it will be awesome!

We started the "Party House" in our back yard. I am finally going to get a shop and a place where the family can go to have dinners and parties. We got the cement poured for the foundation and floors last week. Now, if the weather will cooperate, we will start the walls next week.

Life marches on... And I am trying hard to keep in step!

My baby is getting married....I don't know whether to be happy or cry!

I am happy for her, she has found a wonderful young man to spend her life with. It is what we have been preparing her for... being ready to live a new life with someone new and moving on. I just don't know if I'm ready to let this part of my life go.

It wasn't easy with any of the kids, but I have been excited to have them venture out and experience marriage. It's just that she is my last one. The baby. A time to change my life too. I will have to give up on some things that I enjoy.. Calling her anytime I want to talk, meeting for lunch when I am over there, shopping and looking for things we like, going to movies, plays etc. Now she will be having to turn her extra time into being with Jordan and making their lives run smoother.(Which is what I want for her) It's just going to be different and I need to prepare myself for it.

Letting go... sometimes it's hard to do, even if it is the right thing to do.

I wish her and Jordan all the happiness in the world, I hope they can stay as happy as they are right now. They are headed in the right direction and in the right way. I know they are going to be able to work together to make it wonderful.

My mothering days are coming to an end... It's time to direct my attention to focus on the grandchildren and see what with be from now on. ON TO NEW AND DIFFERENT THINGS!!!

What blog? And other things I have let slip by.

It has been awhile since I even thought of this spot on my ever growing computer world! It was once my favorite place to rant, think, play, post and all in all tell about life as we know it. It seems like we get spread in so many directions that some things have to go, and I guess this was one of them.

We have had some great times in the last little while. Curt, Kari, Molly and I traveled to Texas and got to meet with so many of the people Kari made friends with while she was there on her mission. I was greatly impressed by the poeple there. They all accepted us and invited us into their homes with hugs and kisses and gifts of the heart and hand. I learned alot about acceptance and family unity there. It was great! I loved the looks and reactions Kari got when she would surprise the people there. You could truly see the love on their faces for her, which made it much more meaningful to me about how her life was while there.

We had so much fun and we all were relaxed and enjoying it ( except when Curt was driving... and the Navigator would lose it when he would) It's just a good thing that their personalities are somewhat alike and they can take that sort of thing and be ok with it! Molly and I were the quiet back-seat drivers, ok, mostly I was asleep, but that was ok too. I needed the rest of that vacation more than I knew at the time.

We went to the American Airlines Museum.. Kari was in heaven! She saw one of her instuctors there who has gotten a job with them and is at school right now to be a pilot for the company.

We traveled to Dallas and toured the area where President Kennedy was shot, and even though I was young at the time, it brought it all back to me. It was interesting to see it all and realize that we were on the very spot that it happened.

We sampled so many ethnic foods, no Tex-Mex for us! (Ha!Ha! inside joke from one of our new friends there!) I have a new favorite Salvadorian food called papousa.. I am going to learn how to make them. I even bought some of what I needed and then used it in another recipe, so it is back to the store before I try them!

We learned from one friend what a coconut is... she calls her husband that! ( Brown on the outside, White on the inside)

We visited with the mission President and his wife, they gave up some of their time to have breakfast with us. They are wonderful people.

We went to a Flea Market that was 100 acres of booths and goods, we only stayed a while though, it was soooo cold that day. Curt bought me a $2.00 scarf to wrap my face from the biting wind, and that was the only thing I got from there. Of course we couldn't have packed much, so it was ok. Molly got a coat and her monkey hat, which is darling. She had so many comments on it from adults and kids alike! She is a great traveler, we had fun with her with us!

We went to the temple one day and did a session. It was a nice break for us. Molly did homework in the visitor area while we were there. What a trooper she is...

Curt's favorite place was the stockyard in Ft. Worth. So much history and lifestyle that he loves. We went with some of the Solis family and learned alot that day. There is a fun maze there that the kids tried out. I had Molly try putting her left hand on the wall and following it and it worked! I read that in a book at one time and wondered if it was true! Now I wonder if it would work to use your right hand???

It was great getting back home to the snow and cold and blizzard... If you believe that I will sell you some good ocean front property in Bear River! I did enjoy coming home and seeing everyone again. I missed my family and was glad to hold those cute little babies again.

This month (January) has been mostly getting over pnuemonia and feeling better. It is almost gone now, which I am so grateful for. I am so tired of the cough. I will appreciate my health so much more when I get over it. I guess I never realized how tired in body and soul that you can get when you are weak and sick. Hopefully I will stay clear of any more of it. (And I hope no one else gets it!)

Well, this has been a long and probably boring for some of you, blog. I had fun, and I guess that is what matters! Now, on to remembering to keep this up so that I have somewhat of a record of our life. I am trying to be better at recording things, it is so much easier to remember when you read back on them....