December 25th Sunday 2011

It has been a very special day!  Today is the greast Christmas ever, because it is on a Sunday and we were able to go to Sacrament Meeting and celebrate in the birth of the Savior.  I loved being at church this morning.  After church we as a family opened our presents.  The wonderful thing about that is all my children were here from out of town and we were together as a family. I had the privilege of seeing all my grandchildren at some time during the day and all my children.  I don't think there is a greater blessing in the world, then being a part of such a wonderful family.  We all had a great Christmas.  All day I have felt like an abundantly blessed person, just watching all my children and grandchildren, as they opened their presents and were able to be so excited about what they received.   I heard the comment a couple of times made by some of my children, I just can't believe that I have another present to open. I think that they were all so grateful for what they received because it was given with such thanks and heartfelt love. It was a great Christmas for all of us and mostly because we were all together and shared in the excitement as each person opened their present.  Thank-you everyone for this beautiful day, I am just so grateful for each of you and for the Savior of the World who made out this all possible, and gave us the wonderful gift of repentance and life its self.

December 23rd Friday

It has been at extremely busy day at the Bosch Kitchen Center. We just run all day long.  We have had some extremely busy days.  I get home at night and I just want to fall in bed.  But I want you to know that we have had some extremely humbling blessings. Kimberly and Tamara work with me at the Bosch Kitchen Center, sometimes it can make life a little bit better because these 2 are my last.  I know that the time will come when they will leave our home get married and move on.  I am a little concerned about that day because I know that my children and grandchildren want to come see me because Kim and Tam are here to entertain them, but when that changes I know that the visits will be much different.  It will be a change in all of our lives.  I know the time will come soon when all my children will be married.  I hope that they pick men who will love them and take care of them, who will do anything for them.  I received a wonderful Christmas present today.  We will soon be able to enjoy our home even more because we will be able to continue to pay mortgage payments on it, and enjoy being here for a long time.  I know that the Lord is in our lives and I am so grateful for that.  Tomorrow is Christmas eve and soon my children will all be here to enjoy that special occasion with us.

November 22, 2011 Tuesday

I started this blog because I wanted to reflect back on family memories and I wanted to remember the tender mercies of the Lord.   It is only 1 in the afternoon, and we have already experienced several tender mercies.  Tamara dropped her HP pad in the tub a strange story.  She was watching a movie in the bathroom.  She stepped out of the tub and kicked her cord and the HP pad went flying.  She was sick.  She got it out of the tub and tried to turn it off but that didn't work, so she had to let it die.  She put it in rice.  It has been a week and she tried her pad this morning, but it wouldn't so on.  But it was dead, so she plugged it in a left for school to take a test.  A miracle happened and the touch pad went on.  Another miracle I just found my best scissors and I found the top plastic square that goes on my sewing machine.  We receive tender mercies throughout the day and I am going to try harder to recognize them.  It is a miracle that 4 in the family got HP touch pads.  My husband had heard that they were not being made anymore, so he got on the internet and tried to order some because they were only 99 dollars, but they were not available.  My children  persisted and one of them stayed on the computer pretty much all day ordering them.  Finally after hours they were excepted.  But we just kept hearing they didn't  have  them in, but weeks and months went by, they said the order we be filled an we received them a few weeks ago.  Miracles certainly happen.  They make school  easier for my college children.  We know it is a blessing to have them.     Thanks to the Lord for our tender mercies this day.

October 8th saturday

Many miracles have happened today. Frank, Lisa and l went to the temple today, while we were at the temple our miracle happened and we received our apples from my dear sweet neighbor Sister Hales So many apples.  Rain, and all my sons went out and picked 5 huge  boxes of apples. They were still picking by the time that we arrived home from the temple. Michelle was working hard trying to get everything ready to start the applesauce.  It was a long day  but  we all pitched in.  We ended about 2 in the morning by the time we got all the bottles filled and the kitchen clean.  We  did all together 240 bottles of applesauce 35 bottles of apple pie filling,  48 pint bottles of baby food.  It was hard work on everyone's part, but well worth it for all of my children to take home some fruit.  It was a miracle every thing turned out where the apples were concerned and they were all done before my children had to go home.  Thank-you everyone for your help, for me it was all about building relationships.  It was great.  I love my family they are a blessing in my life.

October 7th Friday

It has been a day to remember.  I got off work half of a day today and I don't have to go to work tomorrow.  My children all came in from out of town, and we spent the time putting up applesauce.  We got 95 quarts done tonight.  One broke so you can really only count 94.  The problem was, I agreed to pick grapes at 3:00 today.  So off to pick grapes Frank, Tamara and I went. It was raining hard, but if you got under the grape vines it was rather fun.  We did come back soaked.  We also picked some tomato's we were given those too.  We were given them by Paul's sweet mother.  Trust me she was an answer to my prayers.  I have spent the last week working because of a sick employee.  So I have been working full time for 2 weeks now.  It has been OK, but very exhausting.  In the evenings I have been making my daughters blessing dress.  I have been working on it for a week now.  Tonight I have got to get all the finish work done, so that it doesn't interfere with the applesauce tomorrow.  So my dear sweet husband keeps sending me out of the kitchen. I also plan on going to the temple tomorrow.  We ran out of the apples for applesauce, and I know my children want more than we have.  So I will call a lady in my ward about apples and tomorrow a miracle will happen.

September 16th Friday

Today has been a day of reflection.  Sister Ruby Stratton passed away and we attended the funeral today.  It was a beautiful funeral.  It brought me to tears many times.  I remember back when I was pregnant with Emily.  I had a horrible cold and I couldn't seem to get rid of it. I had it for months. I even rapped my ribs because I was in so much pain.  Every time I coughed I doubled over.  It was terrible.  I went to the fruit stand.  Sister Stratton heard me cough.  She insisted on giving me some liquid vitamins.  I think they were a Shakley product I don't know, but she told me they would help make me get better. I know they were at least 20 dollars but that is just Ruby, she cared about everyone. She insisted that I take it, she will never know how much that meant to me, and she was right with in a week I was well. She was a miracle for me.

I went there many times to pick up my daughters from work, because 2 of my daughters worked for her at different times.  She would always give us something.  Some fruit or a fresh gallon of apple juice.  It was amazing because I always walked out of there with something.  She insisted on me taking some juice to my parents, or she would give me a deal on fruit.  I will miss her greatly.  I miss the fruit stand and the wonderful surprise bags that we bought for our children there.  When my children would walk to the fruit stand for a surprise bag I was grateful, I knew who would be there, the lady with the sweet smile and always a kind word.  We will miss our dear friend!!!!!!  Good-bye, Sister Stratton.  As the song said at the funeral today.  God be with you till we meet again!!!!!

September 14th Wednesday

Sometimes in our lives we find ourselves searching for answers and they come.  I was reading in Ensign tonight and came across something that I thought was incredible. It is a story about a man that felt bad throughout his life because he was heavy and received a lot of teasing.  He has learned to deal with it since he is married now and has a couple of children.  He read his scriptures and drew closer to the Lord and has understood what forgiveness is all about.  There is some amazing information in this story but a couple of words that I read in it has really made a lot of sense to me and I probably haven't thought about it before. There is this statement that this man suddenly realized.  "It wasn't how people treated me, it was my response to that treatment that determined the outcome of my life. " What an amazing thing to think about. When we study the gospel on a daily bases we view ourselves and others through spiritual eyes, then become more tolerable and forgiving of others imperfections. But we learn to love ourselves as well and then we can become who we need to become.

I worked all day today.  I have a dehydration class in the morning and I have been getting ready for that class.  At least I was at the store today to do it.  I actually got paid for all I did.  But it has been an exhausting day.  I had a Primay Presidency Meeting tonight as well.  My day has certainly been full.  I am glad that tomorrow is another day, but a busy day as well.

September 10th Saturday

In getting ready for work yesterday I did a crazy thing, but I didn't realize how crazy until it happened.  My bangs are pretty curly and it makes me mad.  So I grabbed my round brush and blow dryer.  The blow dryer is old, as a matter of fact I didn't really realize it was on.  It starts out with the fan really slow and then it goes a little faster.  So I turned it on and picked it up and ran it across the round brush close to my head.  It was definetly on and way to hot.  When I lifted the blow dryer up, my hair was totally fried.  Not just a little bit but tiny little fuzzies of burnt hair fail from the brush.  I had fried my bangs.  I rubbed the top of them and hair just flittered away like it wasn't meant to be there.  I was horrified!  Needless to say my bangs are pretty thin because of it.  But I say it certainly could have been worse.  I could have left it on longer and had no bangs at all just a big bald spot. 

I have been to work all day today.  It was so busy and I was so tired when I got home.  I put up 8 quarts of freezer peaches, but my husband fixed supper.  We had tacos, they tasted great.  My husband also brought me a great lunch to work today.  I was so happy to have it, it is nice to have someone who cares!!!!!!!!!

September 7th Wednesday

I have spent the interior day at work.  Sometimes that can be draining.  Especially today, because I cleaned, helped customers, unloaded the bosses car and put everything away.  It was a frustrating day.  We got a letter last week on the foreclosure of our home, it made me a little mad, because we have been paying on this home for 16 years.  We have paid for it twice.  We hope to be able to look into some options, but at this point we are being taken advantage of as far as I know.  Our home has been sold to 6 or more different mortgage company's.  Then we get a foreclosure from a totally different mortgage company.  One we have never dealt with.  Does anyone out there know what our options are.  This is just crazy.  We have hit on some hard times for the past year but I don't think there is any excuse for this.  We have tried to reason with them on several different occasions but to no avail, and yet they send us letters that tell us they will help in any way that they can.  We were instructed that we could qualify for a re-writting, but then after 1 year of stringing us along they told us that their company didn't do rewrites.  Talk about frustrating.  We will see what happens in the next couple of months.  Hopefully it is great news.

September 6th Tuesday

I had my jam and jelly class today.  It was wonderful, but I feel like I was all over the place,  I think it is because I was a little shaky.  I guess yesterday with running all over the mountain was almost more than my body could take.  It was a little crazy and then doing jams all night until 10 P.M.  Sometimes doing a class is a lot of work and it certainly was with this class. Luckily I only had to work 1/2 day.  I did do some great jams and jellys and I taught the women a lot and that is what counts.  On Sunday we had a great day.  It was fast Sunday and that is always a good day for me.  I know that all of my children are wonderful.  They have wonderful families that I love. They try to be the best that they can.  As I was fasting today I felt an over whelming feeling for all of them.  They are all trying to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and trying to be the best that they can be, and that is all that a mother can ask.  They chose their own paths and with that choice they are doing the best that they can.  I am so grateful for that.  Sometimes I think the choices that we make can make our lives hard and that makes me sad, but we all have our free agency, so when we make choices we have to live with those choices.  My children are doing amazing.

September 5th Monday

Today is Labor Day.  I have the day off and all of my children do except 1.   So we had an early barbecue.  It was wonderful.  We had great hamburgers with onion and mushrooms sauteed over it.  We also had a great guacamole.  We had cheese, lettuce and tomato's on it as well.  We had some watermelon, great chips and some drinks.  I wish I could say we played games and had fun.  But I spent the entire day on the mountain, finding berries for my jam class tomorrow.  I found 3 varieties of potawatomi plums.  I found yellow ones, red ones and purple one.  I also found some great plums that were big and almost green, but the flesh inside was red.  They made beautiful juice.  If you want to know more go to my other blog,  16andme.blogspot.com.  It will show you the great jams and jellys that I made in preparation for tomorrow's jam class.  At any rate I worked all day long on this class.  I made raspberry jam out of green tomato's that I had to pick.  I made plum jelly out of beets that I picked then washed and peeled, after cutting them up and cooking them I used the juice to make grape jelly.  I also made apple jelly out of apple juice and cranapple jelly out of crab apples.  I worked hard, and of course this has been a busy pre-day with no rewards.  I guess I do it out of the love of finding new things.  It has certainly been a crazy day.  I hope that tomorrow goes well.

August 25th Thursday

This picture was taken when they got her on the 30th.  We are so excited to have them and this little precious one.  We are lucky that we can hold her.  She is a cutie.  Excited for another grand child.

Today Emily had her baby.  Little Audrey, she was born this afternoon.  She was induced this morning so I consider the blessing of having a baby that fast a miracle.  I guess I am thinking of myself and my first child at 35 hours.  Anything less than 10 hours is a great blessing.  She weighed 6'15" and was 19 1/2 inches long.  She is a very cute baby and we are happy all is well and that she is born.  Having little Audrey is a total miracle anyway and we count her a little miracle baby.  Emily has been married for 5 years and finally she got pregnat.  We are so happy for her and her husband.  We love them and wish them a safe trip out here.  They are going to try to be out her on the 29th for start at BYU.  This is going to be hard to do especially after you have just had a new baby.  But I know that they will be blessed and make it safe.  Our prayers are with them.

August 21st Sunday

Today has been a great day.  I made rolls last night and I woke up this morning to 9 eaten by the dog.  I needed them all for sharing time, so I was a little concerned.  But once again the Lords tender mercies were with me.  I had just exactly enough rolls for all the children in primary.  My lesson was on The Word of Wisdom.  I explained to all the children the commandments we must follow when obeying the word of wisdom.  Then we talked about the promises that the Lord gives to us if we obey the word of wisdom.  We are suppose to eat fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats sparingly.  The promises are many, health in the naval, marrow in the bones, run and not be weary, walk and not faint. We found all this in the Doctrine and Covenants in section 89.  I had gathered a bunch of vegetables and fruits, then I showed all of them.  Plus I gathered all kinds of different grains and explained how wonderful each one was and what they did.  I brought a loaf of 16 grain bread and made a whole wheat roll for every one in the Primary. We had just enough.  It turned out great.  The Stake Primary Presidency were visiting and at first I was nervous, but by the second hour everything ran smoothly.  After primary they said we would like to come to all your sharing times.  At least I felt like it all turned out OK and I was certainly Thankful to the Lord.  When I arrived home Kim and Tam were making 110 scones for there dinner with the single adult ward.  Another little tender mercy was that Kim accidentally poured in 6 cups of water into her batch of scones when the recipe only called for 5.  We got exactly 112 scones, we would have never made it had Kim not added 1 extra cup of water to the recipe.  The Lord certainly had his hands in our life today.  We had a great meal today.   It was a family meal and everyone contributed. It was a wonderful day for all of us.

August 7th Sunday

It is good to be at home in my own bed.  I loved being at the Ranch but it is always good to be back home as well.  We had a great day today.  We went to church, then we all met at the ranch pavillion to eat a fantastic meal and bless little Clara Jane.  It was a wonderful time.  Two families had to leave and go home, They couldn't be there for the blessing  But they enjoyed the time with us at the Ranch.  We all had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  It was such a great blessing for us all to be there but Emily and her husband.  They are in Houston and couldn't make it.  Emily is due with a baby at the end of August.  But the blessing was beautiful.  It reminded me of Frank and I at there age doing to same kind of thing, blessin another baby.  It was a special experience and I was so glad to be there.  Neil's family came up to be with us and enjoy the wonderful food with us.  After we helped clean up we left and came home.  When we were about 45 minutes from home we got a call, our son was about 45 minutes behind us and couldn't start his car.  So we turned around and headed back.  We were driving Karalee's car and I know everyone in the car didn't really want to go back.  It was a long day, but we were willing to help our son.  Amazing after we had traveled about 20 minutes we got a call that the car had started and they were on there way home.  We told them we would wait for them, so we could follow them home.  We did just that.  Lets just say it is great to be home.

August 6th Saturday

Today we had an exciting day at the Ranch.  We celebrated Sierra's birthday.  Lisa had made all the little girls cute little aprons. They were white with ties on them plus a cute little pink flower and a bow.  She set a beautiful little china tea set up on a beautiful little table, it she had decorated with a white table cloth and some wild flowers that Lisa and the girls had gathered in the field.   It was so cute.  She made some herbal tea and had some apple juice in another china pitcher with china cups and cute little plates.  On the plates were served fruit and vegetables, plus the birthday cake.  Kim was the one in charge.  They were all dressed up in there dresses with their hair done, and their cute little aprons on. The aprons were like little pinafores. They all spoke in a English accent.  Sierra opened her presents.  She was so happy with everything that she got.  It was a fun birthday party to watch, and Lisa made everyone there feel like a princess. We all had a shooting contest today and Derrick and Katrina won the contest.  I couldn't hit anything.  I should have rested my gun on something steady.  I've never shot before at least this kind of a gun, so I failed miserably. We took a 4 wheeler ride up the canyon.  It takes about 3 hours.  Phillip and Katrina plus Frank and I and Lisa and Tamara went.  It was a lot of fun for us all.  Especially me because Frank came back slowly and we enjoyed the beauty all around us.  I felt bad that we didn't see any wild life. 

August 5th Friday

We have certainly enjoyed our day at the Ranch. We have had a fun day today/  Everyone decided to go up to the 5th pond for water activities. So a few of us stayed back to watch the little kids.  Jennifer and I had a lot of fun.  We made a slip and slide and slide down a hill.  Jennifer was taking the kids down.  It was so cute.  Colton and Katie had so much fun.  Emma and Sierra joined in and and tried to help Tessie, but she always wanted to go herself.  We put soap at the top of the slide and made it super slipper.  Tyler was concerned about the cold at first and then he really got into the slide.  Jennifer and Phillip went down a lot with the little kids.  It was so hot and yet the children stayed cool in the water and had a blast.They were laughing so hard. It was so fun to watch. Phillip and Jennifer made their day. I had the baby so I couldn't join in the fun, but it was fun to be on the side lines and cheer.  Frank and I went for a ride on the 4-wheeler to see some antelope.  We saw a buck, 5 females and twin babies.  The day was spent talking, eating, helping with meals and experiencing our own fun.  Lisa and her family arrived and it was so good to see them.  Nate went fishing on the river and caught 4 fish for our fish taco's tonight.  He loves fish, so he wouldn't kill them, he put them in the sink with some water.  By the time Kim and I got there they were all dead.  We cleaned them all because all the men went on a 5 hour horse ride.  It was bad for them all to leave because we needed their help, but Kim and I knew we could do it. We didn't have enough fish so Nate caught us 3 more fish.  Benje killed them and cleaned them for us.  I fillet them all, it was great, but a lot of hard work.  I was grateful Benje was there to help, because Nate will catch the fish but that is as far as he will go.  I think he loves the fish. The dinner with the fish taco's was amazing.  I know some of my children thought we worked way to hard for the dinner, but it was amazing. The men did arrive back from their horse ride in time to eat our great meal.  But the men were so tired they didn't even watch the movie we had prepared for the evening. We watched a movie with James Gardner called,  Support Your Local Sheriff.  I stayed to watch the whole movie but most of the family went to bed.  But those who stayed up enjoyed the movie.

August 4th Thursday

We got everything ready and left for the Ranch by 7:30 AM.  Some of our children were not happy to leave so early Michelle wants us there early and I am happy to get there early because I really wanted to leave last night. We did arrive at the Ranch before the others.  Michael went to town with Javier because his children hadn't eaten any breakfast and they were starving. Mike went into town to get some pizza.  I think that was good because we all need to eat and apparently Michelle isn't here with the food yet. Mike brought the pizza and we all eat.  It was so fun when Derrick and Kim and Tam showed up, they brought little Tyler with them.  It was fun to see them all.  Next Michelle and her family showed up.  Of course it was about 6 by the time everyone arrived.  We had a great supper then we started to set up tents and we started to figure out where we were all staying. It was fun to see the beautiful stars, when you are out in the country that is so dark you see billions of stars.  it is amazing!  The men took off to kill some jack rabbits, but there aren't any around this year, so that idea was quickly smashed.  I was kind of glad because I always worry when the family goes out with guns.  Frank and I got our own trailer to sleep in. Old but wonderful.  Sierra and Emma slept in the trailer with us on the couchs that you could turn into beds.

August 3rd Wednesday

We are preparing to go to the Ranch.  I worked all day today, so we planning on leaving tonight.  I was suppose to do a dehydration class yesterday but I only had 6 people sign up for it, so I canceled it.  Tomorrow they are suppose to have a basic bread class but I canceled it as well because only 4 people had signed up for that o  I am excited for this vacation.  I am looking forward to the Ranch.  It is my time to leave all my troubles at home.  It seems like I have been working a lot lately and I just need a break. And I am so excited to have this break.  Michelle is blessing little Clara Jane at the Ranch.  We are so excited for the weekend.  Kim, Tam and Sierra left early this morning to go to Michelle's house to help with her children so that she can shop for groceries for the Ranch.  I needed to make Tortilla shells to take to the Ranch so I did it today in the shop, because I had to work all day.  I made some spelt tortilla's as well as some white tortilla's.  We picked up 22 loaves of bread at the shop, and I picked up 4 boxes of cereal. Then I realized that we couldn't leave tonight.  Mike and Chrissy and their children left with Javier.  They had everything packed in the Suburban so there was no room in the suburban for us.  We did have them take the dog.  But we will be leaving with Jennifer, Benje and Karalee. Karalee and Jennifer couldn't get off work until much later. I wanted to take one of Alma's vans, he was willing to give it to me. I could have taken the one that fit the whole family but they all wanted to drive alone.  They each have their own families and they need the space, plus they will be stopping to nurse babies.  But if everyone could have gotten together we could have saved a lot of money on gas.  Oh well maybe next year things will be different.

July 31st Sunday

Lisa and Nate left for home right after church today.  I felt bad because they didn't even take anything to eat on the way.  I wish they could have stayed for supper. We will miss them, but we did get a little part of them.  Sierra is staying with us until they go to the Ranch. We are excited to have her stay with us, she makes our life fun.  Sierra is an amazing little girl because she has such an imagination. She makes us laugh.  When it comes time to go to bed she just fights it big time.  She doesn't want to go to sleep because I think she is afraid she will miss out on something.  She has tons of books to read and doesn't really settle down until about 10:00 PM. So by the next day she is just a little tired and probably needs to go to bed a little early. Because she isn't as happy as little Sierra can be. So we will try to get her to bed earlier tonight!

July 29th Friday

Lisa and Nate came to see us today.  Nate took off to fish in Idaho, but we get the girls and Lisa which I think is a wonderful thing.  We love it when our children come to visit. Madison loves her grandfather.  He takes her out and swings her for hours just to have her laugh.  He throws her on the couch she jumps off and he throws her on the couch again and she laughs and laughs. It is cute to watch.  Of course when Sierra sees Madison get so much attention she has to jump on the bandwagon as well. Then it is cute to watch their grandfather give both attention and play with them both.  I married a great man.  I know that my husband loves his grand kids. Lisa has given me some great ideas for my new blog.  She is amazing.  Everyone is settled down now and asleep.  But we have sure enjoyed the day, it is fun to have the grand kids again.

July 27th Wednesday

I went to work today and worked all day long.  Sometimes working all day long can be a trial because it is long hours and I can't get home and do what I need to do. Today is one of the ladies I visit teaches birthday, I have wanted all day long to make her a little german chocolate cake. She says it is her favorite.  So because I was stuck in the Bosch Kitchen Center all day I decided to take some little spring form pans and make some cute little cakes for my visiting teaching ladies. I got four little spring form pans and I put some good home made chocolate cake in them and cooked them.  I made huge little double layer cakes, by the time I put frosting between each layer and frosting all around and on top.  They were beautiful little cakes, but extremely tall.  My visiting teaching ladies loved the cute little cakes and I even made them at work.  But when you get off work at 6:30 you need to use your time at that store to cook. I guess I work in a great place, because I can do amazing things like making cakes, and make my visiting teachers so happy.

July 25th Monday

I am so excited that my boss let us take this day off.  It is a Utah holiday so I didn't expect it, but he gave everyone the day off.  It is kind of like the 4th of July, we have fireworks and celebrations.  We celebrate some wonderful things.  We probably won't be here if it weren't for wonderful people that helped settle here.  We are grateful to our ancestors, they were a hard working, sacrificing people.  My grandparents came from Germany on a ship with 5 little children.  I am sure it was extremely tough for them.  When they arrived the first time they were sent back because their paper work was not correct.  They finally arrived in St John, New Brunswick Canada form Liverpool England in 1925.  I think of the sacrifice they made for my m other to be my mother and it is amazing to me.  I am ever so grateful for all they did for me and for their family, so that they could be here.  Because they were German, I am sure at times they were mistreated, and at times they felt like going back.  My grandmother never did see her family again, they disowned her because of her religion. All I can say is Thank-you for your sacrifice. We went over to Derricks home tonight to watch some fireworks that his neighbor was setting off.  I am grateful for the fireworks, they make the holiday a big celebrate and as far as I am concerned it certainly should be a big celebration on our part for thanks, to some amazing people.

July 24th Sunday

I am so grateful today is Sunday.  This day is such a special day for us because the pioneers settled in this land and brought about an amazing state to live in. We are so blessed to be here, to have temples so close.   I and Frank can be at 4 different temples within 10-30 minutes.  Who would have ever guessed that something so wonderful could have happened in our life time.  So many of our ancestors gave up so much including their own lives to bring about the gospel of Jesus Christ and a place they could worship without being ridiculed.  I can't believe how many saints built the Salt Lake temple and gave so much of themselves their time and talents, plus everything they owned. It is amazing to me because in our day people have a hard time giving things up, and these wonderful people gave up everything that they had. It took the saints 40 years to build that temple and I am sure many saints died while it was being built and never saw it completed before they left this earth.  Our primary theme for this month is on temples.  We had some amazing people come and tell us wonderful stories about some of the temples as well as there trek across the plains into the Salt Lake valley.  It has been a great month and I have learned a lot.  I am sure the children have as well.

July 18th Monday

It is my girls birthday.  Their real birthday.  We have gotten them a gift and others in the family has as well.  They received them tonight.  And once again we have had a birthday celebration.  We played games and had fun.  I think sometimes they would like this day to have been having fun with some guys, but I am glad their family is still important.  They both took the day off because it is their real birthday.  I guess it helps when your boss is in your ward.  These are the words of one of my daughters whose birthday it was.  So I guess they had a great birthday.

Mother had a delightful little party with our group of friends on Saturday.
Where:
Our backyard.
Attendees:
Dan, Jack, Jeremy, Jarom, Lauren, Brandy, Jenn, Allison, Candice, Rhylee, & Tyler.
We played:
Dodge ball, Psychiatrist (my favorite country is Florida...oh wait), and Volleyball.
We ate:
Homemade pizza, cake, ice cream.
We watched:
Red (edited). Outside. On our big Screen.

Later on Monday we had a small family party
Seriously sooo much fun. Man I love my friends & family! You guys rock!

July 17th Sunday

Today we had a special dinner for our girls.  I guess it is like their Uncle Tom says, you need to have a birthday week, and we have truly extended their birthday. We had a great dinner and Jennifer made them a wonderful carrot cake. I think they had a great evening.  We talked a lot tonight and had some fun.  It is hard to believe that my girls are getting older.  Before I know it they will be married and have children of their own.  I love them and they are a joy to me.  It is fun to get to talk with them and have them get excited over guys and jobs and school.  They will be starting back into school before I know it, we won't see them very much when that happens.  So for the rest of the summer we will try to have fun.  We get to go to the Lucky 7 Ranch the first week in August and we are certainly excited about that.  We will make that super fun.

July 16th Saturday

It is my girls 19th birthday in just a couple of days, so I decided to have a birthday party for them tonight.  I called Lacey a few days ago and told her to invite anyone that she knew they would love to come.   I made pizza and a german chocolate cake. People started showing up which I was happy about. By the time Kim and Tam got back from the store there were friends to play games.  They were in the middle of the games when the pizza started to get done.  When the pizza was done I took it out with some drinks.  When it got dark enough we put a movie on the big screen outside.  The movie was called Red and we edited it on Clear Play. It was a great movie.  It quite chill outside so Kim and Tam brought some blankets for those who were freezing.  A young man that just got home from his mission in a very hot place, froze to death and I think he was happy to have a blanket.  I think that my girls had a good night. One of my daughters likes a guy that brought a girl and that was kind of bad, but she can get over it because she has other guys she likes.  I guess he just misses out.  I have some pretty amazing girls. I am proud of both of them because they tried to make everyone happy.  Kim was on the tramp with some guys and she had a great time.  Tam was on the ground with some girls and she just watched the movie.  My girls haven't had a birthday party since they were little.  It was fun to do something special for them even though it didn't turn out totally they way they would have like. We did serve wonderful german chocolate cake with ice cream.  The hit of the evening for them.   Happy Birthday Girls!!!!!!

July 7th Thursday

Today little Lydia was born.  Phillip and Katrina had their first baby and of course it was a girl.  Our family does girls first, at least that is what we do best.  Isn't she beautiful.  It is her mothers birthday tomorrow so I think she was happy to get this one over with.  She had her natural.  She has taken care of her self and has exercised through this whole pregnancy.   Her labor was about 3 hours once she got to the hospital.  We are so grateful that little Lydia is here and that she is healthy and strong. We are grateful that her mother is doing good.  We love this little family and we are so happy for them.  Congratulations!!!!!!!  She weighed 7pds. and 15 ounces.  She is 21 inches long.  When I first saw her I wondered where she got all the beautiful dark hair and where she got those beautiful dark eyes.  Beautiful baby!

July 4th Monday

Such a fun day.  We had dinner with the family, out cooking on the grill.  Great hamburgers.  The thing I love about this day is all the flags in every ones yard tell us that we live in a free country.  And the fireworks going off every where.  They have made the fireworks that go high in the air legal.  That makes me so happy but they continue to go off all night long. You can look in any direction and see fireworks.  You can see them all in your own back yard and you don't even have to leave home. I know that a lot of people become annoyed at the noise but I love to hear it, with every sound I realize how important out freedom is.  The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays.  It is great to celebrate freedom

July 3rd Sunday

We had to say good-by to everyone.  I think the little Walter grand children had the hardest time.  Kim and Tam stayed in a tent with all the girls.  It was their tent and it couldn't even hold everyone, but it was fun for them all to squish into the tent together, so they could talk and share in one an others company. We went to church at the Hatch ward chapel.  It was a great meeting, because it is a small town and yet there were more visitors than members.  A lot of people had come to Hatch for family reunions and get togethers.  It was fun to see that the church is true were ever you go and people are united together because we are all united in the same beliefs.  Relief Society was packed and so was Sunday school.  There were only enough chairs in Sacrament Meeting because they brought so many chairs in.  It was a good day.  I guess the thing I love the most is that where ever you go when you enter that meeting house everything is the same.  The spirit is strong, you have the sacrament and you get to go to all 3 meetings and experience them in much the same way you do at home.  We arrived home and Poshka was happy to see us.  Yes Poshka our Dutch Shepperd. 

July 2nd Saturday

Tonight will be a great night.  There are a lot of people around this Ranch.  There are a lot of people who are invited to the 4th celebration.  So there are camping trailers and people I don't even know.  There are dogs and little children, there are older children and younger adults, older adults and older people.  By this evening they will probably have close to 200 people.  But we spend a lot of time in the Ranch house and out on the porch of the Ranch house.  It is so fun to watch Kim and Tam involved and making fun for so many little children, it is like it is their joy in life to make joy for others.  I think they will be greatly missed when we leave the Ranch tomorrow.  There is a big chili cook off tonight.  So the Walters are making their chili and there are contests going on every where. We all ran up to the 5th pond to see the competition on the swimming pond.  It was so fun to watch the competition between families.  They go down on the bike ramp, dive off into the water and swim to the post that is on the rope swing, when they hit the pole the guy on the top of the rope swing, swings out into the water drops and swims back to the edge of the water, the two guys in the canoe, canoe out into the water to a post in the middle of the pond go around it and head back, as soon as they get back the guy on the zip line comes down then drops and swims to the edge of the water, then they count the time.  Mark's brother's family won again this year.  They have won the last few years.  But next year is another year. It is evening now and everyone is here to eat.  They have a lot of food and a lot of different chili's to sample.  We all get to be a participant in choosing who will win. Someone won in the family Mark came in second.  He said he gets second every year.  I think that is awesome. The fireworks tonight were so fun.  Tessie came to sit by us, she saved a seat for Kim and Tam.  She was so cute she won't let anyone else sit there.  She kept saying for Kim and Tam.  The fireworks were wonderful.  I have never enjoyed anything so much.  We were right under them.  The music was wonderful and the flag was waving in the wind with a light on it by the garage at the Ranch house.  It was a beautiful evening.  The fireworks lasted a long time and were beautiful.  After the fireworks we presented the blanket to Mike for his service in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was fun to be there and see him with the quilt. I was glad I was a part of it all.  He had forgotten he had given his uniforms to Michelle.  It was a great evening.  Michelle worked on the quilt half of the day and I didn't even know.  She did a beautiful job, Tamara helped her bind it.  We were part of a great service.  What a wonderful 4th of July experience and it isn't even the 4th yet.

July 1st Friday

We are at the Ranch with the whole Walter family and it has been a fun day.  Frank and I have taken walks together today.   It is beautiful outside.  We have walked to the 4th pond twice today.  It has been fun but I don't think that we realized how hot it was, it is night and we just want to stay out of the sun because it hurts our sunburn so bad.  But Neil insisted that Frank go on a horse ride with him.  It is kind of bad when you come on vacation and you can destroy that vacation because of a sunburn on the first day. But Frank won't give up a horse ride for anything, so more sunburn for him.  Kim and Tam have been wonderful today they have enjoyed all the children from the Walter family.  They have played games with them and enjoyed their company.  It has been a lot of fun for everyone involved.  Michelle and her family arrived it was fun to see them, and Crystals husband arrived late, but it was good to see him as well.  Frank and I set up a tent, Michelle got us a mattress pad to sleep on.  I think we will have a good night.  But it is always late to bed and early to rise when you are at the Ranch, there is just so much fun you do not want to miss out on.

June 30th Thursday

It is a fun day.    We got everything ready and headed  to the Ranch about 2:00 P.M., Neil forgot some stuff so we ran back to the farm.  We will probably be at the Ranch about 6:00 P.M.  I called my family and Frank isn't even planning on leaving until about 7:00 P.M.  So I will have a long time to wait by the time we reach the Ranch.  Crystal is already in town and is headed to the Ranch with the Walters.  Some of her children went up this morning.  Michelle will come in tomorrow and Crystal's husband will come with some friends late tomorrow night.  It will be fun for the Walters.  It has been so long since I have seen them all it will be exciting for me as well. But I can't wait to see my family, it has been a few days.  I don't understand why they are getting out so late, but it will be wonderful to see them.  We are at the Ranch, we stopped in Cedar to get some gas for the truck, it is really funny because just as we are pulling out of the gas station suddenly Tyler needs to go to the bathroom.  So we made a quick u-turn as we stopped, suddenly Tessie needed to go to the bathroom too.  Neil was taking 2 children in the convenient store, by the gas station.  It is like I told Michelle I think it is a good thing that Tyler spoke up.  We still had quit a ways to go and it was up a canyon so there was no place to stop. When Frank and the girls finally arrived I was happy to see them.  I stayed with Frank and Michelle in the ranch house.  The girls stayed outside in a tent with the little girls.  Neil stayed out in the tent with Tyler and Crystals little boys.  It was a great night.  Frank and I will be out with the kids tomorrow night in the tents, because Michelle and her family will be here.

June 29th Wednesday

Time is running out for us to get this quilt done.  I finished one side and it looks wonderful.  Then we started putting the other side together.  Michelle is trying to sew as much as she can.  I really don't need her to have to help she is trying to do enough right now, and with a new baby she isn't getting a whole lot of sleep.  But she is putting the other side together.  I have cut out all the squares and she is making sure the are exact in size.  If you are going to do a quilt you need exact squares, rectangles and anything that you are going to use. It sure makes things a lot better.  We got the two sides done and now we are measuring them up to match each other.  Michelle wanted to put binding around.  I told her not to, just to lap over the large quilt side to the small quilt side and it would be beautiful.  Neil feels the same way I do.  Now Michelle as the hard part to do she has to machine quilt the whole quilt.  She is taking her machine to the Ranch tomorrow and hopes to get it done there.  She is so busy with children I don't know how that will happen.  But I will help all that I can.

June 28th Tuesday

I am going to go with Neil and Michelle to the Ranch, Frank and the girls will met us there.  I am so excited.  I've been working on the quilt and it looks wonderful.  I have cut out all the pieces and have started to piece it together.  Michelle is having a little trauma with her children.  I think that not getting sleep, having a new baby and cousins in town all contribute to a little disruption. It is wonderful being her, I get a bed pal every night.  She just seems to wake up in the middle of the night and wants to sleep with her grandma.  It is actually quite cute.  I will miss it when I get home.  Michelle has been running around trying to get everything ready for the Ranch, so it has been good for me to be here.  She just didn't need to take 5 children and run around with all she has to do. 

June 27th Monday

I have been communicating with my family at home.  I have always wanted to go to the Ranch for the 4th of July so I am trying to talk them into coming to the Ranch to met me, so that I don't have to take the bus home.  The Ranch is a beautiful place where Neils family will have their family reunion.  It is owned by their family, but it is wonderful.  They have their own fireworks and the whole town gets together for them.  We would be able to sit right under the fireworks and watch them. I would love it, but we will see what happens.  Right now I am getting involved in a project.  Crystal's husband served in Afghanistan for 18 months in the war over there.  He brought all his army suits to Michelle to make a quilt out of.  She has had these for 4 years and because he is going to be here for the 4th we would like to present it to him.  So I had  Michelle get out all the stuff and we have been cutting out the quilt today.  We are cutting out a front and a back.  I think it will look awesome but it will take some time.  We will do it when the children are asleep or are busy doing something to occupy their time.  It will be fun.

June 26th Sunday

It has been a wonderful Sunday.  We had breakfast and soon it was time to get ready for church.  We all worked hard at getting ready.  I attended Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School then I decided I had better come home.  Michelle needed more rest so I tended the baby.  Sometimes Sunday's can be hard.  I told Michelle that is because it is the Lord's day and Satan works extra hard on that day, so we just try a little harder.  Neils sister that lives in California will be arriving tomorrow.  That will be fun for the children because their cousins will bin in town.  Val has tried to help in every way possible.  She seems to be asking to help and wants to bring us food.  But they are planning a family Reunion which she is trying to get ready for on Thursday.  Plus Grandma isn't doing well and she has been monitoring her and taking care of her.  She has been taking to much of her medication, so the family needs to watch her.  It is hard to see people you love get older.  She has fallen a few times and that doesn't help.

June 25th Saturday

It has been a great day because I am with my daughter and her husband instead of at work and that is wonderful for me.  It isn't that I hate work but it is always a blessing to be away sometimes.  Certainly and excitement for me.  I've tried to be here for Michelle today.  She has had a nap and I have taken care of things.  Her baby is so good and so fun to hold.  Grace and Emma like to hold her, and when I am busy doing something it is nice for them to be of help.  Little Tyler is having a rough time.  I think this new addition to the home is probably harder on him than any one.  But he is the only boy and probably feels a little out numbered at this point.  We did have a lot of fun today.  Neil and I and  Grace, Emma and Tyler went down to the little river running by the farm and caught tiny fish and tadpoles in little nets.  I carried the bucket and the children dumped their wonderful catch into the bucket.  When it got to full and to much dirty water, we would dump the bucket out and start all over.  We had a fantastic time, while the rest of the family was home taking a nap.  A great adventure for us all.

June 24th Friday

I came to Michelle's and little Clara is so cute.   Now they have 5 children and Michelle has her hands are full.  I am glad that I am able to come and help out.  I was picked up from the bus stop by Michelle and Tessie. Michelle had a baby 2 days ago I did not expect to see her.  But her husband was super busy and couldn't make it.  I was certainly happy to see her and little Tessie.  The first thing Tessie wanted to know was where is Kimberly and Tamara.  Silly little girl!  I explained to her that they were back home.  I guess when she sees her grandmother she just plans on Kim and Tam being right behind.  When we arrived at Michelle's home I got to hold her precious baby, and soon it was time for bed.  So into the bottom bunk I went.

June 21st Tuesday

Michelle called and she had her baby.  She was 8'4 and 20 inches long.  I am so happy for her.  She had the baby naturally with no drugs. Her deliver once she got to the hospital was about 2 hours.  I am so glad that she was blessed to have her baby so quickly especially when she had no pain killers. Today is Neil's birthday so Clara was born on her Daddy's birthday.  I am sure that all of her children are so happy.   They will buy me a ticket to come to take care of Michelle and the baby.  I am excited about that.  But I have a baking class on Thursday so I hope that the ticket is for Friday.  I will go when ever they need me, I am excited to take care of the children and help Michelle.

June 20th Monday

Our Beautiful Quilt.  I love the colors.

This is the beautiful quilt that I and the Activity day girls made for Sister Eshelman. It turned out fantastic.  The Activity Day girls got to take it over and present it to her.  I think they should be plenty proud of their work.  Thanks to Lisa it was quilted by machine beautifully.  Thank-you everyone. I am sure she loved it. I made up the pattern so I was so happy when it turned out.  I is surprising what you can do when you make your mind up to something.

June 14th Tuesday

Lisa went back home, we will miss her and her wonderful children.  My children are good mothers and continue to amaze me with the things that they do.  It is fun to have them around when they come to my home.  I taught another class on rolls and more today.  I have never had a class turn out so good  I made whole wheat rolls.  Then I made orange rolls.  With the left over dough I made an Engllish T-ring.  It was amazing.  I took the orange roll dough and rolled it out.  Then I took some butter and spread it all over the dough with a pastry brush.  I sprinkled cinnamon chips over the dough.  Then I rolled it up in a long roll.and formed it into a ring. (it looked like a christmas wreath) I cut every 1" around  the wreath about 3/4 the way into the middle. Then I twisted the dough.  It rose so high.  It was amazing and tasted so good.  It was a recipe that was made by mistake and yet it couldn't have tasted better.  I have realized through doing these classes that I can still make some good food.  That is nice to know.

It is my sisters birthday today.  I tried to call her and she wasn't answering. I feel bad that I didn't get through to her.  Families are really important and I know that.

June 7th Tuesday

I had a wonderful time doing my class today.  I made 12 grain bread and popped amaratha foccia bread.  It was so fun to teach ladies that were interested in learning.  I love to teach the classes when I have a lot of imput.  It was a successful class.  If you would like to see the bread you can go to my 16andme blog and find the recipe with a loaf of the great bread.  It is a bread that my husband loves and I am sure that you will too.  I has been a great day and I am glad that I have had the opportunity to do the class.

May 26th Thursday

Lisa did a beautiful job quilting the quilt.  It was all finished when I got home from work today.  I was so grateful that it was done.  I had a class today on Dehydration.  Every time I do this class it isn't easy.  It takes a lot of preparation at home. Dehydration and more dehydration.  I made beef jerky and dehydrated a dot of vegetables so I could blend them together to show everyone how to do soups with the left overs from your garden.  I dehydrate green peppers, zucchini and yellow squash.  I also do onions and tomato's if I have them.  What ever I have I use.  I grind them all up and then add a couple of tbsp. to my soups.  It is a great way to use up any extra things in your garden.  Anyway we had a great class.   I also dehydrated some fruit and fruit leather. But when I arrived home it was time to get busy and do the quilt with the activity day girls.  I quickly cleaned up what needed to be cleaned and then prepared for the girls.  I was so glad Lisa was here to help me because it isn't easy teaching young girls how to bind a quilt.  Some girls did an awesome job, but others made a real mess.  After they all left I fixed the quilt.  Now Tammy can take the quilt with the girls to deliver them to Sister Eshelman for her little baby boy. It was fun to teach the girls a new skill.  I makes me understand that we all need a little experience behind us, when it comes to being a teacher.

May 24th Tuesday

I have had a crazy day today.  There was a class at the Bosch Kitchen Center once again. I was glad that it wasn't me doing the class.  I've got to get home right after work to check on my house being clean so that the Activity girls can come over.

I needed to do some touch up on my home.  The main level at least needed to be clean.  The sewing machines were down on the table, they just weren't hooked up.  I went to the sewing room and got some scrapes so that I could practice with the girls before they began to sew on the quilt.  All I wanted was for them to be able to sew in a straight line.  It was an interesting experience to watch them sew.  Some took a long time on a lot of scrapes to finally get the straight line straight.  Others caught on pretty fast, but others took a lot of time to finally get the sewing right.  But we got the quilt done and it looks great.  I am impressed that all those little activity girls would learn how to sew just for there activity day leader.  She will be plenty impressed with the great looking quilt.  I have been adding on some strips so that the front will be the same length as the back.  I will need to get some batting for the middle and have it done by Thursday, so that we can have another activity day.  Lisa decided to quilt the blanket on the sewing machine because it is such a cute quilt.  We do not want to tie it because you will not see how cute it is.  So she will sew it while I am at work.  Once I get it all put together.  I have been working on it since the activity day girls left.  I am excited about it,  it looks so good.  I will get it finished tonight, so Lisa can sew the lines and then I and the girls will sew all the edges together.

May 19th Thursday

It seems as though I am at work alot and I would like to do something fun with Lisa, but that seems to just not happen.  It is fun to get up in the morning to her cute little children.  I will certainly miss them when they go home.  They have been here for over a week.  I hope they don't go home for at least a month, but it depends on when Lisa decides it is OK to go back home.  And right now we get the happiness of having her here.  She has been going to the temple alot.  Being with us gives her that opportunity.  I love it when she goes to the temple with us, but sometimes I think she just wants to go alone.  So we don't always get the wonderful priviledge of having her company.  Today we did.  I love to go to the temple.  Our experience there is one of peace and reverance.  I think we understand our many blessings when we attend the temple alot.

May 18th Wednesday

I got all the Activity Day girls project done today.  I got all the pieces cut out and the quilt is ready to do.  I know that once they come over I will have a great time with them.  It will prove to be interesting to see if they enjoy learning to sew or whether it will be an activity where they can't wait to see it over and done with.  I am happy to do this activity because it will be rewarding to everyone that participates.  Sister Eshelman will be happy to have a new quilt for her baby.

Lisa is here and has been wonderful to help in every way since she has been here.  Her girls are wonderful.  They are good little girls.  It is funny to watch Madison and her quiet ways and cute little voice.  Sierra is defiantly the older child, because when it comes to bed time she doesn't want to go to bed.  She loves to be a part of the group and is afraid she will miss out.  I see that in a lot of ways she is like Jennifer, especially in the no sleep area.  Now that Jennifer is older I know that she would give anything to be able to sleep once in a while.

May 17th Tuesday

I had a wonderful time at the Bosch Kitchen Center today.  I did the class on all of the attachments for the Bosch, it ended out fantastic.  I took the creamy soup mix and put all the ingredients together in the food processor, then I mixed it up.  It was a wonderful soup mix recipe.  2 cups of powdered milk, 1/2 cup potato flakes, 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. of corn starch, 1/4 chicken powdered chicken bouillon, 1/2 tsp. of dried marjoram, 2 tsp. onion powder, 2 Tbsp. vegetable flakes (or in my case vegetable powder, I will explain on a latter post) 1/4 tsp. garlic salt, and 1/8 tsp. white pepper.  Put it in your food processor and process until all is mixed well together and flakes are mixed. This will store in an air tight container in a cool dry place for 1 year. The next thing I did was to use the Bosch meat grinder and make hamburger from a roast.  Out of that hamburger I made a meat loaf, and formed it in to tiny meat paddies.  I used the slicer shredder attachment next and made sliced potatoes, shredded carrots, sliced celery and chopped onions to saute' together so I could pour it in my cream soup mixture, after I made it.  To do that you add 3 Tbsp. of above mixture to 2/3 a cup of water. Delicious.  Next I made a grapefruit drink in the lemon squeezer.  The last thing I made was an orange julius in the blender.  It was a very rewarding class and everyone there got to taste the delicious food. 

May 16th Monday

Tomorrow I have a class on all the Bosch Mixer attachments.  As usual I am wondering what attachments are the most beneficial to know about.  I am excited about the class but at the same time a little apprehensive.  I found the greatest recipe on the Internet for cream soup base.  I can use my vegetable powder that I grind up each year when my garden over produces.  It is just a lot of different vegetables that I dehydrate.  Tomato's, green pepper, onions, yellow squash, zucchini squash and carrots.  Just anything I can dehydrate.  This particular vegetable powder is made with peppers, yellow and zucchini squashes, whatever happen to be left over in my garden that day.  Of course I always dehydrate more and add to the mixture I already have.  Then I put it in my freezer and take it out during the winter months and add a couple of tablespoons to any soup that I make.  It has wonderful flavor, I love dehydrator's.  They are wonderful.

May 15th Sunday

Today my second counselor went out of town so my secretary took charge of sharing time.  She had 4 separate men come into sharing time acting out a great man taken out of a story from the Book of Mormon.  It was incredible.  What a great idea.  The children were so excited and the men who acted out these great men from the scriptures were amazing.  I couldn't help but be totally impressed.  It gives me a great idea for my sharing time next Sunday.  Because I have become so busy these last few weeks it will give me a great opportunity to come with an amazing idea.  My sharing time is on the priesthood being restored to the earth and how that whole process happened.  So I will chose a couple of young men from our ward to talk about there individual calling in the priesthood and experiences they have had being in the Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthood. Then share the story of Joseph Smith and how both priesthoods were brought back to the earth.

May 14th Saturday

We attended the temple this morning.  Sometimes Saturday's can be a crazy day so attending the temple isn't something that we normally do.  But we have made a commitment to attend at least once a week, so when the only day that you can do that is on a Saturday that is what you do.  It has a calming effect on my week, that should be earlier in the week because I have church on Sunday to do that exact same thing. So about the middle of the week is a really good time to attend the temple, but at this particular time it ended out being on Saturday.  My daughter came to see us with her 2 little girls on Thursday.  I hope they stay for awhile, but I never know when she will feel like she needs to leave and go back home.  I love her and her little girls, and as I feel with all my children, they can stay as long as they need too.

May 13th Friday

I found out a miracle this morning.  The cutting blade in my cutter was in wrong and that is why it hasn't been cutting.  I only had a few pieces to cut out this morning, but the whole baby quilt is cut out and I am ready for the Activity Day girls project.  I do have to sew one square together, before the activity so that I can really see how this whole thing works.  I will take a picture and put it on my blog when it is all done.  I should be pretty cute, but will take a little work.  I had to work this afternoon.  I seems as though my working has really helped me to realize that I can accomplish alot when I need too. We planned on attending the temple today but will attend first thing in the morning.  It has been some what of a crazy evening and I had to work this afternoon until evening.

May 12th Thursday

Time seems to fly when you are having fun.  I have the activity for the Activity Day girls on the 24th and 26th so that alone is a stress for me.  I have a Dehydration class coming up on the 26th and there is a lot of preparation for that class. So between that and trying to get all the pieces cut out for this quilt is quite interesting. Sometimes I feel as though there are not enough hours in a day. But luckily I did have the day off yesterday so that I could  figure the pieces out for the quilt that the Activity Day girls are going to do.  I love it when I have a day off.  I plan on having at least a day off a week, I hope that happens.  This week I am loving it because I also have Saturday off.  It's great! I worked this morning so I have been cutting out pieces to the quilt this evening.  My cutting board is so bad that it takes me forever.  But I will get it done yet.

May 11th Wednesday

I got to spend the day at home. No work today! I love days like today. I can clean my house and of course I have been preparing for the activity day girls to come to my home. I made up a pattern for making different shapes in a baby quilt. Then I went searching for pieces in my extra material that would match and make the quilt look good. We are making a baby quilt for Sister Eshelman who is one of the Activity Day leaders. Sister Field gave me some really cute material for the backing of the quilt, so all I am doing is the front. But it takes a long time when you are making your own pattern. Everything has to match up and look good. I have been trying to make this pattern most of the day. I need to take every spare minute that I have to get ready for the day, the girls will come, especially when a lot of my time is spent at work. So when I have a free day I like to take advantage of it.

May 10th Tuesday

Today I did a Pasta Class at work. I felt kind of out of my element. I have always kneaded the dough for 8-10 minutes. This time I didn't do that and I suffered the consequences of that decision. I needed to let it set for 30 minutes which I didn't have time to do. So when I put the Pasta through the Pasta Machine it came out falling apart. I just kept putting it back through and after about 6 times it came out beautifully. But each time I put more pasta through the machine it was the same way and I had to put it through about 6 times. So I felt pretty bad about the whole class. But before I made this pasta I made pasta out of Kamut. I turned out beautifully. It was amazing and tasted just like normal pasta. I was excited. I made fetticini out of this pasta. Then of course I had the disaster, but all turned out well. I made a great salad out of that pasta. But I had a Lady from my class say don't you dare apologize, you just made us realize that it can be done. You persisted until you finally did it perfect. When we go home and make pasta, we will know that if we persist we can really do it. You had a super class. She said this is real life, it isn't on TV. This is a true to life class. She made me feel wonderful. I was glad the mistake was made by the time she got through. People can make our lives wonderful. We just need to tell them we appreciate them once in a while.

May 9th Monday

I am just so grateful that I am able to work. Not that my job is super easy, not that at times I get frustrated with what goes on. Not that I am totally happy with everyones responsibilies, and feel like every one does their part, because at times I don't feel that way. I am grateful that Mother's Day is over, because sometimes I felt as though I was in the Bosch Kitchen Center alone. I felt like I needed to run to keep up with how busy the Center got, but it is fun to be around people who can appreciate me for the years I have spent cooking. It is certainly a reward to know that I have accomplished something good in my life. I think working makes me organize my time a little better. Sometimes it is tough to be Primay President and have that responsibility, as well as keeping up on a home, and working. I still have children that need me and need me to talk to them on the phone, especially when they feel in crisis mode. I want to be their for them. I just hope I can continue to juggle everything that I need to and be their for those I love.

May 8th Sunday

It has been a day of fun in my home. My children were awesome when it came to Mother's Day. I received such a special day of love. Michelle sent me a darling plate about Mother, and also some amazing cookies. Lisa sent me a darling card and a cute little letter from each of her children. Jennifer gave me a beautiful card. Karalee gave me a card with some money in it. Emily called and wished me a beautiful day and told me that she loved me. The dinner that everyone contributed too was more than I ever expected. I felt like a queen, with all the great love and respect shown to me today. I want to thank all my children for a beautiful day. I love each of my children and my concern is for them and their futures. They mean so much to me. I pray for them each day, some more than others. Some are having some struggles that I would like to take away from them, but I know things will be corrected in the Lords time.

We had a great Sacrament Meeting today. Once again all the Seniors spoke about their Mothers. It is so fun for such wonderful things to be said about Mother's on their special day. We all know that we are not perfect at all, but it is fun to hear that once and awhile you feel appreciated. This day was one of those days. A day that I felt appreciated. Thank-you all who had part in that.

May 7th Saturday

It is the day before Mother's Day. I have been working all day long and I am tired. We didn't sale all the Bosch Mixers that we were suppose too. They gave away with each Bosch a cute package that was full of toffee. It was nut walnut toffee, and toffee with a nut chocolate topping. Very tasty. So I brought some home for my mother as well as Frank's mother. At least I was able to give them a mother's day present. I know that it is the thought that counts, and right now I am giving a little something for the thought. I am pretty excited because Karalee arranged that we would have dinner her at my house, but she called everyone to contribute. She is bringing the meat. It will certainly make my mothers day wonderful. I am grateful to my children for all they do. They are certainly a blessing in my life.

May 6th Friday

I have been at work all day today. It has been super busy and we have sold a lot. I find myself enjoying talking to people about different items in the store. But it has been a very long day and I am exhausted.

May 5th Thursday

We had an early morning work meeting then I and my husband got to go to the temple before he needed to be at the airport and I ended out back at work. I came to work at 1 instead of 2 but I am glad that I did because they sure needed my help down there. The temple is a wonderful place when life around you seems in such turmoil. I am so glad I got to attend the temple this morning, because it certainly made the rest of my day.

The girls and my husband picked me up at work. They looked great! You can certainly tell they have been in the sun a lot. They are pretty tan. They enjoyed themselves greatly, but said it is nice to be home. I think it is always hard to stay with other people because you feel like you are invading their home sometimes, especially when they are living in a small apartment. But like I have said before it is worth it for family. Family is so important and we love them all. I loved hearing there awesome stories about Houston. My husband has been working on a basement again. He is such a perfectionist. When things are not perfect he feels like he needs to redo them. I love him for that, but he has been in this basement so much that at times I think he just can't do things he wants to do and make them as perfect as he wants them to be. I think he works to hard and expects to much of himself, so he over does things which cause him more work. But he fixes anything to look awesome. I just hate that he is re-doing because of whose basement this is

May 4th Wednesday

It has been another day of cleaning and being at work. I have been trying to get the house super clean for the arrival of my girls tomorrow. It has certainly been an easy job to keep this house clean with only my husband and me here. It is Mother's day this weekend so it has been crazy at work. I come home and find myself exhausted. Tomorrow my girls will be home. That is exciting. We have missed them and their guy stories, their work schedules with picking them up from work and making sure they are on time. There entertainment can make life fun because they always have an interesting story to share. So we will certainly be happy when they are home again. I hope they have enjoyed themselves in Houston. It is always fun to visit family, but in my situation I love being home as well. It is just always good to be in your own home, use your own bathroom and sleep in your own bed.

May 3rd Tuesday

I had a bread class today. It was great but I worked almost all day and I am exhausted. When I came home we needed to be somewhere. So we ate quickly and headed out. We went to the church, the UVU institute choir came to perform for us. The conductor use to be in our ward, so he does a special performance for the building our ward meets in. The wards in our building are invited. It was a wonderful performance. They did dancing and singing. The whole performance was on "The Proclamation to the Family." It was incredible. I know that there performance has inspired many people. I know they have done it up at the conference center all week and they have done it for institute classes. I was extremely well done, and I am glad that I got to be a part of it. It is amazing to be inspired by such wonderful youth, they are certainly a group that lives their religion and sings every song found in the hymn book and The primary songbook because they know that what they are singing is true and you can certainly feel that.

May 2nd Monday

It is the night for Family Home Evening. My girls are gone to see their sister so they are not home. FC and I read scriptures. We are reading The New Testament. We are studying the epistle of Paul, which is pretty much the whole New Testament. Sometimes I have a hard time making out what he is trying to say. It can be a frustration for me, because I feel like I should understand. But I am sure the understanding will come as I read more.

I worked today this afternoon. I know that my brother is having a lot of trama at the BKC because he called me tonight, and we talked for a good hour. I feel for him because he has a lot to figure out right now. I just think that he needs all his employee's to work together toward a common goal, instead of being so much against each other. He will have a meeting on Thursday morning so that we can discuss things and hopefully get things worked out.

May 1st Sunday

Another miracle has happened. My husband felt inspired to go and read his scriptures last night at midnight. So he did he wandered downstairs for a minute. He found we had left some meat on the unit, it had run out of water. Truly a miracle. A good reason to read scriptures, because the Lord is trying to protect you, and make your house safe.

It was a great Sunday. I was in charge of sharing time today and it was a hard thing for me to do. I don't understand how I can do all kinds of baking classes and never become shaky or unsure of myself like I can at sharing time. I think it is probably because all these little children in our primary are so innocent and cute, and I know what I say can become an influence in their lives. I love them all and I know how important it is for me to be the right influence. I know that right now I am an instrument in the Lord's hands. I pray constantly that I will be who I need to be. We had a great dinner tonight at Jennifer's home. We had a Thanksgiving dinner, it was delicious. We invited Grandma and Grandpa C. We all enjoyed the time spent together.

April 30th Saturday

It has been an awesome day. Another miracle happened to our family. In the basement apartment the dishwasher stopped working. My husband went down and found a wire nut that was fried. So he replace the wire nut. He cut the wires and started all over. But it did not fix the dishwasher. Today my son said, "Dad I can do without a dishwasher but I can't do without a disposal." So after solving his paint gun problem and doing some painting, he headed home and to the basement to do some repair work. While he was gone I prayed that he would find the problem to the dishwasher as well as the disposal. I guess when he went downstairs, he did the same. He went to the plug on the wall that both items were connected too. He turned off the circuit breaker and checked it out. Just as he was ready to put it back he saw a little spark. He took the plug back out and completely redid it. Miracle of miracles the dishwasher and the disposal worked. If my son had not complained and the dishwasher hadn't gone out, there could have been a fire. Either from the dishwasher or from the plug. We were truly blessed, another little small thing that tells us the Lord loves us.

I got my whole house cleaned today. Mopped and scrubbed everything. My husband vacuumed everything. Then we went to the movie "True Grit". The ending wasn't what I would call good, but I enjoyed the movie as a whole. It was so nice to come home to a clean house, and to have it clean for the Sabbath day tomorrow. It is Fast Sunday tomorrow, a day I have learned to love.

April 29th Friday

I think that we could probably count this day as a Friday. CHW worked with me at the BKC today and we had a rough day. I felt bad for CHW because she made a mistake and I tried for 1 hour to rectify it. But it couldn't be rectified because the money was not in the bank because the transaction had just been done. I hope it will be taken care of tomorrow. We all make mistakes I told her, if we didn't we wouldn't be human. I know that a big mistake was made a few days ago, and that wasn't CHW's fault. We had to ship a Bosch out second day air because one of the employee's didn't ship it out a week ago. So sad because it was another mistake. The name on the transaction was BH. But he claims he doesn't remember. That ended out costing 137 dollars. Sometimes mistakes can be big, but that is the business world. Like I said I wish we were all perfect. I sold a Bosch today and a lot of other items, but CHW rang most everything up. I was a frustrating day for my husband as well. He couldn't get the paint gun to spray right. So he rolled the ceilings in the basement he is working in. I think it was just a bad day for everyone. What about you? How has your Friday been? I know someone out there had a great Friday.

April 28th Thursday

Today K&T flew to Houston to visit their sister and her husband. We had prayer with them before they left. I couldn't go because I needed to get ready for work. While I was at work KC called me from the plane, and acted a little concerned about her plane ride. I told her she would be just fine. I know my girls will have a great trip.

I sold a couple of Bosch's today and a lot of other things. I put a lot of the items I sold under AKH's name. He told me it doesn't matter any more so I figured what do you do but sell things and put them under the bosses name. So I did.

My husband and I went to the temple again today. I was so rewarding. Anytime that I go to the temple the work seems to go by so fast. I am grateful to do work for my ancestors. I feel their presents my times. It doesn't bring anything to me but pure joy and I become pretty emotional. I can't describe this wonderful experience to anyone that hasn't felt it. I just know it is an experience I wish I could share with everyone.

April 27th Wednesday

I think that the most important thing for me to do each day is to count my blessings. I don't do it often enough. I think of them and yet I don't write them down. I didn't have to work today so I spent the day cleaning. I realized that I hadn't found the key to the BKC and I needed it. But of course someone else opened yesterday so I didn't need to worry. I searched for it for about 1 hour before I left yesterday. I searched all my pants pockets that were in the dirty clothes about 4 times. I searched the laundry room, the kitchen, the office, the family room, my room and the sewing room. These are the rooms that I spend most of my time in. I searched and searched. So when I got home last night I decided I needed to say a prayer. I told my Heavenly Father that I had looked everywhere. I couldn't find it any where. After I prayed I went to search the laundry room again. I searched my pants pockets again, and the key was right there as if I had never gone through that pocket. To me that was a miracle and a blessing for me, because I know how many times I went through that pocket.

One of my counselors couldn't be to our meeting tomorrow night, so I rescheduled for tonight. Unfortunately she still didn't make it. But we had our meeting and once again had a lot of things to discuss. We even called a few more people to important callings. It was a successful meeting.

April 26th Tuesday

Work was crazy. I ran most of the day. In the day I sold 5 universal mixers, 1 compact mixer, 1 nutri mill and 1 electric pressure cooker. Plus a lot of other items. It was certainly crazy. I worked with 2 men. One doing a cooking class and one stocking shelves. I appreciate their help, but sometimes I felt as though I were there alone. I've sold a couple of compact mixers, a couple of universal mixers, plus other things since I started working. But I sold the most today. Plus today I have one of my eyes that has this crazy eye infection in it. So I have been suffering with that. Sometimes I just wanted to shut my eye, and make the pain and itching go away. It helps to close it, but you can't while you are working. I am sure that a lot of people wondered, "What has happened to her eye?" Then there were those who didn't even notice. At least that is my hope. I have been using eye drops and a cream on my eye but the itch doesn't go away. One lady at the store suggested that I had an allergy. I commented by saying, just one eye. She said yes, I get the exact same thing. Who would have known. Allergy Alert! You can get allergies in one eye.

April 25th Monday

If a relationship has issues, those issues will only get worse. If you think that person is going to change because you get married you are wrong. What you see is what you get. I guess the thing is. is that people do not change that easily. You don't suddenly have a prince charming because you are married. And people are always on there best behavior when you are dating. I just found this interesting, because I am watching '"Enchanted" on the Disney Channel. The first sentence in this little paragraph is found in "Enchanted". How true to life it is. You see things wrong in who you are dating, they don't change when you get married. As a matter of fact most of the time they get worse, because they are on their best behavior why you are dating. I think that is why there is so much divorce in the world, it is because we want to get married so bad that we imagine things will be better just because we are married. I am so grateful that my husband and I were born into families that are just alike. I think that is why we have always loved each other, we have the same kind of family, we are just alike in the way we were raised. I think that is so important. I am glad that my husband found me and that I found him. I think we were truly blessed to find one another. Plus we share the same common ground in what we believe, and try to make each other better. KC is on a date tonight. I am happy that she gets to do something fun. I hope she has a wonderful time. But I am waiting for her and watching "Enchanted" while I wait. The music is fantastic. I just love music. I am so happy today because I got my whole house cleaned and scrubbed all that needed to be scrubbed. I has been an incredible day. But I work tomorrow so I hope it can stay clean.

April 24th Sunday

It has been a pretty emotional day. The speakers at church were wonderful. Primary was wonderful. In our meetings we discussed the Savior's life. His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, his death and Resurrection. It was a beautiful day of celebration for Christ's life on this earth. After the baptism last night, the meetings were just frosting on the cake. We tended MC and CC's children while they attended Javier's ward, so that my son could confirm this young man and give him the gift of the Holy Ghost through the power of the priesthood. A special experience for my son, because he hasn't done anything like this since he got back from his mission. I know what a special day it was for all involved. It is an amazing thing, to watch a young man change his life because he has found the truth. It is kind of like spring and the Resurrection, he will suddenly face a new beginning. Just like the plants when spring has sprung. Just like Christ did when he was Resurrected and reborn. Just like we will someday, after this life.

April 23rd Saturday

I ended out having to go to work this morning. One of the ladies that was suppose to work was sick, so I filled in. It was crazy busy, but BYU graduation brings a lot of people from out of state into the BKC. I worked and then came home to clean my house. After it was clean my girls had a surprise for us. They had hidden Easter baskets for us and it was time for us to go on a scavenger hunt. (Something we have done with our children in the past.) So I and my husband started to look. We found them in the dryer. Hidden under clothes. It was a lot of fun. They went to the dollar store and bought us toys as well. You guessed it little plastic guns, bows and arrows, and rackets. We had a lot of fun trying to shoot each other, but they were pretty poorly made, so didn't work very well, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Thanks to our girls Easter was fun. Of course, the true meaning of Easter is far more than having fun. It is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. What a great blessing in our lives. We will all be resurrected, thanks to the Son of God. I can't believe what He has done for us. Not only suffered for our sins, but made it possible for all of us to live again.

The most wonderful part about this day was going to a baptism of a wonderful young man. My son has been a great influence in this young mans life. Because my son speaks Spanish, and he is from Mexico they got along wonderfully. He worked with my son at his job. He talked to him about the gospel of Jesus Christ many times. They even ran a marathon together in St. George. They all traveled there together and stayed with my daughter. Sometimes there was great opposition in MC telling him about the gospel, because sometimes the influence around the store was not the best. But Javier saw beyond that and did things on his own that were good. He found a church and started to attend the meeting. Then the next step was the missionaries and baptism. He is a wonderful young man and found the truth. I think that the greatest thing was that after the meeting, he got up and thanked everyone for coming. He knew his life had changed, and he finally was home. He expressed the fact that he could take the gospel with him wherever he goes. It was very touching, and he was very emotional about it. The greatest Easter present in the world was being at that baptism.

April 22nd Friday

I've been to work today and felt so much better about working. Things are coming back to me. That makes me super happy. We had the baby shower for KHC tonight. JL and K&T did a beautiful job making a great cake with a darling decoration on it. It was a onezy with snaps on it. It looked like the real thing, they did an awesome job, plus they did daring decorations all aound. They had great flowers on the table and cute little baby shoes, that they made out of paper, filled with candy. The whole evening was a lot of fun thanks to a lot of people. KHC got some really nice things for her little girl. It was fun to watch the excitement and anticipation that seemed to grow with each cute little game we played, the refreshments we ate, the quiet book we made, the beautiful atmosphere that surrounded us all. And of course the look on KHC's face as she opened each little gift. A very special evening. All of my children made her evening, they cooperated and worked together. It was fun to hear about, even though I wasn't there to help.

April 21st Thursday

I have been at work today. I went this morning so I have the rest of the day to love being home. It is certainly a privilege to be at home and enjoy the day. I just keep waiting for a day that is warm so I can go for a walk and breath in the beautiful air. But it is raining again today. Don't get me wrong, everything is beautiful. Even the mountains are a beautiful green. It just makes everything around you sparkle with greenery when you have a lot of rain. Of course there is always the danger of flooding when it rains so much. I know we are experiencing that all around us. I just want it to become a little warmer in my home, then I will love it being spring a little better. The weather is suppose to be warmer tomorrow. I hope that that happens. We are having a baby shower for KHC tomorrow. She isn't due until July the 5th but her family is in town for her gradutation. She is graduating from BYU, such a wonderful accomplishment. We are very proud of her. I know going through college can be a big struggle when you work so hard to pay for your way through college, and you work so hard to stay out of debt while doing it. Congratulations KHC, we love you and appreciate this great accomplishment in your life.

April 20th Wednesday

Today is my day off, so I don't have to work. I am gratful for that because we attended the temple today. My mother had so many names that we did sealings. It was a wonderful opportunity for us. I think going to the temple can certainly be one of my greatest blessings.

I though I would get my home cleaned, but that didn't happen. I got a lot done but not as much as I would have liked to do. I always think I can do more than I do. I am happy that my garden has started to grow. I have onions, beets, and spinach growing. My carrots haven't started to come up yet, but I know that they will. I will be ever so happy when my whole garden is up. I love spring. It never ceases to amaze me that we are so blessed with a glorious earth that produce such wonderful food for all of us.

April 19th Tuesday

It is continuing to rain, as I watch my plants in my home get larger and larger. I have petunia's, cilantro, zucchini, yellow squash, crook neck squash, tomato's, green pepper and the long onions planted in my home. I can't remember the name of the onions, but they are all about 3 inches tall. The plants are beautiful and it makes me sad to think that I haven't got enough space to plant them all. I love to watch seeds grow. It amazes me that these plants can be little seeds, some of them so tiny that you can't even see them. Yet when they placed in dirt with water and the sun, they grow. They become a growing living plant. Something that can happen only through a miracle given to us by a loving Father in Heaven. If you don't believe that He exists then you should plant a seed.

April 18th Monday

I realize how important visiting teaching is. I love the dear ladies that I see every month. I want to be the best visiting teacher that I can be, but it can be hard when the ladies I visit teach have such busy schedules. The dear sweet lady I visit teach with has a few health problems, so most of the time I can't get a hold of her. I would love my visiting teaching to be a little easier, but I also understand, everything can not be perfect all the time. I will do the best that I can. I love our Relief Society presidency and I wish I could be there for them more than I am. I feel bad because they will be there 3 years and so will I be in the Primary for 3 years. I will miss out on those wonderful ladies who make Relief Society so wonderful. I have visited 2 of my ladies, but I still have another one to visit. I need to get with her in the next couple of days. I know she has a few frustrations in her life so it is hard to get with her. She has a little autistic son and she is pregnant. She has 4 children in all, so this makes 5. I know at times she feels like she has 6 children, because there is so much involved in taking care of her autistic son. I feel for her and would like so much to help her, but I just don't know how.

April 17th Sunday

It is a day of rest and when I say rest I mean it. JL did sharing time and Sister Webb conducted. I just had to sit back and listen. It was a very enjoyable Sunday for me. I consider Sunday's my day because it is a time when all other cares are given away and I can just concentrate on what is important. We had wonderful meetings. Lynette O spoke to us and we had 2 youth speakers. I very much enjoyed what they said, because they talked a lot about having faith and how important it was to know that the Lord will take care of us. It was good for me to hear that wonderful message again.

We had a great Sunday dinner as a family. We ate ham, potato's country style gravy, beans, salad, and fried ice cream. We enjoyed one anothers company. KLC is headed to Orlando on Tuesday. I hope that she has a great time. We can't help but worry when our daughter is away.

April 16th Saturday

I went to work this morning and spent the whole time scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees, I just couldn't take it any more. I helped customers and then sent them to Colleen to ring up. I wanted the floor clean. It was a disaster. I didn't make it look beautiful, but I scrubbed and scrubbed. At least I tried. When I returned home after about 3 hours, I was exhausted and wondered why. Then I remembered scrubbing the floor. I guess it wore me out more than I thought it would. But I did better today than yesterday. I am sure I will remember more and more every day. I guess in a way I have felt like I needed to get back to work because I feel like my children need me at work. It seems to give them a better sense of things being OK.