Heaven, I'm in Heaven

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays. I've had lots of visitors this year, and have enjoyed myself tremendously. Eight out of ten of our grandchildren live out of state, but we've been able to see them all except Braden (who had to get back for finals). I took a few pictures, but I was trying to fix something on my camera when it erased all of my pictures, so I'll borrow some from Debbie and Amelia. Sabrina and her family came into town first and were able to attend a lot of family events. She was still here when Debbie and her family joined us last week. This is a picture from Debbie's blog of us singing to people in a care center. James was taking the picture.
 
We also went swimming and had a dinner. Fun times! Trent, Amelia, and TJ rode into town Tuesday night, and have been racing ever since. They stopped long enough to open presents with Sabrina's family on Thursday night and Rob's family on Christmas. The Santa suits were from a party with other grandparents, but they were so cute I had to add them - Thanks Debbie for thinking ahead and purchasing them months ago.

We went to Morgan on Christmas Day, and TJ met his Great Grandmother Heiner. Since we are in Utah, the weekend was capped off with snow for the Floridians to play in. I will miss my grandchildren as they go back home, but hope our fun memories will last forever.
 

Second Time Around

So, three years ago when we sold our house a multitude of miracles occurred. Once again it has happened to us - even in a horrible housing market. I'm sure it is not anything to do with Wes or I because I know of good people who are having a hard time selling a home. I'm sure it's because we just happen to have homes where God wants to put people.

We have been trying to decide what to do with our new home since we started building it. Originally we planned to rent it out until the housing market improved so we could sell our current home. We went back and forth about selling versus renting and which home to sell or rent. At the first of the month I mentioned that we should pray about it. That Sunday was Fast Sunday and Wes sat next to a man in church who he had heard was looking for a house in the ward and mentioned that we had a house we were going to sell. They looked at it that day and wanted it. The miracle part was that the man was fasting about finding a home himself. We just found out today that they were going to put an offer on a house that very day, but just didn't feel right about it. They are good people who will be wonderful neighbors.

We know that it doesn't always work out this smoothly, but we feel very blessed to be a part of this second miracle.

Sold?

We have probably sold the house we're living in. More details to follow.

Grandkids!

After having a relatively grandchildrenless month, things are picking up. Wes and I were able to travel to Nampa last Friday and Saturday because I had career ladder day that wasn't funded on Friday.

The main/only draw to that trip was that we were able to visit with the Debbie and Ben and see where life has taken them. We enjoyed ourselves very much. They have a beautiful home with fresh raspberries growing in their back yard. Yummm! This is a picture of Braden trying to burn down the back yard. (Just kidding - he was experimenting with rockets).

We were also able to see where Ben works (only a few minutes from their house). He has an interesting job and it was fun to see the things his company manufactures. We then had a delicious Mexican dinner (Wes's favorite) and some even had shakes for dessert. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. My favorite part of the trip was Saturday morning because we were able to go see Bryson and Cami play soccer. Bryson is fast and loves to run, so he is a good soccer player. Ben is the coach of Cami's team and it was fun to see such little ones play. Ben helped the 4 year olds stretch and encouraged them to play when they would rather watch. Ben and Debbie's biggest job is to remind the kids which way to run and which net was their goal. Debbie makes a good soccer mom and assistant coach.
 

We were also able to go to a fun car show. I think that Wes would love to be like Jay Leno and have garages full of classic cars. However, I think we need our garages for our own cars. (And while we're on that subject, he needs to get rid of all the stuff he stores in them so he can park his truck in a garage too!)

This weekend we have Kameryn and Austin staying with us because their parents decided to take a last minute trip with friends. Even though we live next door, we don't get to see them too often on a regular basis. We are all busy at work on weekdays, and they are busy at play on weekends. Wes took the boys fishing this morning. They had a good time, but only Kameryn caught a fish.

I was able to get a good price for a non-stop flight to Arizona over UEA, so I'll be seeing a couple of more grandchildren in another week! I'll post pictures after that trip.

If only I could get to Florida then this would have been the perfect month. I miss seeing TJ, and I look forward to spending lots of time with him over Christmas vacation. My pictures that I took during our last trip to Florida are blurry, but I'll post one of him anyway. He's such a cutie, and I'm visiting him in my mind right now. It's the best I can do.

I feel blessed to have 10 wonderful grandchildren, four wonderful children and four great in-laws (as well as a husband that I love - even if he needs to clean up his side of the garage).

The Finish Line

We're getting close to being able to move into our new house. Today we bought shiny new appliances and a light. We still need to buy carpet, the countertops, and the garage doors. Of course, we have all the landscaping to do, but that will take years. Wes and Rob have worked hard, and have done a good job. It was nice to hire out much more of the work this time too. We figure it should be done in a month or two. Then the real work begins for me. It shouldn't be as much work as last time because we are so close, but I'm not a fan of moving.

Still Alive

The beginning of school is sooooooo busy. This year was no exception, but we're still alive. I have 24 cute children (compared to 31 last year!) so when things settle down, it should be great. The new students are following directions and are kind to each other. What more can you ask?

Out of the Mouths of Babes

So the other day I had a few minor aches and pains, so I mentioned them to Sabrina when I talked with her. She said, "Oh Oh. You're falling apart." So the past few days Adie, age 3, has been saying, "Grandma's falling apart. Grandma's falling apart." When she called me today she told me, "You're falling apart." Unfortunately, she's right.

A Busy July

Wow! It's hard to believe that August is almost here. What a July! I'll write a brief synopsis of some interesting things that happened this month. *Wes went in for a "routine" biopsy on July 7th and I had to rush him to the emergency room on the 9th. He had a fever of 103 and had a rare strain of e-coli throughout his body including his blood. The doctors kept trying to find an antibiotic to kill it, but couldn't find one until Sunday. He was in the hospital until Monday. We had to wear gloves and aprons when we visited him, and I was quite scared. Wes has been on home care for two weeks now, and he still has to have the antibiotic by IV every day through a line inserted in his arm. He is still very tired, but his fever is gone. He has another doctor appointment tomorrow. The good news is that he does not have cancer.

*My niece, Chelsey, was married last week, and it was a wonderful celebration. She made a beautiful bride, and I have been impressed by her new husband and his family. Kate and Doug's yard was a gorgeous setting for the reception.

*Sabrina and her family have been here most of the month. I've enjoyed getting to know the grandchildren better. We went to a float preview party last Tuesday.

*We were able to see many of the floats in person as we waited for Sabrina to cross the finish line of the Desert News marathon. She made a goal 9 years ago to run a marathon, and can now check it off her list. Done. Good job Sabrina!

Our Princess Turns 10

This is birthday time in our family. Our oldest granddaughter is now 10, and still as sweet as ever. This is a picture from last Christmas before she cut her hair to donate to cancer patients.

Party Time

Wow! It's hard to believe this young man is eleven. We had a fun time at his party.

The Newest Additon

I had a great time visiting with Trent and Amelia and their newborn baby, TJ. We went to a portion of a baseball game and went on a walk.

However, most of our time was spent eating

or sleeping.

Thanks Trent, Amelia, and TJ for letting me spend time with you. What fun!

Grandkids Weekend!

Fun Times! We got to have Debbie's family stay over Saturday night and hang out for a while on Sunday. Our new grandson, TJ, was born Sunday. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Busy as a Bee

This month has been busy, as May always is for a school teacher. School will be out next week, and I'm off to Florida to help out with my soon to be born grandson. Wes will be home working on the new house. Ok, so I know the house doesn't look much different than a couple of weeks ago (except the roof has been shingled), but inside we're getting plumbing, electricity, and heating. We're deciding on paint colors, appliances, and doors. Wes, Rob, and other workers have lots of projects to do while I'm gone, so next month's pictures should look a lot different.

Hopefully I'll have time to post pictures of the baby before I leave. Of course for that to happen, he's got to decide it's time to make an appearance before the last minute.

Progress

Our house is starting to take shape. The builders have been quite busy this week (when it wasn't raining).

How Firm a Foundation

At least we hope it's firm! Next week we hope to have the cement in the basement and garage down. The walls will be going up soon afterwards. It's amazing how quickly this is all happening.

Going, Going, Gone

We're crazy. We've only been in our house 2 years and we're starting to build another house. That's because we met the deadline for our new house to be approved before laws limiting the size of houses in this area were enacted. Soooooooooo. Here we go again. This is the old house being torn down. It was quick. The foundation for the new house should be dug next week.

Take Us Out to the Ballgame

OK, so I'll be honest. I usually don't jump at the chance of going to a baseball game. I think they're slow, and I'm often quite bored. However, I had a great time on Saturday night. That's because Janice and Lloyd invited us to join 8 others in their (O C Tanner's) box right behind home plate. I hardly watched the game, but I had a great time visiting with family.

Southern Utah - A Bit of Heaven

I've traveled to lots of places, but one of my favorites is right in my home state - Southern Utah. I love the red rock, interesting formations, and clear skies. We took a mini vacation to Freemont Indian State Park, Capital Reef, and Arches during spring break and had a wonderful time.