SHARING OUR CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

 ON FRIDAY AFTER WORK, WE TOOK A LITTLE CHRISTMAS TREE AND ANGEL OVER TO THE MEMORIAL PLAQUE FOR MOM, DAD, RON AND TERESA.  WE MISS THEM ALL AND WANTED TO REMEMBER THEM.  TERESA ALWAYS BOUGHT EVERYONE VERY SPECIAL GIFTS THAT SHE PUT A LOT OF THOUGHT IN THEM.  SHE WAS LIMITED IN HER MONEY BUT SHE NEVER FORGOT ANYONE.

 WE BEGAN OUR CHRISTMAS EVE CELEBRATION WITH TAMI AND JEFF'S ARRIVAL AT 4:30 P.M.  WE ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO THIS NIGHT.

 TAMI ALWAYS MAKES MAGIC COOKIE BARS FOR A SPECIAL TREAT THAT NIGHT.  IT'S THE ONLY TIME WE EVER MAKE THIS RECIPE AND WE ALL LOVE THEM.

 THEN IT'S TIME TO ORDER PIZZA FOR DINNER.  IT ALWAYS TASTES ESPECIALLY GOOD ON CHRISTMAS EVE.

 TIME TO OPEN OUR GIFTS TO EACH OTHER.  OF COURSE THIS IS ALWAYS FUN!!

 PART OF JEFF AND TAMI'S GIFT TO US IS THE CHRISTMAS BUFFET AT THE DOUBLE TREE HOTEL.  SUCH GOOD FOOD AND GREAT COMPANY.  THIS IS SUCH A GREAT TRADITION BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE TO SHOP FOR FOOD, COOK OR CLEAN UP AFTERWARDS.  WE LOVE IT!  JEFF AND TAMI INVITED HIS PARENTS AND A FRIEND FROM WORK THIS YEAR.  WE HAD NEVER MET JEFF'S PARENTS BEFORE AND THIS WAS A GOOD WAY TO MEET THEM.

 SOME LAST PICTURES BEFORE WE LEFT THE HOTEL.  THANKS TAMI AND JEFF!

THIRD WARD CHRISTMAS PARTY

Tonight we went to the Ward's Christmas dinner and program.  It was very nice.  The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was great.  Notice the nativity scene.  Does it look familiar?  I made this scene 35 years ago in San Diego the last Christmas we were there.  It still looks pretty good for being so old.

 The specialist over this night asked me to help out with the props and costumes.  Rebecah wanted to have the Cultural Hall look like Bethlehem and she had each organization make a booth.  She also encouaged those running the booths to dress up in Bethlehem costumes.  This is  the bread booth.

 It was so nice to have Tami and Jeff with us at the dinner and program.  Jeff enjoys our Ward dinners.  It's always good food!

 It's hard to believe that Christmas Eve is only one week away.  It's been a fun and memorable season for us and this night helped to remind us  again what Christmas was all about.

Oh yes, here's the shepherd scene from years ago.  It's fun to pull these scenes out every year and use them.  Who would have thought that they would have lasted this long.  Tami and I wanted to finish up the evening in front of our favorite sheep  scene.

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I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

 It takes me 3 days to put up all our decorations and lights.  It's always worth the effort when I'm finished.  Tami makes me promise to not get on chairs any more to put up things.  She comes over and does this for us now.

 We are so blessed that Tami and Jeff live so close.  Tami and I get together every Wed. night for our night out.  She has lost 35 pounds since July and looks wonderful.  I'm so proud of her for having the determination to keep herself at a good weight.

 Tami has helped me out so much in getting me on Medicare part B and also a Supplement from United Health Care.  She is so knowledgeable about health insurance and knows just what is the best for me during this time.  Tami spent an hout on the phone on Friday night just getting everything set up for me with the Supplement and part D too.  She is so good over the phone and knows exactly what they are talking about.  I feel she is my personal secretary when it comes to things like this.......and she is FREE.

I have sent all my Christmas packages, Christmas cards and made goodies for my VT Sisters and Don's Home Teaching families.  I'm really on top of things this year.

 As you can see, I'm feeling good and getting lots done.  Next week I go in for my 3 month doctor check up.  I will be glad when this is over.  I guess it is normal to always be a little nervous about this.  I would be very surprised if they found anything wrong since I'm feeling so good.  The only thing I need to do is  sit back and enjoy this beautiful season!!

SUCH A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING

WHO SAID HALLOWEEN IS JUST FOR KIDS?

I bought costumes for our two little dogs. They are shark costumes and their heads are coming out of the sharks mouth. Our dogs are so patient and tolerant with these kind of things but they sure are glad when I take them off.

This seems to be the year of the Pirates. We had a pirate birthday party for Ben this summer and Coldon was a pirate for Halloween. I decided to brush off my pirate costume this year and wear it on Halloween too.

Tami and I found a pumpkin patch here in Grand Junction. It was on 5th and White. We enjoyed picking out a pumpkin and buying it.

Tami enjoying the leaves before it gets too cold.

MY SPECIAL FRIEND JANET

When we first moved to Grand Junction 35 years ago Janet was the Primary President. I was called to be a Primary teacher so Janet was one of the first sister that I got to know.

When I had our little still born baby in 1978 I had a visitor that understood what I was going through since she had a still born baby a few years before. That was Janet.

I've always loved her and felt a kinship with her.

When I had Colon Cancer I had a phone call and it was Janet. She asked me if what I had was catching because she had just been diagnosed with colon cancer too. Again, we went through chemotherapy and understood each others fears and concerns as well as physical problems that we were going through together.

Janet also loves to scrapbook and we like to share projects we are working on.

Janet is facing another round of Chemo because her cancer has come back. This has been hard on both of us and I am there for her every step of the way. I wish I could take this away from her but at least she knows I understand. When I went to sit with her for her treatment last Tuesday, I couldn't believe that it had been only one year ago when I had my last chemo. I hope and pray that this will be her last treatment too!! Please keep her in your prayers.

WE LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

The colors are so pretty and the weather is lovely. What more could we ask for.

Don picked out his pumpkin to carve. I think this time of year brings out the kid in you.

I still love to decorate our home and Mr. Pumpkin man is one of my favorite decorations.

Tami has lost a little over 30 pounds since July. I'm so proud of her. She looks wonderful as you can see.

TWO BIRTHDAYS IN ONE WEEK

I turned 69 years old on Sept. 28. This is my last year in my 60's and I want to make the most of each day. I don't dread 70 at all. In fact, I embrace it when it comes.

I had such a fun birthday celebration. I heard from all our girls and received some spending money that I have already spent buying luggage. My large suitcase died on my last trip and I needed another one for my next trip in the Spring. Thank you so much for the cards and lovely messages. It seems like the older you get the more meaningful the messages become.

After work Tami and Jeff came over to help us celebrate. We always have such a good time together and look forward to every occasion that we can do these memories together. I got this beautiful top that I loved from Christopher and Banks. I knew that I would wear this top at Tami's birthday celebration.

After taking our traditional timed picture together Tami and Jeff took us to Red Robin for dinner. It was a lovely evening and we all enjoyed it.

Yesterday, Oct. l, Tami and Jeff came over at 4:OO to celebrate Tami's birthday. We had all looked forward to this. Because Tami is a great TREASURE in our lives I had a TREASURE BOX THEME with balloons connected to TREASURE BOXES. Inside the boxes were messages to tell her what her gift was. It was a fun way to show our love and appreciation for Tami and all that she does for us.

After our timed picture, Tami chose Golden Corral for her birthday dinner. It 's always delicious there and Tami loves the salads. Tami has lost 25 pounds and still going strong with Weight Watchers. She looks wonderful and I admire how determined she is. When Tami puts her mind to something, nothing stops her. It reminds me of the rest of this family!

Before we left Tami wanted me to take a picture of the TREASURE BOXES, gifts and balloons.

It was a wonderful and fun week. Now I have to be good in my eating again. It's great to go off once in awhile, especially on these kind of occasions.

MY EAST COAST VISIT

I've been trying to get on my blog for the last month. Tonight I finally figured out a way to share my East Coast visit with all of you. First of all, it was a great trip and I had such a wonderful time with my East Coast families.

Going to North Carolina was such fun. The Torgesen's always make me feel wanted and loved. The day that I flew out to NC was the day of the earthquake that hit Washington DC. Then of course, there was a worry of a hurricane that was going to hit the NC coast line within days of my visit. It was pretty exciting!
Ben had his birthday while I was there. Lara, the kids and I decided to give Ben a surprise birthday with a PIRATE theme. We had such a good time deciding on our pirate costumes, decorations, gifts and even a pirate dance. We got Ben to wear something red since I wanted to take pictures of the family that day. Of course, he didn't have any idea that he would blend in with our red, black and white PIRATE theme.

The birthday surprise was so fun and Ben had no idea about what was going to happen. We actually did this on the Sat. before his birthday which was the day that hurricane Irene was going to hit. It was a perfect thing to do since we thought we would be stuck inside all day. This family picture was taken after our birthday party.

It was also fun to be there for the first day of school for Paige, Chloe and Tyler. The excitement of getting ready the night before and then taking them to school that first day was fun. We also celebrated that evening by going out to dinner. This brought back such fun memories when we took our daughters to their first day of school and then celebrated that evening.

Here we are waiting for out table to eat out. Such a cute family!
I always knew that I was safe in North Carolina since I was protected each day by HE MAN. This was a comforting thought.

VISITING MORE FAMILY

After 1 1/2 weeks it was time to go to Virginia. Don flew in Labor Day Week-end and it was good to see him. Reygan is now 5 months old and has changed so much since the last time I saw her. What a cutie.

Lara and Ben drove me up to Virginia since we all wanted to go to Nolan'a Blessing on Sunday. That is where we met up with Don. He had flown in to Dullas the day before and had stayed all night with Tasha and Jeff.

Holding Reygan for the first time on this trip. It was so good to see more of my family and get to know Reygan again.

Grandpa Don holding Reygan. She seems to enjoy her Grandpa.

I'm in seventh heaven when I'm with my grandchildren. God's compensation for growing older is having grandchildren and I believe this. I feel so blessed!

Tasha and Jeff are in their new home and it is beautiful. It's a very comfortable and roomy. We all loved it.