~Family~

So this is the newest addition to our

FAMILY~

a teeny little dog named

Hemi

I tend her every day while Ashli and Mack go to work.

I'm ready to be a Grandma, but I am glad Ashli and Mack are waiting to have children until life is somewhat stable.. they're only 20 years old, after all....

So, I'll wait... patiently... and tend their baby dog in the meantime:)

I've been thinking about FAMILIES a LOT lately...

A couple of my high school friends have faced some challenges in their families and it just got me thinking... it absolutely breaks my heart to see families fall apart.

Sometimes marriages just have to end.. after every effort has been made, after every avenue has been explored, after lots of advice and prayer and tears...

Sometimes it just has to end..

But the family unit doesn't have to end... Mom and Dad are mutual parents of their joint children forever.... so I'm happy when I see people putting their own issues aside for the good of their children and maintaining a strong family bond even when Mom and Dad aren't together anymore. One of my friends said "Happiness is all that matters" I could not DISAGREE more.

Integrity matters. Morals matter. Compassion matters. Sacrifice matters. There is much more to life than our personal "happiness". In our marriage, we have both given up personal happiness at one point or another for the good of the children, for the good of each other, or just simply because it was the right thing to do.

So, my rambling thoughts about family brought me to the definition of a

FAMILY

I have some gay friends. I love them. They're good parents. They're good people. They want to be legal families.. they want to be able to legally get married.

And I'm not sure how I feel about this. My political party and my religion are pretty clear about where they stand on California's Proposition 8. But where do I stand on a personal level? It's so easy on paper... Satan is attacking the family. He is trying to destroy the family unit. But you ask the two adorable kids of my gay friends and they'll say they have a great family. They have a Mom and a Dad and Mom's partner and all of these adults absolutely ADORE them. Sure, it's nontraditional. But my family is nontraditional, too. We haven't had a Mom for 23 years. Is it worse to have two Moms than no Mom at all? I don't know....

But I do know that there is simply no continuation of the human race whatsoever without a man AND a woman creating a child, thus creating a family...

Here's what I do know... whatever the family unit.. a dog named Hemi instead of a baby, two Moms, a single Dad, my newly divorced friend with four kids... I think it is absolutely vital that we as adults make the lives of children as "traditional" as possible. Men bring something to the lives of children that women simply can't and vice versa. I hope that when we find ourselves in a position where our children are no longer in a home with Mom and Dad together, we give them opportunities to spend quality time with Grandmas or Grandpas, Uncles or Aunts, religious leaders, teachers, people of both genders, to bring their unique gifts and talents to the lives of children.

This past summer, we've had to find a balance between all of the things we want in our family. Money is tight, so we didn't go to a Yankees game this year... we went camping.

Ah! I'm so GLAD that money was tight.. this camping trip blessed our lives tremendously.

Read a great scripture in Sacrament Meeting today...

2 Timothy 2:20

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver,

but also of wood and of earth..

Love that..

We do still love our baseball, so we've gone to a couple Orem Owlz

games on Sundays, when it's only $1 to get in....

It's been fun, but nothing can compare to the feeling we

had last August when our daughter married the love of her

life in the Manti temple...

So I think we've decided to skip the Sundays at the ball park.

I think we can spring for $4 on a Tuesday if we really

want to hit an Owlz game:)

It's vital that we teach our children the value of hard work,

no matter what their chosen profession will eventually be.

Whatever we do, wherever we are, the bottom

line is simply this...

Together is the best place to be...

...And I vow to never take it for granted that

we have six people (and two dogs) who love each

other immensely... who are willing to

sacrifice time, money, and personal desires

for the good of each other.

I am SO blessed to have this amazing

family..

Random Thoughts for the Day...

* I miss the old 3rd ward

* I'm kind of bummed that the girl from Utah was the first one to go home on Project Runway last night.

*I think it's way cool that Nigel has promoted a FREE National Day of Dance for tomorrow.

*I am SO EXCITED to watch Tyler play high school football this year!

*I don't like a quiet house.

*I think I hang tightly to memories of my old friends because they remind me of a time when my Mom was still alive.

*I'm no longer smarter than a 5th grader.

*I'm not sure how to define life in my 40's.

*I have decided to print more photographs. There's something about holding a photo in your hand that is just a little bit more special than seeing it as a digital photo.

*I'm looking forward to seeing my family tomorrow, but worry every time I see my Grandma that it may be the last time.....

The No Photo Post

I usually wait to blog until I have some great idea with lots of photos to go with it, but today I just wanted to sit down and share some random thoughts. Our family has had so many challenges the past two years. Nearly everything you can imagine, short of catastrophic health problems, knock on wood. And I'm so grateful that we're slowly emerging from the fog and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel to a certain degree. With Ashli married, Zack out of high school, and both Kurt and Zack working in Blanding, our family is rarely together anymore, so I've come to cherish the moments we are all together in one place. Zack and Kurt surprised me and showed up at home Wednesday night. I had been doing my last full day of U.S. Census work, and as I was driving down Main Street in Nephi, I glanced down at our house- as I always do when I pass the intersection of 600 North and Main- and Kurt's semi-truck was parked in front of the house. Yay:) So I did a u-turn in front of Matilda's and came home to get a couple hugs! It did kind of change our plans for the weekend, and I missed Brooklyn's 6th grade promotion out in Tooele Friday, which got me thinking about how every little thing we do anymore involves a big decision. There was a time when we jumped in the car and dragged Main for hours, and $5 would get me to work for a week. And now with gas over $3 a gallon again, we never leave town unless we can accomplish more than one task when we go. The easy decisions are between right and wrong. The tough decisions are between right and right. And one last random thought was stolen from Krystine's blog today...

People are often unreasonable and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway.
~Mother Theresa

The House That Built Me

So the sale of our home fell through last week. When the offer came in on March 13, four days after we listed it on ksl.com, it seemed like an answer to our prayers. We planned how we'd get out of debt with the equity from the sale, get Zack started in college in the Fall and maybe even take a trip to California this summer.

But the cute couple who put in the offer got tired of the fight with the Rural Development people after two months, and we decided not to re-list the house.

As I watched Tyler hang his pictures back up on his bedroom walls, I realized that this is the only home he's ever known. He has barbecues in the backyard with his friends, sits at the bar in the kitchen while I cook and tells me about his days at school.

We had Ashli's wedding reception in the backyard last summer and when I look at the deck, I remember our good friend Phil playing music while our friends and loved ones danced and celebrated the beginning of Ashli and Mack's life together.

There's the tree house my Dad, husband, brother-in-law, sons and nephews built.

Sophie, Durt and Chester have a permanent home here in the pine trees and tulip bed.

So, while it would have been nice to get that equity, this is home.

Pray for You - Jaron and The Long Road to Love :: Official Video

So this past week on facebook there was a group started with the ridiculous over-the-top name of "DEAR LORD THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR PATRICK SWAYZE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS FARRAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN."

I LOL'd when I saw the name. Thought it was hilarious. Patrick Swayze was pretty good in the 2 or 3 movies I saw him in but he was no Tom Hanks. Farrah Fawcett? I guess she could be loosely labeled an "actress" but she wouldn't make my top 100, much less my "favorite". I was a Michael Jackson fan for a brief period of time when I was about 13, but again, not my favorite. The group name made me laugh, though, so I clicked the little "like" button and thought nothing else of it until later in the day when I got an inbox message from one of my liberal friends (of whom there are probably 15-20 among my facebook contacts). She was very offended by the name of the group and by the fact that I "liked" it. I was surprised that she was so offended, but her friendship meant more to me than having my name as a "liker" on the group's wall, so I "unliked" it. You used to "join" or "leave" facebook groups, but now it's simply "like" or "unlike".

ANYWAY.... I thought that she was overreacting to something trivial and silly. Of course I'm not praying for the death of the President of the United States. And I think she knows that about me personally. But she brought up some interesting points. For us, the red-blooded American, conservative Republicans in trucker caps and faded jeans, this is funny. But not everyone appreciates redneck humor. I'm not about being "PC".... I respect honesty and people telling it like it is. But I guess it's time to lean more toward the center if I'm going to get along with people in this day and age. I choose my friends, but I can't choose some of the people I deal with on a daily basis, and some of them are bound to be liberals who just don't "get" how conservatives think. How boring it would be if we all thought the same way. So... I vow to respect others' feelings even if my feelings are on the completely opposite end of the spectrum.

Republican actor John Wayne said, upon the election of Democrat John F. Kennedy, "I didn't vote for him, but he's my President and I hope he does a good job." We all need to respect the Office a bit more than we do. We Republicans heard the hate speeches throughout both of the Bushes terms, and now we're returning the favor. We all blame Obama for our woes when the guy hasn't even been in the White House long enough to have created the woes we face. The blame lies with the terrorists who tore our world upside down on 9/11. Nothing has been the same in the United States since, and both Bush and Obama have had to deal with the economic impact of fighting terrorism on a global level.

I see this in Church, in the work force, and even in families. Though we may not like the man in the position, we have to respect the office to a degree. Maybe the Bishop didn't pay you for work you did for him ten years ago. Maybe your boss is ... well, any number of things your boss could be... Gotta respect the office. Go home and complain about the guy to your spouse if you have to, but at church, at work, respect the office, as hard as it may be.

So there you go. I didn't vote for him but he is my President for the next 2 1/2 years. And I am not praying for his death!!! His leanings toward Socialism scare me, but for now, he is the President and all I can do is pray that he makes good decisions for us and future generations of Americans.

No new posts....

Laptop is still out of commission, so I haven't been blogging. It is amazing how many things I've found to do that don't require computer access, though. I love reading again:) Take care, all:)

Slow Down...

Sometimes life gets so busy and hectic, that God says "Slow Down!"

And sometimes we don't think He knows what he is talking about so we keep going full speed ahead.

And then He has no choice but to put a speed bump in our paths.

Sometimes the speed bump does the trick.

Sometimes it doesn't.

Then He has to put tire spikes in the road.

So that finally gets our attention.

Before He has to put a brick wall in our paths.

I think a lot of people are facing speed bumps in the path of life right now.

Sometimes it's a terminal illness.

The death of a loved one.

The loss of a job.

Speed bumps make you take stock of what is REALLY important.

And it's amazing what we can live without.

And what we simply CAN'T live without.

I can live without Dr Pepper.

But not water.

I can live without football.

But not baseball.

I can live without TV.

But not books.

I can live without prestige.

But not love.

I can live without wealth.

But not knowledge.

I can live without politicians.

But not freedom.

I can live without religion.

But not faith.

I have slowed down.

But not stopped.

Still moving along the path.

At a slower pace.

Stopping to smell the roses.

And enjoy the rain.

And cherishing those things

That I simply can't live without.

Find Out Who Your Friends Are

It's been a rough week....

But when it's all said and done, I know who's in my corner...

I'm related to most of them, but there are a select few who I know I can count on just because....

They don't love me because they HAVE to, but because they WANT to....

That's way cool...

So, thank you to those who are there for me...

I hope someday to be there for you!

And to my family... Yay! I get to be with you FOREVER:) Love you guys!

Wild Goose Chase 5K

SNOWED all day yesterday, so I kind of HOPED I'd get to the 5K race site this morning and find that they'd cancelled it due to weather.

~No Such Luck~

I arrived at 9:00 this morning in Delta, Utah, for the Wild Goose Chase 5K/10K Run/Walk. I had signed up for the 5k Walk section, but planned to jog as much as I could, in spite of the fact that this morning I was only one pound lower than my highest weight of

ALL TIME!

I've been a faithful exerciser since January, but not so faithful with the eating habits, so I haven't dropped any weight.... but I still felt ready to plug along and do my best to finish a 5K today....

Mostly so I could say "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.. GOT THE T-SHIRT!"

I met up with my friends Brent and Amanda and we stretched out together, but I knew I'd never be able to keep up with them. Brent's been running really regularly and Amanda's a tiny little thing with the determination to be successful at whatever she tries. So I stuck Kurt's skull candies in my ears, shuffled the iPod and zoned out at the start line. I kept up with Amanda for a minute, but she was awesome. She finished 6 minutes faster than her best training time, in spite of the fact that we were trudging through

MUD as we circled the Gunnison Bend Reservoir.
I jogged some, walked some, but was determined to jog the last 1/4 mile (Because everyone could see me!) Got close to what I thought what was the finish line, only to find that it was about another 1/8 mile or so. Thought I'd

cry.....

And then my

GUARDIAN ANGEL

appeared at my side. Amanda's daughter, Kourtney, materialized out of the blue and jogged with me to the finish line.

"You're almost there!"

she'd say.. and I believed her.... and I was...

ALMOST THERE!

And then I was.. THERE... done.... I'd finished a 5K with a body that really shouldn't have been able to do it. It was 30 degrees outside and I was burning hot.. At Mile 1, I had ripped off my gloves. Mile 1.5, I lost the scarf around my ears. And LONGED to have dressed in layers so I could shed the hoodie, but alas, I wore the Utah Jazz hoodie through the entire race. I drove all the way home, 50 miles, with the windows down in the Jeep and my face was still this red when I got home. And I'm ready to do it again. Get a little lighter, a little faster and a little better each time....

Thank you

to everyone who said I could. I did.

I am a Child of God

I saw Thurl Bailey in the temple when I was there for my cousin Bethany's wedding. We met Billy Dean through Kurt's work at the radio station when Ashli was a little girl and he was so cute with her, picking her up and talking to her. They're both just amazing men. And THESE are amazing kids:)

OK, OK, I Apologize!

I wrote a blog post a week or so ago about how I feel ignored by my husband. I thought he'd be moved to tears when he read it. See things my way and humbly apologize for making me feel so invisible. Yeah, no. He was moved, but not to tears. He was pretty upset for a few days. Angry that I called him a selfish, well, you know, a selfish @*&^$@^& for the whole world to read. I tried to assure him that the "whole world" doesn't even read my blog. Nobody really cares that much about the ramblings of a frumpy middle-aged housewife in the middle of Utah. And those who DO read it are women who probably feel the same way I do occasionally.

He wasn't buying it, so I pulled the post, moved the blog to "private" and pouted for a few days. Then I put it back up and decided I better do some damage control.

He's not selfish ALL the time...

Once when he was heading out on the truck for a few days (probably 16 years ago) and we were SO BROKE, he walked down to the Pepsi machine at his Dad's trailer park and spend all the change he could round up to put a Diet Pepsi in the fridge for me.

When we were in the midst of our war over the original blog post, he met me and the kids in Provo at midnight to watch Valentines Day, a chick flick, even though he had to work the next morning.

He loves to play recreational sports. We used to spend at least three nights a week in the gym or on the ball field somewhere while he played ball with his friends. But as our kids got older and I had my hands full, he eventually played less and less until finally he pretty much quit playing everything but Old Mens' Softball and started reffing and umping instead to earn a little extra money for our family.

One day in the summer of 2008 I made us an appointment for something that was really important to me. On our way to Provo, we had the radio on and something came on about the MLB All-Star game being played THAT NIGHT at Yankee Stadium. In the midst of all that went on that summer, I hadn't even realized when the All Star game was. He knew, of course, but he didn't say a word about it. Just got in the car and went to Provo with me for our appointment. That was definitely the least selfish thing he's ever done.

So I vow to notice the little things he does on a daily basis and have fewer pity parties as I navigate through my mid-life crisis, and most definitely to quit blaming him for EVERYTHING. I'll continue to blame him for things that really are his fault, but I'll try really hard not to post it for the "whole world" to see.

He's 43 years old today. Happy Birthday, Kurt! Love you:)

Don't You Know Who I Am?

Maybe it's common for people who have been married for 21 years. I don't know. My husband will never read this. He knows I have a blog but he just doesn't have time to sit and read it, but IF he did, I'd love to ask:

1. What was my Facebook status this morning?
2. What is my favorite hymn?
3. What is my favorite color?
4. Other than the day my Mom passed away, what was the date of the worst day of my life?
5. What is my bra size?
6. What is my favorite brand of deodorant?
7. What is my favorite restaurant?
8. What color eye shadow do I wear?
9. What color are my nails painted right now?
10. Did I mop the kitchen today?

I guess the point is, he would know none of those answers.

And I would tell him.. You don't update your facebook status unless something is really important to you. You got two new Facebook friends today and you have $752,649 in Texas Hold 'Em chips. You fluctuate between $600,000 to $1Million in poker chips, and if you got down to $500,000 you'd spend hours trying to build up your account again. You like the hymn "Put your Shoulder to the Wheel" but you were moved by "Lord I Would Follow Thee" when Fran taught it to us in Primary. You've held to saying that orange is your favorite color, but the truth is you really don't care that much about any color. You have more important things to think about than what color you like. You like white T-shirts, blue hats and black hoodies but you'll wear anything. The worst day of your life was the day your Uncle Rick died, although there were lots of days that pretty much sucked both before and after that one. Your jeans fluctuate between 2 different sizes, so we keep some of each size in jeans for you.
You simply don't have a favorite brand of deodorant. You buy whatever is cheapest and only because it's necessary to have it. You really don't care. I buy you "sport" scents because I like them, but you really coudn't care less. Sizzler is your favorite restaurant. I know you think it's mine, but the reason we always go there is really because it's your favorite. When your back is hurting, you get a knot of tension at the base of your spine on the right hand side. It will hurt for atleast a week, sometimes as much as a few weeks, but it eventually gets feeling better only to happen again a few times a year. You don't want to go to the doctor for anything, so if you do go , I know you're really hurting. You're most proud of the fact that you work hard and you most enjoy peace and quiet here at home. You don't like big noisy family gatherings and you would prefer to simply stay home all weekend unless you have tickets to a game. You'll go to movies but you'd rather not. You don't cry, but Ashli has the power to make it happen. You like your hair short and you hate to wear cologne. You prefer to shave in the shower, not at the bathroom sink. You like all kinds of music, depending on the mood you're in that day, even the stations the kids listen to. You enjoy touching base with your friends as often as possible, but preferrably through text and not a phone call. You hate to talk on the phone. You would rather have a bag of chips than a bag of licorice. You love the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys and the Utah Jazz. You love vacationing in New York, but think it's time to go somewhere else. You regret that you've never been to Mexico and hope that it's still in the cards for you someday. You love your kids, your nieces and nephews, and every baby you see in church or that our friends are blessed enough to have. You'd like to buy a radio station someday.

Men...

When I first got married a million years ago (Ok, 21..) I remember being a little surprised that my new husband wasn't exactly like my Dad. I thought all men could fix ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING like my Dad could. We never called a plumber, a mechanic or even a contractor when I was growing up. Dad just fixed everything and even built his own addition to our house when our family outgrew the little home they bought from Grandpa Larry for $7,000! I expected that Kurt would do the same.

The first time we had to call the Roto-Rooter man and pay him $45 to snake a drain, I was pretty frustrated because I was convinced my Dad could have done it for nothing. Fortunately, I quickly learned that even though he was NOTHING like my Dad, Kurt was EXACTLY what I needed and wanted in my life. He cannot fix a car engine. Nope. He can change the oil but he'd rather take it to someone else. Give Kurt five weeks of sick leave, and he just simply won't use it. I think he may have missed two days of work with sickness in the whole time I've known him. He works hard and takes care of us and I am so glad he is exactly who he is.

This morning I found myself frustrated because my new Son-in-Law isn't EXACTLY like Kurt. And I found myself remembering that Kurt wasn't exactly like my Dad, either. I'm slowly learning to be a Mother-in-Law and I'm usually not very good at it. Fortunately for Mack, he has a wonderful wife who knows that he is her top priority. She successfully makes us all feel loved and respected and helps us all learn to navigate this new stage of life. So even though he is not exactly like her Dad, I think Ashli is pretty happy with him just the way he is:)

Sayonara 2009!!!

This pretty much sums up the year for me.... a bloody mess!

This was probably THE most stressful year I've had for a while, and I'm not at all sorry to see it end...lower credit scores, higher interest rates, job loss, weight gain... UGH! My Grandma passed away on Thanksgiving Day and I think I'd like to skip November forever!!!! I cannot WAIT to turn the page to a new year and a new decade and begin the next phase of life.

There were some good moments, though, and I'll sum up the highlights~

I became an EMT-Intermediate (Thus the photo above. I did NOT start that IV!) even though I never wanted the responsibility. It was challenging and difficult, but I'm glad I did it. I'm now the Juab County EMS Coordinator, and I LOVE my job!

Kurt and I spent a lot of time together this year and I love him more all the time. Even when things are challenging, we somehow manage to work through it as a team. He's most definitely my best friend. We celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2009 and did some traveling to both coasts this year. We enjoy the same things and have tons of common interests and I love the time I spend with my husband :)

Tyler

My baby got his driver's license and became a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. He was just baptized the other day, wasn't he? And now he can baptize others. Where did the years go? He's even got a girlfriend! Our Bishop called us "empty nesters" on Sunday, and he is so right! Just a couple of years and we'll be on our own. I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

Zack is a Senior in high school and attended Boys' State at Weber State this year. He was a member of the first Juab High School region championship team (golf) since moving up to 3A. He plans to go to Weber after his mission and pursue a degree in education. Zack will be a GREAT teacher. That's not the field we EVER thought he'd go into, but he relates so well to people. Kids will LOVE having him as a teacher.

And of course, Ashli got married. We love her husband and we're so thrilled that he is a part of our family, but I'm still kind of a mess without my little girl living here. Christmas was just not the same. I miss her all the time, even though she lives right here in town. I don't know if you're ever ready for your firstborn to marry and move out, particularly when she happens to be a girl.

So there it is... we close the door on 2009 and look forward to the future. I have the same "resolutions" I always have.. physical fitness, financial fitness and spiritual fitness. But above all, I want to be more Christlike in everything I do. I want to treat others with more love, respect and dignity and cherish the time I spend with the people I love.

Jennie Jefferies Callister

May 31, 1915 - November 26, 2009

My beautiful little Granny passed away in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving 2009. She had suffered three heart attacks five days earlier, and stayed here on the Earth long enough for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren to visit with her one last time. I had a wonderful talk with her about my Grandpa and the house he built, their trips to Hawaii together and our mutual love of rubies and diamonds.

For as long as I can remember, my Dad has been bringing Granny to all of our birthday parties, Christmas parties, Halloween parties and every dutch oven my brothers and sisters threw together for one reason or another. Here she is at the "May" birthday party and Ashli's graduation celebration in 2008.

Christmas 2007 was noisy and crazy, like it always is. Granny was perfectly content to sneak the hat off of Kurt's head and sit quietly on the couch.

The last pictures I took of Granny were at Ashli's bridal shower in July 2009. Here she is with Aunt Kay. One of my favorite memories of Granny happened about 15 years ago after I told Kay she looked pretty. Granny pulled me aside, and quietly whispered to me "Tina, did you know Kay colors her hair?" Ha Ha.. She was so serious, like Kay had committed a serious crime by coloring her hair.

In 2008, Granny had a serious fall. Her recovery took a long time, and it seemed like she just started to go downhill after that. She was always so independent, driving clear up until she was over 90 years old. It was difficult for her to begin losing her independence.

Here she is at Landen's birthday party 2009 with my Dad and Brexlie.

Granny loved the little children. She ordered kids' meals for herself whenever she went to McDonald's or Wendy's, and when she'd come to family parties, she'd dump a bag of kids' meal toys in the middle of the floor, and the little kids could choose a prize from Granny's stash.

Ashli, Boston and Granny Christmas 2007.

Granny even came to my Grandma Becca's 80th birthday party with my Dad.. September 2006.

I love this picture of Landen, Granny and my Dad...

This is one of my favorite pictures of Granny. For Easter, we hid a plastic egg in her hair for the little ones to search for. She was always so fun and full of life, dancing and laughing, smiling and cheerful. Her secret to longevity was drinking a Dr Pepper over ice every day:)

Granny LOVED Wendover! So for Christmas 2007 we got her a "Gamblin' Granny" T-shirt. (Sorry about the background!)

Easter many years ago... there must be something compelling on the ceiling for Granny and Tyler.

Granny even came to our Halloween party in Nephi with my Dad.

And here she is with me and my little girl. I am SO grateful for the many, many times I got to see my Grandma over the past few years. She seemed so young to us all. She danced in the Grantsville Old Folks' Sociable until well after her 50th class reunion. She loved my Grandpa so much. She never dated any other boy in high school, married him when she was 19 years and was never interested in another man after he died. We'll be burying her on Monday, November 30, 2009, 20 years to the day since Grandpa died. I'm happy for my Grandma. I like to believe that my Grandpa met her with open arms today.

He served his mission in Hawaii and developed a real love for the Hawaiian people. He took Grandma to Hawaii four times. So today for our Thanksgiving dinner, we all wore Hawaiian leis and celebrated the return of my beautiful little Granny to the arms of my Grandpa Noel. We'll miss her so much. She was a light in our lives, a bright, happy, funny, talented, tiny little ball of energy, and I'm so grateful for the years my children, husband and I had with her. Aloha, Granny...

Kurt

TO tell you the truth, I don't remember the EXACT day we met.... I say it was February 16 because that COULD have been the day, and I'm big into "anniversaries" so I picked that one. But it was sometime in February 1989. A Friday or Saturday night, because we were at the "Palladium", a dance place in Salt Lake where we all hung out every weekend. Occasionally we'd go to the Fairgrounds for Country Night, but on this particular weekend, it was the Palladium. I know it's cliche, but I really did think "Have I seen you somewhere before?" even though we'd never met before. I loved him immediately and I followed him around, stalking him, until he finally felt the same way. Of course, it helped that I had laryngitis when we met. Had he known how much I talk, we may not be together today.

This is one of my favorite pictures of us. We had our midlife crises last year, and Ashli took this picture of us at the golf course as we were emerging from all that. We had so much fun last summer, camping and fishing. On Sunday mornings, we'd get up early and drive our little golf cart up to the golf course, where he'd golf 9 holes, then we'd sneak off to breakfast before our 12:30 church meetings started. Good times.....

He's given me the most interesting life. I remember the times we loaded up our little kids and took them on trips because he had a truck load going somewhere.. usually California. One time I was in the sleeper of the diesel feeding Tyler when all of a sudden, the truck was raised 100 feet in the air (he says it was more like 50 feet) as they dumped hay cubes out of the trailer. I was terrified! Kurt says they could hear me screaming clear down on the ground.

He adores his kids. This little girl is the light of his life. I can only imagine how he felt when she and Mack climbed in her little Neon and took off for their honeymoon. I saw him watching them when Mack helped her load her gun while we were out trapshooting last weekend, and I know it must be hard for him to see someone else doing his job. He's a great Dad.

We were so young when we had our kids. Ash was born 8 days before our 1st wedding anniversary and we've never really known anything but kids. He adores our friends' kids, the kids at church, kids at the ball park... He'll be an awesome Grandpa, but not too soon, we hope!

He talked me into becoming an EMT a few years ago and it's turned into a great career for me. I love it when he's on my crew, and I take every shift I can get with him. I feel confident and more sure of myself when he is by my side. He helps me reach for things I didn't even know I could do. Kurt called the hospital on a run one day when Ashli and I were in the back with a patient, and they told him to have me give the patient an IM medication. I was terrified. He looked at me and said "You can do it" and I did! I was so nervous, and he didn't have one second of doubt. He believes in me even when I don't believe in myself.

And.... he NEVER tells me I'm fat! I love you, hon. Thanks for being in my corner.

Lessons Learned from a Liberal

On Sunday, I spent 7 hours with an old friend in San Francisco. At first glance, we would appear to be polar opposites. I arrived in my husband’s semi-truck, the quintessential redneck hicks from Utah. She has a gorgeous haircut , a great corporate job and she’s a *gasp* Democrat!!!! I was a little worried about what we’d talk about. I hadn’t seen her for 23 years and I didn’t want our first visit to turn into a heated political battle. I shouldn’t have worried. It was wonderful to see her again, and I am learning at 41 years of age, to embrace diversity. I learned a lot in my “Day with a Democrat”…..

1. Wear sensible shoes. I wore jeans and ropers. My boots get more comfortable every time I wear them. They’re two years old now and I love them, but they weren’t the best choice for walking along the piers. I learned to be prepared for opportunities that may arise. Dress in layers in case the weather changes, and wear sensible shoes in case you have the chance to do something amazing outdoors.

2. We went to a San Francisco Giants/LA Dodgers game and she suggested we try the garlic fries. I love what she said “The best thing about the garlic fries is that you get to enjoy them for three or four days”. Ha Ha! They were delicious, and the taste definitely lingered long after the fries were gone!

3. I went to San Francisco about ten years ago, and I hated it. I wondered what in the world people saw in that city. Seeing San Francisco through her eyes made me fall in love with the city. She told me about the architecture, about the history of her beloved Giants, and simply walking around the beautiful Bay made me see how people from every walk of life could find a home in San Francisco.

4. Who would have thought that I’d learn my greatest lesson about being a Christian on a Sunday at an MLB game, when I probably should have been at church? Lisa told me about her friend... a born-again Christian… and this is what she said about him “He could see a 400-pound woman in a bikini with pink hair and not bat an eye”. Beautiful! That is what being Christ-like is all about. It’s not about judging others and keeping score like so many of us “Latter Day Saints” do. We tend to be an arrogant, holier-than-though people and I vow to be less judgmental of others and more like Christ in my dealings with my fellow man.

5. You don’t have to eat carrots sticks and spend four hours a day in the gym to be physically fit. People in San Francisco eat everything from fried shrimp to artisan cheeses (Which she treated us to…delicious!), but incorporate fitness into their everyday lives. They walk, ride bikes, jog. Exercise is part of their daily lives, part of their social lives, and an essential means of transportation in a city where owning a vehicle is really more of a burden than a convenience. So if you see me walking to work, don’t offer me a ride, please. I’m incorporating fitness into my everyday life!